January 7, 2026
Day 9: Coba (Day 1)
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We got up at 6 today, which is about an hour before dawn. The idea was to get out and by the lake to spot the "early birds". Thinking that it would be good for photos of any birds out on the water, we planned to take the monopod. Dodie went into our bag labelled "Monopod head", and pulled out ... her missing drugs! Go figure. Also, no worries about that head - it was already stuck on the monopod stick.
When we walked out of the hotel at 7 there was enough light for photos, and the sun rose into clear view about 7:20. I want to have these times recorded here, since they are so critical for photography and cycling too.
We went to the lake on foot, since the bikes get in the way of wielding the camera. Tour companies wax eloquent about all the birds that can be found around Lake Coba, and then also in the jungly precinct of the ruins. The ruins will be tomorrow for us, but today I feel we had a really good look around the lake. The result was 18 species observed, of which 8 added to our yearly total, which went to 73. And of the 8, three were "lifers" - Morelet's Seedeater, Orchard Oriole, and Purple Gallinule! Here is what these stars looked like:
Looking at the bird photos, before cropping them, I noticed how colourful and interesting the backgrounds were. The birds here are living in a wonderful environment, one that we too in our brief visit are much enjoying.
The road does not completely encircle the lake, so we walked as far as we could and doubled back. Since this had us facing into the sun it was not ideal, and we rather hurried back. We had another reason to hurry, because we had left before breakfast. We seem to be the only ones in the hotel, and two staff were waiting around to make us the lovely breakfast. It included buns and toast, plus eggs and the usual accompaniments. Somehow I only recorded the buns:
We were also eager to get out to the cenotes. Coba has three famous cenotes, that you can see from this roadsign:
Each cenote has its own special character. For example, Tankach-Ha has two diving platforms that people (not us) will jump from. Choo-Ha is known to us as the "baby" pool, and Multun-Ha has a large underground deck. While in the past we have gone to all three in a single day, it's a bug to get wet at one, dry off enough to cycle to the next, shower and pay again there, and repeat. So we chose just the "baby" pool, as an easy way to just have a dip.
Choo-Ha is however not exactly a push over. It is deep in the ground, reached by three flights of quite impressive steps:
We failed to bring a camera down into the cenote this time, so these shots are just of the entrance. Tomorrow we may return, and then we'll document the whole thing better.
Despite being characterised as the baby pool by us, Choo-Ha is not exactly a pushover. The water is over your head, making it not really a good bath to throw the baby in. (They do rent life jackets for kids). But the deep pool is cool without being chilly, and its crystal clear. It's worth the 130 pesos, which is up from the about 100 pesos we seem to remember from a few years back.
The road to the cenotes featured a couple of "Mayan Villages" where one can experience some aspects of the culture, and also normally see local apiculture.
Another aspect of local culture is the respect for the Jaguar. Here is a sign supporting their conservation:
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We had a reason to not linger at cenotes. We planned to return to the Cocodrilo, and had been dreaming of what we might order.
When we did get back to the Cocodrilo, the cook and the waiter were sitting at a table, seemingly waiting for us. We do feel like we are the only tourists in town.
I went for chicken fajitas, while Dodie chose chicken breast with garlic and lime. Again, these had the usual accompaniments. We also went crazy this time, with me getting a whole Coke, and Dodie the pictured watermelon juice. The hollow coconut in the corner also contained a stack of tortillas.
These meals are not exactly cheap - with today's total hitting 450 pesos, with tip. We are thinking we should start sharing.
We were now free to plot our approach for tomorrow. We want to present ourselves at the gate of the ruins, when it opens at 8. We will try to talk our way in with our bikes. Last time they refused, spinning a line about respect for the site. But when we then walked in, we found it swarmed with rental bikes, and folks being ferried around on trikes. This time we will see if money can talk for us, to get our bikes in, since Dodie especially does not want to get onto a rental bike. Some kind of bike will be important, since we want to get to the tallest pyramid, which is also the most distant, both early and ahead of others. Then I will climb it, and look for birds. At least that is the strategy in some kind of birding site we read.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow afternoon. That could scare us off Choo-Ha. Cool water that falls on us from the sky is different from cool water that we jump in to. People are funny that way.
Here are a few of our other favourite bird shots from today:
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Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 242 km (150 miles)
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