A place that was often used by the ancient Maya for human sacrifices is now a popular place to swim in Mexico. Imagine a giant hole in the Earth’s surface entrenched with a wide array of flora and fauna; from wild birds such as the turquoise-browed motmot to exotic plants that have vines that string down 200ft assiduously. At the bottom of the hole lies 75-degree crystal clear fresh water full of small catfish. Looking up from the bottom, you can see the beams of sunlight hitting the budding botanical rim, prehistoric looking birds flying from side to side, and water showering down in certain spots. This place and many others like it exist in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. The one I visited is known as the Ik Kil Cenote.

A cenote (otherwise known as a sinkhole, or natural pit caused by the collapse of limestone bedrock) is a place for a swim or dive if you want something different than the Yucatán peninsula’s world famous beaches. If you go right when they open at 9:00am, you can beat the swarm of tourists that this location attracts. When I visited with my best friend Charlie Stone, we did not go when it first opened so it was a bit crowded; however, I like to think we were there at that time for a reason because we had an experience quite like no other.

We witnessed officials chasing a massive iguana with several nets. They were trying to capture it so it would not be trapped in the cenote and eventually die. However, the iguana was too fast for them and it jumped straight into the water. The iguana swam straight past Charlie and me, and onto a small rock. The officials signaled to us to grab it and bring it to them. Although we did not speak the same language, we worked past the language barrier with hand signals. As I swam over to the officials to grab the net they tossed us, Charlie grabbed hold of the massive Iguana. As I filmed, a man came over to help Charlie put it in the net.

Once it was in the net safely, Charlie swam it over and gave it to the officials on land who had another net waiting.

Once the iguana was out of the water, I could hear a crowd that was spectating this start to clap and cheer! Charlie and I then went and walked with the officials to see the iguana being released back into the wild. To our surprise, they handed the iguana to us and told us we could release it! For those of you who do not know Charlie and me personally, this was equivalent to giving us an amazing Christmas present.

We carefully unwrapped the iguana out of the net and sent it on it’s way back into the wild and out of the way of danger! This experience instilled the notion in my mind that when nature is in trouble, humans can work together and make a difference.