The dark side of the cenote:
A Belgian tourist’s guide into the Mexican medical emergency and health care system.
First, let’s get a couple of things straight:
- Mexico and specifically the Yucatan area is a great and safe place to visit.
- The people living there are extremely friendly and cheerfull.
- A cenote is an underground chamber or cave which contains permanent fresh water. In other words, it is a natural sinkhole where the ceiling of the cave has collapsed.
- I behave like an idiot sometimes.
- You might learn something from me though.
We were nearing the end of our trip. Me and my girlfriend had just spent the last three weeks driving around the Yucatan Peninsula in a Dodge rental, with an allright AC en a glitchy USB-cable for music. We had a great time. Starting of in beachy Cancun in the Quintana Ro state and crossing over in to the colourful state of Campeche. We had just arrived in the beatifully vibrant city of Valladolid, in an area rich with lush jungle, Mayan temples and these incredible picturesque swimmingholes, called cenotes, to swim in.
On the morning of that fateful Wednesday 20th of July 2022, we slept in. The coldest part of the morning had already vaporized so we were faced with a decision to make: either go look at the huge Mayan temple of Chichen Itza with a couple of hundred other sweaty tourists at the most sweltering time of the day or…
We could do one more cenote…
We had already seen a couple of other temples and indeed were thoroughly impressed with the ancient architecture and Jungle Book vibes. Yet the temperature was already around 32°C (or 91°F) which meant I was actively sweating whilst taking a cold morning shower. Seen one temple, seen them all?
We’d been to the perfect cenote just days before. My girlfriend had ‘discovered’ it on some wandering English lady’s travel blog and we found her ravings were absolutely justified.
The X’lakaj cenote is an incredible crisp swimhole with a drop of 22m (about 70 ft) to the water and a further depth of 38m (or 125 ft)of cold, fresh water in the middle of the Mexican jungle heat. It wasn’t very popular with other tourists for some reason but that’s what made it so appealing to us. Unlike other cenotes, this one was quiet. It was popular with locals though, who were making beautifull swan dives into the crystal blue water, seemingly effortless and without any danger involved.
I had never dove into water from that high up before in my life.
I came back up with my left arm severely dislocated from it’s socket. A piece of the humerus bone had fractured and snapped of, about a the size of a nickel. I immediately started losing muscle strength and movement in my left hand and wrist and as of yet this has not returned to normal. I am most likely facing a year of regular physical therapy sessions to undo as much of the damage done to various nerves and tendons as possible.
I regretted my dive the moment I hit the water and have regretted it ever since. It’s had quite an impact and not solely on my shoulder. I can’t change my former actions though, only my future ones. What’s been done is done.
I’ve had a lot of time to think, to digest and process. About my choices and actions and those of other people. A number observations and insights, some usefull some not so much. Like how strangers can behave strangely indifferent around someone in need. How you shouldn’t wait for someone else to help you if you can help yourself. How you really need to think about the risks and rewards of certain actions, especially when far away from home.
Some practical lessons too, about getting hurt as a tourist abroad. Things the average travelblogger doesn’t tell you. I’ve put them in a small list , for your benefit. I sincerely hope you will never need these.
- Yes, you really should get that travel health insurance. This is one of those things in life you should not skimp on. Like going to the dentist each year, paying parking fines or wearing a fresh pair of socks each day. If you can’t afford $150 to insure your health during a trip oversees, you shouldn’t be taking the trip at all.
- Inform your insurance company immediately about your accident and have them look at what options you have of being medevaced home by them. Even if it’s not clear wether you want to be brought home yet or not. This will save you precious time later.
- Don’t let anyone besides medically trained personel touch your hurt bodypart, not even a Mexican State Trooper with the best intentions.
- Get yourself to a hospital if you or your travel compagnon are physically able. It doesn’t always make sense to sit tight and wait for an ambulance because as soon as they understand you’re not in actual life threatening danger (e.g. bleading out), a real sense of urgency tends to get lost on their side. It took them 45 minutes to make a 15 minute drive.
- If you can’t physically move or medically it’s safer to stay put, call an ambulance but call them yourself. Don’t expect someone else to call an ambulance for you. They often won’t. People seem scared to get involved, especially when they’re on holiday.
- In Mexico, go to a private hospital, don’t let them take you to a government run public hospital. Trust me on that. Don’t worry about the cost, it’s still Mexico where literally everything is relatively cheap, even private healthcare. Besides, you took that health insurance, remember? You did take that, right?
- Accidents happen in pairs. It’s normal to be rocked by the initial hit of malfortune, which makes you stumble and be less aware of your surroundings. While you’re focussed on the emergency at hand, you don’t spot other stuff. E.g. my girlfriend’s phone got stolen by housekeeping the day after the accident, which is a real hassle, especially abroad and 2 international flights away from home.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself and others. We are all but human and all but flawed.
Your one-armed amigo,
Alex
