Crystal Cenote and a birthday

Yesterday was Kaleena's birthday and we spent the day by a cenote near our house.
This is the first public cenote that I have visited so far, and it was indeed very beautiful.
I look forward to making a monthly excursion to different cenotes in the area and post about them.
We left there very inspired, with many ideas as to how to clean up and make our cenote nicely accessible, how to create little islands in the middle that you 
must swim to and also to create little wetlands on the rocks. We saw that it is indeed possible to have a clear cenote and still keep plants and trees growing inside the water.

The area around the cenote was clean and shady, with a couple of wooden picnic tables, we brought our own BBQ and made food there for Kaleena's birthday, a BBQ that is what she wanted:)
While we were there three people appeared from the depths with tanks. All the cenotes, or at least most of them, are connected through an "underground river" network and 
it is a big attraction around here to dive these underground rivers and caves, and swim from cenote to cenote. 
We believe that we in our cenote will have the possibility of diving through tunnels and caves once we get it cleaned up.
I am not a big fan of tight enclosed spaces, so I will likely skip this attraction, although I hear that it is very beautiful!

The water was completely clear and very fresh, almost reminded me of the danish beaches 
which even in midsummer are never really warm. 
(although the cenotes are mostly fresh water mixed with a little salt sometimes as they open into the ocean along the coast).
Here however these chilly swimming holes are a welcome relief from the scorching summer sun, 
and the public cenotes have the added bonus of being crocodile free, as oppose to our own still not so tame private cenote:)

On the other side of the road, once back in the car or on the bike, there is the entrance to another cenote called Escondido, lost or hidden cenote I think it translates, 
the entry fee for Crystal of 50 pesos covers the entry to Escondido as well. 
This cenote is smaller and less tame and much less visited, in fact no one was there when we arrived and I hear that that is often the case. 
Because our day was interrupted by heavy rains and an onslaught of mosquitos 
we did not swim here, but went just to look, and it is indeed a lovely little cenote, connected by underground caves to Crystal, 
and also crystal clear waters except like yesterday when it rains, or has just rained.

 The cenote Escondido

 So my little big girl turned 8 yesterday, she has been counting down for over a month now and she was very excited for her special day to arrive.

I had not a single homemade gift this year for her. So completely opposite to last year, when every gift I gave to anyone was handmade.

Even the birthday book, which has not yet arrived, was ordered and printed online. 

For some odd reason I could not figure out how to get pictures from my Iphoto onto a disc for printing, it was the oddest thing, 

and therefore ordered a printed book from Apple.

How things change, I calm myself down remembering that this too shall pass, 

and that times will return when I will once again feel peaceful and in a place inspired to make and create beautiful handmade things.

~Blessings~