So now that we have established that Mexico is safe, let’s talk about how to have some fun south-of-the-border, adventure style.
Day one of our brief holiday on the white-sandy beaches, we chose to sit back and relax, enjoy some time in the warm pool and imbibe a few much-needed cocktails. Following a bit of a siesta, we got the show on the road.
Day two, we were up and out of bed at 6 a.m. and in the lobby on the Kukulkan Hotel strip awaiting transport to Puerto Morelos. Today we were heading off the beaten path to one of Cancun’s hidden gems of a tour; riding ATVs through the rugged terrain of the coastal jungle, swimming in the Yucatan’s ancient cenotes, and flying high across these untouched areas on zip lines. I had done this tour three years ago and found it to be one of the coolest things I had done down in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo, so I came back for round two.
We rocked up (see Aussie slang for that one) to a small hut in the middle of the jungle with a brother and
sister team from Colorado at about 9 a.m. in Selvatica, an extreme adventure park in the middle of the Puerto Morelos jungle. The four of us were met by two tour guides and a local woman sweeping the foundation out front. I knew it was going to look a bit sketchy, but that’s what made this tour hip! We were given helmets,
yellow goggles (talk about hip) and ATVs, and off we rode winding through the dusty trails of the Yucatan jungle. The dirt in my hair, the isolation from the modern world and a small tour of four makes this a tour a ‘best pick.’
The terrain is quite flat, but bumpy. The trees and vegetation only grow to about 15 or 20 feet. We saw little else other than dust in our eyes, and a passing iguana in this desolate area. After about a
solid 30 minutes of bumps and winds we arrived at our first cenote. A small hole lead into the ground with a man-made
wooden ladder. Upon climbing down, we found clear blue fresh water with light radiating from the bottom up, stalactites lined the ceiling. Since I had been on this tour before, I asked about a secret cenote with multiple entry points and low ceilings, in my opinion the best cenote. “Ahhh, Siete Bocas – seven mouths.” For an extra 70 pesos ($7.00 USD) he would take us to this amazing site. Another 20 minutes by ATV and we were there. A beautiful cenote with three of the seven mouths available, brighter water and a jumping point made this one more of a treasure.
The final cenote, another 20 minutes drive by ATV through the lush jungle, this time wearing just a bikini, brought us to Cenote Verde Lucero. This one was the best of all, the finale of the cenote trip. There we met up with other travelers from England, France and South America there. This tall-mouthed, fresh-water cenote featured a zip-line from the top which ended over the center, perhaps 40 yards across. We each took turns zip-lining down and dropping into the water. My drops into the cold water were not as successful as others, but I landed in the water nonetheless. There also was a jumping off point on the opposite rim of the cenote nearly 20 yards high in which some of the more adventurous souls achieved by climbing a tree out of the cenote to the top.
We hopped back on the ATVs wet, tired and hungry. The four of us journeyed back to the small hut in the middle of nowhere. We were met by a taxi driver who then took us five miles out of the jungle to the one of the most scenic coastlines I have ever experienced in the tiny town of Puerto Morelos. There, we were greeted by locals and provided a traditional Mexican lunch by the Oceanside; a quesadilla and a Corona. Miles away from ordinary…seriously!
I was told that only two tour operators offer the ATV, cenote, zipline experience. While I’m not sure that is true, if you are interested in this tour, google those terms or visit www.cancundiscount.com for this, and other, amazing experiences while in Cancun.
