Sweating from the 90 degree heat, we silently descend into another world - a
deep cavern below ground. Gripping the rope carefully, we rappel forty feet down
through a narrow hole in the ground, feeling the cold cave air assault us. Bats
dip and dive as we inch our way down through the dark abyss, ropes burning our
hands, until finally we drop into the cold waters of the cenote (pronounced suh-no-tay).
Water is the most precious resource in the world. In no place is this more
clear than when swimming in an underground cenote in the Yucatan Peninsula.
While most of the world-over humans have access to extensive lakes and rivers,
people living in the Mexican Mayan Riviera region do not. There are virtually no
above ground rivers in the Yucatan - all the fresh water comes from an
extensive limestone cave system deep within the peninsula.
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Cenotes are often surface connections to subterranean water bodies. Cenote
water is very clear and clean because the water comes from rain water
infiltrating slowly through the ground. All the cenote systems in the Yucatan
eventually connect together. Because it is a major source of fresh drinking
water for the Mexican people, it is extremely important to keep the cenote's
free of chemicals and litter. Warnings are repeatedly given from tour guides on
the importance of keeping the water clean so the Mayan locals will be able to
drink from it.
As we drop into the cold, black water of the immense underground cave, I look
up at the ceiling and see a very thin crust of earth which covers the top of the
cavern. An achingly thin layer of ground stands between the top soil and the
fresh water below. Roots hang forty feet deep before they touch the water. Our
guides provide inner tubes to float with because the water is an additional
forty feet deep below us. Tiny fish swim and nibble the dead skin on our toes
and legs. In that intense moment of touching nature, a shiver of understanding
touches my soul. It occurs to me that we in the United States should be
following the more cautious mindset which the inhabitants of the Mayan Riviera
exhibit about our own precious drinking water.
Whenever you use pesticides and chemicals on your lawns, you are allowing
these chemicals to eventually percolate down into our water system. If you live
in a home which has its own well, that well water is being exposed daily to
chemicals and carcinogens which we have put in the water ourselves by peppering
our lawns and gardens with poisons which have a long life. Therefore it is
possible to contaminate our water system over a period of many years, not just
at the time when we apply the chemicals.
Next time you reach for a lawn chemical remember the caves and cenotes of the
Yucatan. It took a trip to another part of the world for me to finally
understand the connection and significant importance of my personal
responsibility to our earth. Imagine if the chemicals I had put on my lawn
several years ago managed to get into our eco-system and another human being
somehow ingested it? Even in trace amounts? Does anyone completely understand
what causes leukemia - a chemical triggered cancer? Does anyone REALLY know what
is safe for humanity?
If you care about your fellow man, you have to see that this is not someone
else's problem. It is YOU who are responsible for caring for the water systems
in our communities - not your neighbors, not your government - YOU. It is YOU
who might be poisoning the child next door. Stop. Think. Use chemicals wisely.
Now is the time to make a difference.
Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The
Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com,
or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com
Filed under: Eco-Travel, Save Water
Tags: cenote, eco-travel, gardening nude, lawn chemicals, mayan riviera, Mexico, travel, water, water table, Yucatan
