After going above the clouds and through water into a cave, it was time for the most interesting travel experience I have ever done.
After seeing a post on the Queretaro Secretary of Tourism’s website , I was intrigued. It was of a place with perfectly turquoise water. I texted a phone number I found associated with the property, a kind lady named Cilia, and she agreed we could visit for a modest fee.
It was located in the municipality of Ayutla. The tour driver had never heard of the place, but he agreed to go. There was a small sign for the exit off the highway and in we went.
Now is when things got interesting. The power was out in the area, so there was no way to get in touch with Cilia, as all cell phone towers were out.
As a result, we tried to look for the property, but there was no sign of any sort. Then we asked some people on the street, all who gave different directions which ended up nowhere.
As a last gasp, the driver went in to the mayor’s office, who coincidentally was the father of Cilia and as a result found her. Amazing.
She took us to a locked gate. No wonder we couldn’t find the area we were looking for! This was followed by a 45 minute walk.
Now is where the experience got special, she said we were the first ever visitors to the area. She gave us an explanation of how her father has owned the land and considering opening up for tourism.
And we arrived. WOW!
This is truly magical, the most beautiful water I have ever seen.
Cilia then asked if we would jump in. I didn’t realize two things.
- The water was COLD!
- It was full of animals that were not happy about people invading their habitat.
I jumped in and my feet were quickly bitten by one (or more) conches. After about 25 seconds of freezing and bites, I came out.
I took one more picture before leaving.
Now it was a long, wet walk back to the car. Luckily, it was so long my clothes dried out. We sincerely thanked Cilia for her time.
This is the type of travel experience one can only dream about, particularly in the age of mass tourism. Inevitabely, this destination will be visited by hordes of tourists as well. I’m just glad I beat them to it, and can say I was the first.
Now it was off the next destination: Conca.