1 Jan 2012
A Piece of Heaven on Earth
“Wake up, you lazy bum!” shouted my friend Julio, a fit six-foot-tall guy with a splendid smile, lover of outdoor sports. I opened my eyes and saw him sitting on his bed, ready to leave. The room felt extremely hot even though it was early morning. The humble hostel we were staying at was a far cry from what its advertisement had claimed. Unbelievably, the beds’ legs rested on little plates filled with water to prevent insects from climbing up. There was no private bathroom, no running water, and no glass in the windows! “Hurry up man!” Julio cried, “Panchito is already waiting outside and you haven’t even prepared your stuff! Come on!” Don Panchito, our guide, was a thin short guy, a classic Mayan type, aged around sixty, but still strong and agile. He was outside loading Julio’s stuff into his old yellow Chevy van. I did not know yet, but I was going to go through the closest encounter with nature of my life.
Our adventure was to consist of some snorkeling and rowing at a cenote, named “Ik-Kil”, close to Chichen-Itza, in the midst of the Mayan jungle of Yucatan. I was in good shape and felt very confident. How hard could this be with a sixty plus-year-old guide?
After 20 minutes of driving on a dirt road, Panchito stopped the van and said, “Well, my friends, the road is done! Let’s walk and stretch our legs a little bit!” When we descended from the vehicle, it was eight am. Without clouds, the sun beat down unmercifully. The humidity was very high, so each movement made me sweat profusely. We were carrying photographic equipment, life savers, fins, visors, snorkels, kayaks, food, and personal items, all inside by no means small back packs. More or less sixty pounds each. The exuberant vegetation appeared close-packed before us, and I had no clue where the walking path started. It seemed as if Tarzan and his apes would jump out at any time.
After enjoying the view, we started our walking. At the beginning, it was nice and easy. The richness of the jungle‘s sounds and the beautiful environment were fantastic. However, our load soon felt heavier and heat overwhelmed us. Without any sign of warning, a swarm of mosquitoes surrounded us and attacked us relentlessly. The suffocating dense vegetation let us see only just a few feet ahead. Little by little our journey turned into an almost insurmountable challenge. Soaking my body utterly, the sweat ran down my legs. A frantic need to scratch my whole body plagued me, made even worse by my inability to do so because my hands were busy carrying equipment and dropping it was not an option. Thus, I stoically bore the burden. Panchito smiled knowingly and whistled, fresh and tireless, so neither of us dared to complain. After two hours of pain, Julio swallowed his pride and asked him with a reedy voice, “Hey Panchito!! Is the cenote still far away?” to which Panchito just answered, “No” and he carried on his annoying whistling. It turned out that we still had to walk for another twenty ever lasting minutes. Nobody talked; there was only the sound of two exhausted middle-aged men’s heavy breathing and our gigantic small friend Panchito´s monotonous whistling.
Suddenly, Panchito pulled apart a mangrove branch, a common jungle bush, and an extraordinary and paradisiacal landscape appeared. In front of us there was a rocky wall covered by deep green climbing plants. Vines hanging from above alternated with many trickles of water dropping onto the cenote’s surface while the sunrays struggled to pass through them in a colorful dance of lights and shadows. It was a completely surrealistic scene. A fresh breeze hit my face giving me some welcome relief from the crushing heat. The cenote’s crystal clear water drew me like a magnet. Without hesitation, I dropped the equipment, got rid of my back pack, and pulled off my shirt. I ran to the edge and jumped into the water with a sonorous big splash.
As my body sank into the water, freshness engulfed me completely. Feeling the water against my skin like fine Chinese silk, I opened my eyes looking deep down through the water. Its hyper transparency revealed a mute symphony of multicolored fish, and a kaleidoscopic variety of aquatic plants and corals. The sensation of no gravity and the three dimensional freedom released me from my own weight. For a moment I viewed myself as a pure spirit, slowly floating in heaven. I was immersed in a silent world, but filled with color and light. I was protected and cherished by nature and I learned that I belonged there. I tried to extend the moment as long as possible, but my lungs yearned for oxygen. I emerged to catch my breath.
Once on the surface, I realized that Julio was also having such a good time that his huge smile couldn’t fit in his face. Panchito looked at us with satisfaction as if he previously had known of the effects that this amazing place had on people. Enjoying the moment and laughing like kids we created uncountable splashes jumping into the water in different ways and from different points. We swam and enjoyed ourselves for more than two hours, losing all sense of time until Panchito, looking at his watch, said it was time to row down river to the camping area. We prepared our kayaks and reluctantly started rowing. As we paddled, a melancholic feeling flooded me. I really did not want to leave. Now I know that I left a part of myself in that enchanted place, but I have also taken it with me. Ever since that day, I have had a piece of heaven in my heart.
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