Today was the first of the bus tours arranged by my hotel. Yesterday's tour to Mayapan and Mani was thru an online booking site Viator but the hotel ran the remaining more popular tours so I booked the rest with them.

I always worry waiting for hotel pickup when they dont come on schedule but eventually he came 20 mins late. This time it was a van with a few other passengers not a private car like yesterday.

We drove to the Hyatt hotel in the posh part of town then were told to get off in Spanish to transfer to another bus so I didnt know what was going on. After assembling with another group on the bus we began our tour.

Today I was going to the famous Mayan site Chichen Itza hence the more larger group. There were some English speakers but a mostly Spanish group. When the guide asked where the English speakers were from I kept yelling 'Canada' from the back of the bus and he kept responding 'India' on the mic!

First stop was to an optional Cenote for 70P ($5). I didnt know we were going to a Cenote as it was never mentioned in the itinerary so I didnt bring any swimming gear and I still had my cold anyway.

As we arrived it was packed full of Americans and other Westerners, probably on a day trip from Cancun. None of these Westerners were anywhere to be seen in Merida where I was staying.

The Cenote itself was a large sinkhole sunlit from above thru the crater. It seemed fake as it had evenly been hollowed out to make it a perfect circle with a spiral staircase leading down. There were viewing levels at different stages.

People were diving in and I'm sure it would have been refreshing if I was feeling better. There were outdoor showers, lockers, changing rooms, and pricey towel rental so a well planned operation.

People of all ages and shapes were diving in but for the most part they seemed Westerners and not locals. This was probably too touristy for the locals who enjoy many of the local Cenotes by themselves.

Since I wasnt swimming I had extra time to wander around the souvenir shop, also very well groomed for tourist crowds. There were many nice items on display

After we returned for a 'buffet lunch'. This was misleading as it was only unlimited refills of the same four dishes, one pork, one chicken, one meat spaghetti, one fish. Drinks were not included and they charged 35P for a coke ($3).

Towards the end they did a short musical dance on the stage. As the midday heat was peaking we were now heading to the outdoor Mayan site of Chichen Itza. It might have been better to do it first and cool off in the Cenote after.