Follow Happy: July 13 ❤ Chichen Itza, Ik Kil, Hoctun, and Izamal

There was only one bus going from Playa del Carmen to Chichen Itza at 8 AM, so Candy and I rolled out of bed in order to catch that bus. Unfortunately it didn't land us at Chichen Itza until after 11 AM. There were tons more people there by that time than when Juan and I went. Not sure if it was just the time of day or the time of year... We waited in line to get tickets (there are two lines because you have to get two tickets...) and then dropped off our backpacks at the free locker service. It was blazing hot walking around the ruins, so Candy and I made our way around quickly. I got a few souvenirs for Juan since we hadn't want to carry around some of the things he had wanted for the rest of our trip. I got him a wood-carved drum and a fancy jaguar-head (it makes a sound like a jaguar.)

The drum (called a Tuk-Kul in Mayan) and the jaguar head I got in Chichen Itza for Juan.

We asked for more information on the buses going to Izamal before setting off in a taxi to the cenote of Ik Kil. The taxi driver was really nice and was teaching us some words in Mayan. He told us how to say Candy's name in Mayan. Manuel, the taxi driver, agreed to wait for us for two hours while we ate lunch and swam in the cenote. He also accompanied us as far as the restaurant before he left us to ourselves. We decided to eat at the buffet and had a long table all to ourselves. The selection of Yucatecan food at the buffet wasn't the best, but since we had eaten a quick breakfast on the bus, it tasted pretty good.

After we ate, we put our stuff in a locker and rinsed off in the showers before heading down to the cenote. There were a lot of people there compared to the other cenotes that Juan and I had visited. In that way it didn't have the same intimate feel as the others. The hole at the top of the cave is also larger, so more light streams into the cenote. There was a waterfall, but the taxi driver had already told us it was artificial. He said you need rivers to create waterfalls and there aren't any rivers in that area. They also had steps up to a couple platforms where people were jumping into the cenote. I jumped off of the top platform twice despite my heart beating in my ears. :) No time like the present to face fears!!!

The view of the cenote on the walk down. I jumped off of the top platform where you can see a man in shorts.

View from the top of the cenote.

After we swam around a bit, we got ourselves cleaned up and found our taxi driver. Back at Chichen Itza, we made a few purchases from the vendors selling artesenia around the entrance to Chichen Itza and then got our bags. The guy at the bus ticket office had told us that we could buy our tickets to Hoctun on the bus. He told us where to wait and which bus we needed to look for. Once we had boarded the right bus, it immediately started to pour down rain. So lucky!!!

I kept asking if we were getting closer to Hoctun, since we had no idea what we were looking for. When we got there, the bus driver looked right at us and told us we were there. It was deserted except for a few people and we were happy that at least there was a ticket office. We bought our tickets, found a bathroom, and were stared at and/or whistled at by every man that was in the plaza, including the policemen. There were probably women who were staring at us too since we looked majorly out of place in this one-horse town. And when I say one-horse town, I literally mean it. We saw a guy on a horse in the plaza.

Hoctun. The yellow Oriente sign is the bus station.

Hoctun. See the one horse in the back of the picture. Not the most beautiful plaza... ;)

We got on the bus to Izamal and there was only standing room. Good thing the ride was only about half and hour. For the last handful of minutes we got to sit. They were playing electronic dance music on the bus, which made the experience all the more unique. When we arrived at the bus station in Izamal, the beauty of the city totally made up for having to hang out in a nowhere town to get there. Most of the buildings are yellow, which gives it a very unique feel. Its motto is the city of 3 cultures: Mayan, colonial, and modern. There are Mayan pyramids, horse-drawn carriages for rent, and taxis all within the the city of Izamal. We checked out the outside of the Franciscan monastery before catching a taxi to the Macan Che cabañas.