Our trip started in Campeche, one of the states of the Yucatán peninsula, in the community of Miguel Colorado, belonging to the town of Champoton. There we could immerse ourselves in nature and enjoy the ‘Cenote Azul’. The experience of swimming and kayaking in the immensity of the open cenote was fascinating. It’s interesting how cenotes, which are so emblematic for this limestone terrain, are an important resource for the communities of the region that profit off these spaces to obtain resources for their subsistence.
Continuing our trip we headed to the archeological site of Calakmul deep inside of the Reservation of the Biosphere of Calakmul. This ancient Mayan city always amazes us with its spectacular architecture, lush vegetation and sounds of nature.
On our way we encountered a spectacular place, the cave well known as Volcan of the Murcielagos. This cave is found inside the state nature reserve Balam-Ku and is refuge of the approximately four million bats of at least seven different species, all of which are important for the ecosystem in the Reservation of the Biosphere Calakmul. It's a spectacle, observing these bats as they dance through the air. Thanks to their nocturnal work, they can maintain natural control of diverse types of insects and scatter a great variety of seeds across the forest floor.
After seeing so many bats leave a cave, it was time that we entered a cave and got to know a little more about the Mayan ‘inframundo’, or underworld. Those subterranean spaces that throughout time have maintained their importance and sacredness for the Mayans. We arrived at a community of Cristobal Colon where together with Don Tino, guardian of the cave Xibalba, we walked a long jungle trail along which we got to know a diversity of plant species of the region. After a while we finally found ourselves in front of a mysterious karstic stone entrance. Inside of the cave we encountered subterranean roads that have been carved out by the passage of water through time, creating a tunnel shape in this subterranean cavity. The darkness and the silence in this cave are eternal watchmen of the ceramics and plastics vestiges that the Mayans left inside this cave, and that confirm the importance of this place for the Mayan culture.
After getting to know the Mayan “inframundo’ and eating some delicious vegetable and squash tamales with the family of Don Tino, it was time to visit the archeological site Hormiguero, where we got to know the other representation of the entrance to the ‘inframundo’ in the Mayan culture, represented in the architecture of a building of the ancient Mayan city. This archeological zone had its splendor during the late classic period of the Mayan empire. This is represented in the facade of the main building, two towers with rounded corners and in the center a figurehead that frames the entrance to the temple. This figurehead represents the monster of the earth that has its jaw open, serving as a doorway between the outside world and the ‘inframundo’.
To continue with our trip, we took a long journey to Bacalar in the state of Quintana Roo, where we spend the night eating delicious marquesitas (crepes) and waiting for the dawn to see the Lagoon of the Seven Colors, one of the most beautiful places in the Mexican Caribbean. The dawn surprised us with a reddish sun and the song of Chachalacas, Barn Swallows, and Snail Kites, that were the preamble to taking a dip in the waters of the lagoon.
Before leaving to the following site, we gave ourselves time to celebrate the birthday of one of our students with a delicious cake.
Continuing on our route through the state of Quintana Roo, another fascinating place that we visited is the community of Kantemo, a place with kind people and delicious food. This place is best known for keeping a treasure in its jungle. We are referring to the cave of tropical rattlesnakes that have adapted to life in the middle of this subterranean world. They trap bats in the air that come out of the cave every evening. Also we observed other cave animals that live in small bodies of water in the inside of the cave, like blind eels, blind shrimp, aquatic scale insects and the white lady or blind fish all without pigmentation and perfectly adapted to the permanent darkness of the cave. Besides it's easy to see evidence of the calcareous soil that one day was under the sea, now you can see the marine fossils embedded in the walls and ceilings and rocky parts of this cave.
Returning to Yucatan, we visited the traditional pottery workshop and the Proyecto Najil K’at (house of clay) of the Espadas Xooc family in the community of Uayma, where the students got to know the diverse materials and traditional techniques inherited from generation to generation in this family. With the help of Virgilio, our master ceramics teacher, we could get to know the many types of earth and stone that mix together to make the diverse pieces that they create. Afterwards every student could experiment and make their own creations, exploring their creativity and ceramics skills. In this place we had the opportunity to spend the night in hammocks in a Palapa made of traditional materials. We also had an abundant and delicious meal.
Now to finish our orientation of the Yucatan peninsula, we visited the community of Rio Lagartos in the north coast of Yucatan, where we got a tour of the coastal area and learned a little more about the importance and different types of mangroves. We learned about the various species of migratory birds that come to nest in this region and we were able to admire the endemic species of birds that are important for the mangrove ecosystem. We were also lucky enough to see groups of majestic flamingos and back hawks fishing, admire the various species of herons, pelicans, cormorants, seagulls, plovers, frigates and of course various specimens of moreleti crocodile. To finish our visit in Rio Lagartos we always visit Doña Zoila, who together with her family treated us to a delicious fried fish.
