Yep...that's a shot of me shooting Lynda while she is shooting a music video! The next pic is of the two of us in the Cenote Zaci where the video was filmed. You can see the band across the water from where we're standing which gives you an idea about the size of this particular cenote. But before I delve too deeply into that little adventure I need to wish you all a Happy St Patrick's Day. While we weren't able to find any green beer to drink we did find some tequila that was in a green bottle so we figure that's just as good considering we're in Mexico.
This morning we took our time deciding on where to go for breakfast and eventually made our way to the restaurant that overlooks the Cenote you see in the photo. It is right in the middle of the city, hence the name, Cenote Zaci (remember...Zaci is the Mayan word for Valladolid). After one of the best breakfasts we've had and while sipping on a cup of coffee we both did a double take when a man who looked very much like Johnny Depp walked into the restaurant carrying a piece of a drum set! He had Johnny Depp's hat, his glasses, his beard, his build, a bit of a Jack Sparrow kind of swagger and yikes.....for more than a minute we thought he actually might be! But alas...we may be lucky but maybe not quite THAT lucky! LOL!! Once we saw him without glasses and hat we could see he was not Johnny but....he could probably get a job as a double.
Once we'd finished our coffee we made our way from the restaurant down the many many stairs deep into the Cenote where we watched the band finish setting up for the shoot. Setting up means changing their clothes, (insert happy face here!), lay out the few props they'd brought, and connect all the wires and cords that would feed electricity to the amps, mics and speakers.
I should back up just a little to say that before we started down the stairs we were approached by one of the men in the band. As it turns out he is the lead singer and I need to mention him as there is one part of this story that features him and that I will get to momentarily. He wanted to show us the little carved character he was carrying down into the shoot. It was intended to represent him and was a tan coloured carved devilish looking fellow. The name of the band is Leon Moreno (Tan coloured Lion) and the name of the song is El Diablito. (Little Devil - hence the carved characters)
While the band was setting up Lynda made friends with the Director, Amulio, which is how she ended up being able to check out the angles for the camera work. In conversation we learned that Amulio's family owns property in the Yucatan that is home to 22 Cenotes! Lucky guy!! We are quickly learning that there are a LOT of cenotes here. Amulio also shared that he has spent the past several years working abroad, mainly in Europe and the UK. He told us that the lead singer in the band is from Guadalajara and that the electric guitarist and drummer are from D.F. (Mexico City).
Now back to the story I promised about the lead singer....I'll begin by saying that he is a nice looking guy with an amazing smile and friendly demeanour. He also had a nice butt and I know that cuz I watched him change into his clothes for the shoot. (insert that happy face again) LOL! Anyway...Lynda and I had moved away from where the band was set up and over to the far side of the cenote so we could watch the performance from the same vantage point as the cameras as it was a setting that was breathtaking! The sun was shining into the cenote and the water was clear aquamarine blue. It was so clear you could see the fish swimming deep beneath the surface. The cave that houses the cenote was mesmerizing both in size and in the fact that by being in there you just knew that if those walls could talk they'd be able to tell some AMAZING stories! From our new vantage point we watched that lead singer leave the "main stage" and wander off along the path that we had just taken. It is a path that is carved out of the rock in the cave and that takes you the entire way around the circumference of the cenote to the other side where there is another exit option. As he walked along that path he managed to add even more mystique to this already magical location as he strummed his guitar and sang a ballad that echoed throughout the cave/cenote. His voice was beautiful, the song was beautiful, and the setting was beautiful. Once again....we recognized it as another opportunity to voice just how lucky we are! Once this magical serenade was over it was time for the video shoot. The producer had asked swimmers and others standing in the vicinity of the "stage" to move out of the shot and amazingly...everyone did. We were treated to a great show as the band performed their song, the cameras caught the action, and the Director was happy with the shots.
We climbed back up (stairs stairs stairs...a common theme in the past few months!) and were met with a couple of bus loads of tourists making their way down to see the cenote. Whew! Were we ever glad we got out just in the knick of time! Having all those people in that magical spot would have ruined the memory for us - once again - LUCKY!
Wandering the streets back to our hotel we found ourselves again cooking in the heat of the day so....once back to our room it was off with the soaking wet clothes and to put our feet up for a little siesta. (yep....it's that hot and we sweat that much!) In fact we've had to come back to the room to dry off twice today...I've just told you about the first time and the second was tonight after dinner. This time it had nothing to do with heat or sweat...this was all about the rain. Tonight we were caught in a torrential downpour. The rain was so strong that in simply running across a street my shirt (unfortunately it was a white one) looked like I was wearing nothing but some wet toilet paper! Not a good look and thankfully Lynda had one of her Hakunamata wraps with her so I was able to put that around my shoulders and regain some modicum of respectability.
That rain tonight came down so hard and so fast that within minutes there was more than 6 inches of water in the streets. It simply had no where to go - it was coming down that fast. Crossing the street we were in water that was mid calf at worst. One can only guess what else might have been in that water so as soon as we were back in the room we gave our feet a good scrubbing! We are hoping that our shoes dry out by tomorrow! Thankfully we're both wearing Keens and they're made for going in and out of water so that won't be a problem but putting them back on wet might not feel very good!
Tonight we also took a tequila tour. It was really interesting. Most tequila we buy in Canada comes from blue agave plants that are between 4-5 years old. At that age the root that is 90% above ground and 10% below (or as the Mexican's say...the pina because it looks like a pineapple) weighs between 30-40 kilos. The company who owned the shop we toured (Los Tres Tonos) makes organic tequila and from what I can figure...organic just means that they leave the agave plant till it is 10 years old. At that age the pina weighs between 80-100 kilos! Our guide Caesar did a great job of explaining the process and then in the tasting room he treated us to some of the really good stuff. It is from plants that are 10 years old and then it is aged on top of that. One was 3 years aged and another was 5 years aged...that 5 year old stuff was SMOOTH!! We also got to taste one that is flavoured with almonds (kind of tequila'ish amaretto) and another that is flavoured with Irish Cream so you got to know that I could have polished off that whole bottle!
On that note....I'll say good night and go to sleep with Irish Cream and tequila laced dreams about handsome young men serenading me in magical Mexican caves.
Till next time....
L & L
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