Sigh. We left the campground without the camera today, because we had only planned to go into Playa del Carmen, buy a few things and head back home. It didn't turn out that way, and we are sorry we didn't bring the camera just in case.
We stopped in at Hidden Worlds Adventure Park to check on pricing and what packages were available. My son, daughter-in-law and grandson plan to go there when they come to the Mayan Riviera.
I am very impressed with them. I have been told that they are better than Xplor because they are more natural, less Americanized and less expensive.
They had biodegradable sun tan lotion and bug spray for sale for 70 pesos each. When you go into a cenote, the first thing you have to do is shower off any bug spray and lotion you have on to protect the cenotes. They allow you to wear the biodegradable products.
http://www.rainforestadventure.com/hidden_worlds_mexico/
The one thing that they are missing that xplor has is a kayaking cave experience. They highly recommended Kantun-chi, which is almost directly across the street from Xpu Ha. They said that there are miles of cenotes out behind the cave cenotes they take you through, and let you kayak around them by yourself after the tour.
http://www.kantunchi.com/
On our way back to the campground we decided to take a drive out past Chemuyil to see what was back behind the little town. About 2 blocks (well, with my memory it could have been 5 blocks) along the road we saw a cave. We pulled over to have a look. It turned out to be a lovely little town owned, free cenote. This is where the locals swim. There were a few bats flying around, and light came in from the front and the back of the little cave. The ceiling was plenty high enough that Gerry did not feel claustrophobic. No camera!!! Dang.
We decided to keep driving down the road...it soon became a very bad road, much like the one coming into Xpu Ha. We turned down another, smaller but nice dirt road that had a sign indicating there was a cenote. The road ended at Xunaan Ha. For 10 pesos each they let us go in to look. 50 pesos each you can swim. It was a ground level cenote with a diving platform and platform to run and jump from. It looked very deep, but clear so you could see all the way to the bottom.
There were half a dozen people swimming and playing, some locals, some tourists. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was a like a good old fashioned swimming hole, about 70 feet by 40 feet.
When we went back out to the parking lot I noticed a sign with divers on it. I thought it kind of a small pool for divers so I asked. It turns out that it is the entrance to a cave with 52 kilometers of underground cenote to explore. Nice.
I googled Xuxaan Ha, they don't have a website, but found this interesting link that describes several of the cenotes in this area, Xuxaan Ha included. The author describes the Grand Cenote in Tulum as an all time favourite. I think the link is a little old because a couple of the prices are less than what my research has uncovered. It does have the Grand Cenote and Dos Ojos correct at 100 pesos, so I suspect it is close.
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