After leaving Tepich, we head for Izamal. This is a smart but quiet wee town and we've booked a room with a balcony overlooking the main plaza. A great place to sit out with a glass of wine and watch the world go by The plaza is dominated by a 16th century convent and like everything else in Izamal, this is painted yellow. The town was re built by the Spanish conquerors on top of Mayan city and there are several ancient stone pyramids across the town including a remnant of one in the back garden of our hotel.
A day trip in the car takes us to another small town called Cenotillo and we hope to visit some Cenotes. A cenote is a sinkhole resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. Basically a submerged fresh water pool. They are fed from underwater springs and the water is normally very pure and clear and great for a dip to cool off especially as the temperatures during the day have been in excess of 35°C Because the Yucatan penisula of Mexico is comprised of limestone, any rainfall quickly soaks through to underwater aquifers and there is not a single river or stream in the whole of the area hence cenotes were absolutely essential to sustainable human population. Cenotes were sometimes used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings, but luckily this no longer seems to be the case!

We arrive in the village mid morning and ask around to see if we can purchase a map. There is no local tourist information but we are directed to the Palacio Municipal (town hall) which in the Mexican towns acts as police station, registry and local council offices. One of the employees speaks good English and arranges for one of his friends, to come and meet us later that morning and for a small fee, show us around a couple of cenotes in the 10 km periphery.
Enrique appears on schedule and we all get in to the car. Enrique only speaks Spanish but we get along fine. We would never have found these places without assistance as they are located a few kilometers along dirt tracks, heavily rutted and pot holed in places necessitating first gear in our uncomplaining car for significant parts of the route. While there are thousands of cenotes across the Yucatan, only a relatively small number have easy access. The majority are sunk 15m to 20m underground, but some have had ladders or steps installed, some sturdy and well-fixed but others quite old and rickety. Many have depths in excess of 100m and the wearing of buoyancy aids is advised. We are the only visitors at the two we go to, but it is lovely to float in the cold water underground after the heat of the mid-day sun.