Cenote Il Kil, a sacred Mayan watering-hole

The last stop on our amazing Easter Yucatan Adventure took us to the cenote Il Kil. After checking out of our hotel we crossed the street and parked in the cenote’s lot just as two very large tour buses pulled in and a huge group of tourists descended from the buses, cameras in hand, rushing towards the very same entrance gate that we were heading to. We all handed our tickets in and were guided through the souvenir store en route to the cenote where luckily we lost about half of the people from the buses as they were waylaid by sales people trying to peddle ornaments, blankets and other keepsakes.We hurried along trying to lose the herd but quickly realized that the cenote was already full of people who had arrived on earlier buses.

Cenote Il Kil from above

As we approached the steps leading down to Il Kil we stopped and first admired the view from above speechless. I had looked at videos on You Tube of Il Kil before we had decided to go but they couldn’t even begin to compare to the sight before us. The crystal blue water, surrounded by vegetation was truly beautiful. We made our way down the steps until we arrived at the cenote’s edge where we joined a crowd of shouting, pushy people. We stowed our belongings and dove into the cool water. Hubby felt cold after a while and wanted to dry off  but I wasn’t ready to leave yet.

Me, floating after everyone had left

As I floated on my back I suddenly became aware of a silence that enveloped the underground cavern. I looked around and to my delight realized that the majority of people had left. I imagine that they were called away to continue on their tour. I relished the silence and swam under the small water falls letting the water crash down over my face. As I surveyed the area around me I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place, so serene and lush with vegetation and natural beauty.

Loganiza appetizer

Finally, I made my way to the steps to get out leaving behind me a profound sense of peace that I had experienced while swimming in the deep clear water of Il Kil. We made our way to the parking lot and decided to stop for something to eat before heading back to Cancun. We came across a great little restaurant and ordered some local favourites. We started off with Loganiza ( seasoned pork meat sausage) with pickled red onion and then I had salpicon, (shredded deer meat with radishes, cucumber and seasonings) and Cesar had pork leg seasoned with achiote paste (annatto) and sour orange. The food was amazing!!! I only wish I could remember the name in order to recommend them. The restaurant was clean and the waiter was very friendly.It was the best meal of our trip.

Salpicon de venado

We headed for home feeling refreshed and relaxed and the topic of conversation on our drive back? Where should we go next?

Pork leg Yucatan-style

Here is a link to a short video that we took while we were away http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pokOWLwbFp4