Since we booked our cruise on Carnival at the very last minute, Ashley didn’t get much time to research shore excursions. So, with the limited time we had, she booked what was going to be an excursion onboard a private yacht with awesome snorkeling accompanied with endless booze. But as luck would have it, we got a letter the night prior to the excursion that it didn’t meet the minimum quota of sign-ups. Our excursion was cancelled! We were pretty bummed and decided to go to the guest services to discuss other options. The one excursion that stood out the most was exploring the Amazing Secret River or Rio Secreto. So we went for it and booked it with less than 12 hours to go.
Next morning, bright and early at 7am, we got ready and headed to the meeting point at the Phantom Theater. Carnival had a special agreement with the tour operator that allowed them to pull their ferry right up to the ship’s entrance doors and get us on-board instantly! Sure enough, the slick looking blue and yellow ferry pulled right up next to the ship. We were quickly seated and on our way.
The high speed catamaran ferry had 3 decks and looked very new. The brother and sister duo that were running today’s tour quickly checked us in and briefed us on the day ahead. The quick 30 minute ferry ride was nice and relaxing with a steady breeze of cool air blowing on our faces. I felt lucky the sea was calm and there was no chance of getting sea sick. We pulled right up to a dock at Playa del Carmen and got off the boat.
After another quick briefing on what was up ahead for the day, we were put inside nice air-conditioned minivans. The entrance to the jungle where the Amazing Secret River was located was about a 30 minute drive via highway. And along the way we passed many shops and got to see a bit of the city. Turns out that Playa Del Carmen is a playground of some famous celebrities like Ricky Martin!
After going thru the jungle on a dirt road, we finally arrived at the Amazing Secret River. We then got suited up with wet suits, helmets with lights, and water shoes. Then we took a shower to wash off dirt and oils on our skin. The ecosystem of the caves is very sensitive, and they try their best to keep the human intervention as low as possible. Just before the entrance to the cave, a mayan priest did a little prayer. He asked the Mayan gods for permission and well wishes for the journey that we were about to embark on. I guess it worked too because we ended up having a great time.
Shortly after the prayer, we were walking in the pristine turquoise blue waters of the Amazing Secret River. The water was a refreshingly cool 64 F and we were happy we chose to wear the wet suits. The rock formations inside the caves are said to date back to 2.5 million years. The river that runs thru the caves is almost 7.5 miles long. It was incredible how pitch dark and silent inside the cave it was. The only thing you would occasionally hear was fluttering of bats! Yes…bats and tons of them!! We kept coming across sections of the caves packed with bats that would scurry around as we approached them. They didn’t bother anybody though and left us all in peace.
We also saw tons of blind catfish that had gone blind due to lack of any light. They were solid white and only use their whiskers to sense things around them. The most fascinating feature of the caves was thousands of columns of beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. Some were almost 30 feet high and truly a sight to be seen. There were rooms within the caves that had hundreds of these features that seemed to go on for forever.
The walk thru the caves was mostly on foot with knee high water, but there were portions where you had to jump into a pool and do a little swimming. The guide told us that the mud in the water is amazing for the skin. So, we followed his advice and gave ourselves some nice exfoliation with some calcium rich mud.
After 3/4 of the way into the journey, our tour guide told us to sit on a circle at the edge of a pool. Then he had us turn off all of our helmet lights and asked us to stay silent and stationary for couple of minutes. The effect was truly euphoric. It didn’t matter if you had your eyes open or closed but the blackness around you was just the same. You could hear all the filtered water droplets seeping in from the ground above us and dripping onto the river. It was very soothing and calming to feel secluded and protected from the hustle and bustle of the world just outside the caves.
After almost 2 hours of exploration, we begrudgingly exited the caves into the brightness of the outside. The guide then took us to the gift shop where we could see all the photos that were taken of us inside the caves. We also got to sample some xtabentún. It is a delicious anise liqueur made from honey produced by bees from the xtabentun flowers. This results in a unique sweet and absinthe like taste of the liqueur.
After changing out of the wetsuit, it was time to grab some yummy lunch and boy was it yummy. We had a buffet of some traditional tamales, chicken and pork tacos, cactus, and eggs. There was a full salsa bar with some very hot salsa and even a juice bar with hibiscus and tamarind juice.
The last stop on the tour was shopping on the main street of Playa Del Carmen called La Quinta Avenida. This pedestrian only street is lined with bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops. I felt that this street was the biggest tourist trap of the town. The prices were very high and unlike what you would expect from a poor country like Mexico. It felt like this whole area was meant to serve the westerners. Getting them to buy overpriced tequila and cheaply made souvenirs. Every shop practically forced you to sample free shots of tequila. I think they hoped you would get buzzed and start buying just whatever. Having said that, it was still worth the experience.
We then stepped on our catamaran ferry and shortly thereafter were back on the ship. It turned out to be a spectacular adventure filled day to a place unlike any other we had been to.
