[Aztlan] Chichen cenote

[richard perry]

I should like to add to Sam's comment on inaccessibility. In 1928 the 
American adventurer Richard Halliburton dived into the cenote at 
Chichen by night. Amazingly he survived and managed to drag himself 
out unaided and unharmed.
His only regret was that his watch had stopped, "... contrary to the 
usual testimonial in regard to cheap watches in such circumstances".

The full account of his feat is included in my anthology, Exploring 
Yucatan, together with a variety of other historical narratives on 
Yucatan through the centuries.

Richard Perry


>Hi S. Arthur Morris: If you check Google Images, you'll see that the
>Chichen cenote not only contains utterly bilious looking, algae infested
>water but is practically inaccessable to anyone trying to climb down (or
>up) the thirty- or more foot steep walls that surround this fetid sink
>hole.  There are no traces of steps leading down. The rim indeed is
>presently surrounded by yellow caution tape to keep curious tourists from
>betting too curious. There is the remains of a small temple at the edge of
>the brim, however, indicating that the cenote was once a sacred site
>(giving rise to wonderful stories and depictions in the 1930's Hearst press
>of nubile sacrificial virgins in golden slippers diving off the roof like
>Eleanor Holm Jarrett), which probably made the waters off limits to secular
>use even if someone dared to pull up a bucket on a rope. As Mary pointed
>out, there were other more convenient and healthier sources for water in
>the Chichen vicinity.
>Sam Edgerton

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Exploring Colonial Mexico
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