Though we were all awake by 7:30, we got a late start on our day. We dropped off another load of laundry (this time at a same day Maya-run laundromat), had breakfast, and stopped at the supermarket for food we figured we'd need for the day. Our plan was to spend the day in the Xcaret water park and the vegetarian dining tips we'd gotten from the Internet indicated there were no good vegetarian meals in Xcaret.

Xcaret, four miles south of Playa del Carmen, bills itself as "Nature's Sacred Paradise." This eco-archeological park is in a beautiful natural setting and includes some Maya ruins as it was an important Mayan ceremonial center. The steep admission price includes a series of night shows (e.g., horse shows, Mexican dancing) which we chose not to attend. The overpriced entrance fee for the three of us was $100 (on the order of DisneyWorld tickets). For an additional fee of $55, we would be allowed to swim with the park's dolphins. We didn't pursue that.

The highlight of the park is its underground river ride. The river (really a stream) is crystal clear water at a rather chilly 62° F. One dons a lifejacket (we put on our goggles and snorkels) and floats or swims for a third of a mile along dark, rocky passages, through caves and occasional clearings (which are options for cutting the ride short), and under sinkholes (which provide shafts of sunlight). There are relatively few fishes in the water but the rocky and peopled scenery still makes for wonderful views. At one point in a cave, Curt's head was turned towards the submerged legs and lower body of a beautifully curved lifeguard wearing a tong bottomed bathing suit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Missy's black bathing suit just in front of him. He placed both hands on her butt and pulled himself up out of the water against her back...only it wasn't Missy he had grabbed (she and Eric were far ahead by this time). With profuse apologies, the words of which were lost on the good-natured Spanish couple, Curt quickly re-submerged and swam off.

The last 100 meters or so of the swim is against the current and it takes some effort to navigate its completion. Rising from the water fatigued contributes to the sense of accomplishment over what one just achieved. It may be the best "ride" any of us had ever gone on. It is long, rewarding, beautifully scenic, refreshing, personalizable (how slow you move through it is up to you), involves physical effort, and has a mystical "never experienced anything quite like it" quality to it.

We next snorkeled in a small lagoon and navigated (largely in private) along its narrow channels. In addition to the colorful angel fish, we saw a few eels swimming along the rocky walls. The best snorkeling at Xcaret occurs in the main and largest lagoon. In that mixed temperature water–the surface water is chilly underground water runoff, the lower water is warm Caribbean seawater–one can be swarmed by angel fish and other fish schools. If you stand still for a few moments, there could be hundreds of fish within a few feet of your body. Because of the temperature gradient and salt and fresh water mix (and therefore water density), visibility can be limited. If one stays in the shallow, cool, freshwater end of the lagoon or swims down a few feet where the lagoons opens into the sea, visibility improves to twenty or more feet.

Some loud, middle-aged Americans came by the lagoon, not prepared to go swimming there or evidently anywhere in the park. One man walked to the water's edge, put his foot in and called out to his friends, "Hey, I kicked a fish!" It is this arrogance and boorishness that gives Americans traveling internationally the label "ugly."

All that exciting swimming and snorkeling had made us hungry. We had left the food we bought at the grocery in the car so we sought out park food. We ended up with a tasty though unhealthy lunch of just french fries. (In hindsight, we think we ate at the wrong place and could have found a filling, delicious, healthy, vegetarian meal at the nearby Mexican restaurant.)

In the building in which we ate were a dozen or so ten foot square scale models of various Maya ruin sites. That was cool and fortuitous. It gave us a chance to see the layout of the sites we would visit.

We walked down a scenic trail through caves along narrow waterways to a replica of a Maya village. Nearby is a large butterfly house (the claim is that it is the world's largest). Its lush greenery and butterflies were gorgeous. Next we passed the jaguar (an animal sacred to the Maya) and puma enclosures. In the aquarium, we saw even more exotic fishes and eels than those with which we had been swimming. We held various sea creatures (star fish, urchins, sea spiders) in the touch tank and visited the sea turtle hatchery. Outside the aquarium was a large enclosure containing giant, loggerhead sea turtles like the ones Eric rode at Isla Mujeres.

It took awhile, but we finally found a place to watch the dolphins–we could see them through large windows in an underwater tunnel. Eric made dolphin noises and the 10 foot long dolphins would swim right up to him and eye him over. Some in the tunnel thought they were hearing the dolphins call until they realized it was Eric.

We returned to the main snorkeling lagoon for a little more snorkeling (Missy filming Eric and Curt in the water) then sought to do one more ride through the underground river before leaving. Unfortunately, the river ride was closed (it was nearly 6:00). This meant we also missed the bat cave at the river's exit which we skipped earlier and planned to see after a second ride. We left Xcaret as the night shows started up.

Back in our hotel room, we played with a Made in Mexico western fort, cowboys, and Indians we bought at the supermarket. We also tuned in to watch the Yankees close out the World Series four games to none. QED.
 

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