25 Apr – Just Bring me Friendship
We were lucky enough to have made a friend in our neighbor and caretaker of our home…Jorge, a kind, humble, spiritual man who was always a gentleman. Jorge was fluent in Spanish and English which he claimed he learned by going to the movies as a kid, and he also spoke a little Mayan. He loved joining us on our Adventures, being a former tour guide, and acted as a translator and fantastic storyteller. We were honoured to have him with us. For this adventure we wanted to head up the coast to search a new area for us. We checked the satellite maps in search for a Cenote and found a round blue spot with a secondary road leading to it, a few kilometers off of the main road. Car packed with water, snacks, snorkel gear etc., and off we went. We drove for 1.5 hours up the coast till the “end of the road” where we then travelled inland for another 1/2 hour when our GPS indicated yet another tiny road off of the main road which we followed for 4km through fields and low-lying scrub, ending up at a a very quiet and remote Ranch (cows and a horses). Hmmmm, Jorge yelled “Buenas” and Señor William (Willy) came sleepily out of his Hut with his hammock still swinging in the breeze.
Jorge told Señor William we were looking for a Cenote and asked him if he knew if one was close. Grinning, Señor William said..”It’s right there !” He walked us through a cow paddock, opened another gate and wow…a beautiful Cenote! Nicely landscaped, flanked by swaying palms, a swimming pool attached and a paddle boat for some Family fun.
We spent some time looking around the Cenote area and was pleasantly surprised by stairs entering the water at various locations. It was so inviting, that we donned on our snorkel equipment and swam and enjoyed the refreshing water while Jorge and Willy enjoyed an ice cold beer from our cooler . Willy was happy to have guests and proudly showed us around the ranch. This 73 year old man jumped on his horse and then proceeded to show us various horse tricks. He was so excited to have visitors!
He said “Please come back and bring your friends”. We asked him if there was anything that we could bring him the next time we come and all he said was “Just bring me friendship”. He said that there were 6 more Cenotes in the area, most of them on private property, and agreed to make arrangements for us to see them next time and that he will act as our guide for that day.
We have since returned to Willy’s ranch a couple times and did explore more Cenotes in the area with Willy as our Guide. As this area is close to the coast, you will find that the Cenotes are all “surface Cenotes” due to the water table being quite high, the area is just a few meters above sea level. The further inland you travel, the lower the water table and hence the more subterranean the Cenotes get, some with the water level 70 feet below the surface. We have such fond memories of our days with Willy . . . such a great experience to meet Willy and hear his stories.