The best part of visiting the Yucatán Peninsula, aside from being surrounded by rich emerald greens & vibrant sapphire blues was getting to experience the longest underwater cave system (about 215 miles) discovered by man on our cerulean planet. Our sweet Mayan guide took us through some of these tunnels filled with stalactites & stalagmites, tiny sardines & guppies as well as bats 🦇 The ancient word that the Mayans used to refer to the abyss and the entrance to the underworld was dzonoot which are known today as cenotes. This particular cenote we visited has been groundbreaking, quite literally, in helping discover fossils from the Pleistocene period (sabretooth tiger, giant sloth, gomphothere & giant bear remains have all been found here) as well as burnt human bones, ceramics & even the skeleton of a 12,000 year old teenager named Naia proving the existence of human life in the region far beyond what was previously thought. It felt like visiting Atlantis and seeing the imprints of prehistoric flora and fauna on flooded rock was beyond any museum experience above ground. (Some honorable mentions include snorkeling with colorful fish 🪸🐠 & stingrays in the open Caribbean Sea, overcoming my fear of the ocean, witnessing the direct effects of global warming/ human pollution and activity by way of masses of Sargasso piling up on the east facing beaches & the pristine inland lagoons providing respite from the decomposing matter & the intense smell of hydrogen sulfide.)