Cenote

The final day of our tour got off to a late start, so we had the morning free. Mary needed the time for some rest, so I set out to visit the Museum of Archaeology here in Merida.

The museum is located in one of the big old mansions on Montejo Street that we walked past yesterday. This one was taken over after the Mexican Revolution and for a time became the home of the governors of Yucatan.

Later it was used as a school, and finally it was turned into a museum. The architecture of the house is part of the attraction.

The museum is not very large, so it didn't take long to see it. But many pieces of the collection are quite spectacular.

I decided to walk back on a side street, just one block off Montejo Street. It's clear that all of the mansions were concentrated along the one street. One doesn't have to get far off for things to be not so elegant.

I stopped at a couple of neighborhood churches on the way back. All are well-kept and pretty in their way.

Passing the hotel and continuing on to the main plaza, I headed for the Montejo House, which is the restored mansion of the Montejo family. It's free, but it didn't open until 10 a.m., so I killed a little time sitting in the plaza, people-watching.

The Montejo House is exquisite -- what there is of it. The restoration is very complete, with period furnishings and artifacts. But only four of the many rooms have actually been restored.

The Library is fairly small, but probably very well-stocked for its day. The sitting rooms and bedroom look as if they would be comfortable even by today's standards.

However, it is the formal dining room that really steals the show. This must have been the primary place where the Montejo's entertained guests, as it clearly was designed to impress.

At noon, we set out to the countryside to visit an old hacienda. The same families that had their mansions on Montejo Street received their wealth from the land -- sometimes thousands of acres of it.

These ranches also had magnificent residences, as well as working buildings. These were the haciendas. The one we visited had once raised thousands of cattle, but the main source of wealth was in growing and processing the sisal agave which produces sisal fiber. Sisal was and is used for rugs, ropes, mats, etc.

By the mid-20th century, sisal had largely been replaced by synthetic fibers, so the hacienda had been abandoned for nearly 50 years and fell into ruin.

However, a new owner discovered that the water supply for this hacienda was one of the thousands of cenotes (sen-OH-tays) that are scattered across the Yucatan. Because of the limestone that supports the peninsula, the rivers of Yucatan are underground. And thousands of caves and sink-holes serve as water sources.

Mayans considered these to be entrances to the underworld. But moderns consider them fascinating places to go for a swim -- which we did.

The fresh, clear water remains a constant 74 degrees year round, so it makes for a very refreshing dip. We walked down long steps to the cenote pool, then swam through a short cave passage into a sort of ravine.

Finally, we wound up in a very large cavern with huge stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The roof was at least 30 feet above our heads, and the water was more than 30 feet deep below us. It was quite stunning.

After our swim, we enjoyed a farewell dinner at the on-site restaurant, then returned to say our goodbyes. We have an early flight back home tomorrow morning.