Eating is a favorite pastime of mine. What better way is there to experience a new country than to eat my way through it?
I believe you cannot know a people or a culture until you’ve tried their local cuisine—and not just from the tourist stops. The history behind their food or the nostalgia and pride they have in certain snacks is exciting to me.
Different from some of my other posts on “what I ate”—this one includes more focus on alcohol! I don’t usually drink in the countries I visit, but this time I did more than usual. I suppose New Years Eve and all of the tequila tastings around Cozumel lured me to partake.
In this post, I give you the highlights of my foodie—and drinkie?—experience in Cozumel!
Cenotes exist all over the Yucatan Peninsula. A cenote (pronounced “sen-NO-tay”) is a sinkhole that formed when limestone bedrock collapsed and exposed groundwater below. They are typically quite beautiful and popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Locals also love to go to them to cool down from the hot Mexican sun.
Cozumel has one accessible cenote: Jade Cenote. Jade Cenote is located in a small, historic Mayan town called El Cedral. To access, you must take a tour or pay a fee to enter and explore on your own.
I found my way in by motorbike to check it out. The experience didn’t take long. I managed to avoid the crowds, and I got to see the cenote for what it is: Not exactly the one you want to swim in!