Moving to Mexico: A Local's Perspective of Cenote Verde Lucero in the Riviera Maya, Mexico

As part of Allan and my Playa del Carmen rental business, it's advantageous for us to possess expert knowledge of the area in order to pass this knowledge onto our rental guests. Every week we have tried going to a new Cenote while it is still low season in order to increase our familiarity with the region. This past Saturday Allan, I and our friend, Mary Lou visited Cenote Verde Lucero on the "Road of the Cenotes" heading out of Puerto Morelos. For the most part we were quite impressed.

Saturday afternoon we worked until 1pm, the time when most Playa del Carmen management companies close. We then packed the SUV for a day of fun, picked up Mary Lou and headed north to the town of Puerto Morelos for lunch. We have been dying to try this Asian restaurant there, and every time we go it's closed. This time was no exception. It was 1:30 and they do not open until 3pm. Upon a recommendation from a local, we tried a local Mexican joint right on the water, which turned out to be perfect. We sat facing the turquoise sea, amidst a sea of pink and blue chairs, giving the whole establishment a very cool, beachy feel. I thought "this is the life". The food was great, and then we were on our way to the Cenote.

About 20 minutes later we arrived at the Verde Lucero Cenote, a veritable hole in the ground that looks almost like a small asteroid struck 1,000 years ago. It was about 100 feet in diameter, 20 feet down to the water and the water was between 10 and 30 feet in depth. Large trees with massive roots protrude out of the depth and into the sky. The best part of the cenote was the zip line. Grabbing onto the handle of the zip line I rode down several times, plunging into the water. After watching a local try it backwards, I did the same, and must admit it is much scarier not knowing where exactly you are heading. There was also a rock ledge with a plunge of about 20 feet, which I also jumped off after gaining enough confidence.

Overall the cenote was a great experience, and is perfect for anyone looking for a bit of action - using the zip line and jumping from high depths into water. The downside is that the water is a bit green, there are no good areas to sit around the cenote, and no snack bar. However, Cenote Verde Lucero is definitely being added to my cenote list, and will be recommended to my Playa del Carmen rental guests. This coming week we are going to try the 7 Bocas Cenote (7 mouths). It's tough work, but someone's got to do it!