Tankah Pueblo
“No hay duda que el destino del hombre y las abejas esta unido. Por eso debe ser llamada gente segun el pueblo maya.” (There is no doubt that the destiny of man and bees is intertwined. That is why they should be called people, according to the Mayans.)
Hola once again from Playa del Carmen!
Our first excursion away from the beach and into the state of Quintana Roo was a delightfully informative and highly relaxing adventure to the Tankah Pueblo where we explored traditional native Mayan culture and beautiful cenotes with our guides Gustavo and Eunice of Water Humans. For those unfamiliar with the term, cenotes are limestone sinkholes filled with water that are scattered throughout the Yucatan peninsula. Most are fresh water and some are a mix of fresh and salt water. Either way, they are truly amazing geological features that are worth a visit.
After a short hour car ride through the Mexican jungle, we arrived at the Tankah Pueblo. We were immediately greeted to the first cenote either of us have ever seen. The crystal-clear water, turtles, birds, and fish of the Cenote Naval were both beautiful and unique. We did a few ziplines over the turquoise water – also a first for both of us – giving us a great bird’s eye view into the cenotes. Sidenote: zip lining was an unexpectedly good time. We may have eschewed such pedestrian activities in our youth for more hardcore, high-risk ventures like rock climbing, but these middle-aged folks had a blast gently gliding over cenotes. After the ziplines, we took a slower more leisurely route back across the cenote via canoe while taking in the abundance of birds and aquatic life. The cormorants and turtles were especially fun to watch.
Our guide Gustavo was waiting for us on the dock when we landed our canoe. A short walk brought us to the Cenote Azul for a lovely swim in the sparkling azure waters. The cool clear water was wonderfully refreshing and rejuvenating. The Mayans believe that cenotes are portals to the underworld that they call Xibalbá. These places were considered entrances to a sacred world of gods, spirits, and ancestors and are an important part of Mayan religious life. We’re not Mayan but there is definitely something magical about cenotes that really does feel otherworldly.
Next we visited piraña cenote that thankfully didn’t have any actual pirañas. Just small fish that swarmed anything and anybody that got into the water but didn’t do anything more aggressive than nibble on your toes. This cenote was far more cave like and even had a few bats living on the ceiling above the water.
Our final cenote of the day had a handheld zipline where you dropped into the water from a good 20 feet. Unfortunately, I misjudged the distance and landed squarely and quite ungracefully on my face and stomach. Luckily, a great lunch served by our Mayan hosts and great conversation with Gustavo and Eunice eased the pain. A delicious cup of traditional Mayan coffee also helped keep our spirits up.
Our final stop of the day was the gift shop and a visit to the bee hives where the Tankah people keep Melipona bees. These are a unique species of stingless bees native to the Yucatan Peninsula that build their hives inside the hollow cavities of trees. As the quote at the beginning of this entry indicates, the Xunan Kab or Lady Bee is sacred to the Mayan people. They have been cultivating these bees for more than 3,000 years and the honey is extremely nutrient dense, medicinal, and highly valued since these bees produce significantly less honey that European honeybees. Oh, and did I mention that it is singularly and uniquely delicious! Sadly, these bees are endangered but the Mayan people are making every effort to preserve these amazing bees. For more information, click here.
I’d like to give a special shout out to our guides Gustavo and Eunice. They were not only knowledgeable, wonderful guides, but they were genuinely warm and kind people. And finally, a huge, heartfelt Yum bo’otik (thank you) to the Tankah people. Their wonderfully simple life intimately connected to the land and each other is a reminder that there are alternatives to the chaos, violence, and insanity of modern American culture.
As always, we hope you’ll join us again for our next weekly adventure, until then hasta luego!
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