Bane of His Existence

This story may be longer than necessary, but the incident happened 70 years ago, so I felt I needed to explain some things first.  The mid-to-late 1950s was a completely different world when it comes to personal safety.  It was a lot like the Wild West as nobody wore seatbelts in cars and kids never wore helmets.  Parents in the mid-to-late 1950s were deeply concerned with child safety, but their anxieties focused on different threats than those that worry parents today.  Children enjoyed greater freedom to roam outside unsupervised, while parents faced massive, uncontrollable public health crises and emerging social anxieties.  The greatest terror for mid-century parents was the poliovirus.  Every summer, rising temperatures brought panic, leading parents to keep children away from public swimming pools, movie theaters, and neighborhood crowds out of fear of paralysis or death.  This widespread fear largely subsided only after Jonas Salk’s vaccine became widely available in 1955.  At this time, society was deeply worried about the moral safety and behavior of youth.  Most parents were not worried about their children being safe when they were playing in the neighborhood and many families didn’t lock their doors.  The mid-1950s saw congressional hearings investigating comic books and television as corrupting influences that supposedly incited violence and juvenile delinquency.

Products started featuring safety caps in 1967 following the invention of the first child-resistant closure, with widespread mandatory use beginning after the passage of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act in 1970.  Canadian pediatrician Dr. Henri Breault invented the “Palm ‘n Turn” cap, which was the first modern push-and-turn child-resistant closure, after he saw high rates of accidental child poisonings from medications.  The United States Congress passed the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), signed by President Richard Nixon in 1970, requiring special child-safe packaging for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and hazardous household chemicals.  The newly formed Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took over enforcing these rules, making safety caps standard and dropping child poisoning rates dramatically.  Child safety locks for cabinets were invented and patented as early as the late 1950s (such as a 1959 patent filing), but they did not become widely used or mass-marketed until the broader child safety movement took off in the 1970s and 1980s.

Household ammonia was extremely common in mid-to-late 1950s homes, serving as one of the primary go-to options for heavy-duty household cleaning.  During this post-World War II era, the cleaning landscape was shifting toward commercialized, chemically formulated products. In the 1950s households utilized ammonia as a glass cleaner, because it evaporates incredibly fast without leaving streaks behind, it was the absolute standard for washing windows, mirrors, and glass surfaces.  It was also used on linoleum floors, vinyl tiles, and Formica countertops, as a grease cleaner.  Housekeepers regularly relied on diluted jugs of pure household ammonia to strip old floor wax and cut through stubborn kitchen grease.

When my younger brother was an infant, he was crying on the kitchen floor next to a spilt bottle of ammonia after he got into the cabinet where my mom stored her cleaning supplies.  You can’t ask an infant what happened, so you need to assume the worst.  He was laying on the floor crying and my parents took him to the emergency room where his stomach was pumped out in case he swallowed any of it and his eyes were also washed out.  Ammonia reacts with moisture in the eye to form ammonium hydroxide.  This chemical destroys cell membranes quickly through a process called liquefactive necrosis.  Alkali chemicals penetrate eye tissues in seconds.  The limbus holds the stem cells that repair the surface of the eye, his cornea.  The limbus is the border area where the cornea (the clear front window of the eye) meets the white sclera (the outer wall of the eye).  He did heal completely because he got immediate treatment and proper medical care that included antibiotic drops, and lubricants and if he did have a chemical burn on his eyes, it was moderate not severe.  He was lucky that his limbus contained vital stem cells that repaired the surface of.

My brother developed a deep, lasting fear of going anywhere near ammonia as an adult, due to his distressing childhood injury.  Ammonia has become an everyday annoyance and a persistent problem that ruins my brother’s peace of mind and frustrates him on a regular basis.  The brain is highly efficient at linking intense physical pain or panic with the specific environmental triggers present at the time.  When a child experiences an ammonia spill like my brother did, their brain registers the distinctive, sharp scent and sight of the chemical bottle as an immediate threat to survival.  As an adult, encountering that same smell can instantly trigger an automatic, involuntary “fight-or-flight” survival response.

Written for the Great Minds Think’s Friday Challenge, which is hosted by Rohini and Sarah and this week we are given a high-magnification photograph of a human iris along with the phrase Bête Noire which is a French term literally translating to “black beast”, which is defined as a person or thing strongly detested, avoided, or feared.

Reblog Medical Warnings

In 2023, the U.S. spent more than $4.5 trillion on healthcare and more than $4 trillion of that spending was on chronic disease.  This amounts to roughly one-third of our federal tax dollars being used for healthcare.  Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  known by his initials RFK Jr. does not have a background, degree, or formal training in medicine or healthcare and many people feel that his tenure as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has severely harmed the U.S. public health infrastructure through major budget cuts, workforce reductions, and controversial changes to vaccine and disease-prevention policies.  This administration cut roughly 25% of the HHS workforce and reduced funding for key scientific agencies in an attempt to eliminate bureaucratic bloat.  Billions of dollars in research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been frozen or canceled, as well as various scientific research grants and contracts that have been eliminated related to conditions like diabetes, obesity, and dementia.  Funding for vital programs targeting chronic diseases, tobacco use, and violence prevention has been blocked or redirected.  Kennedy altered guidance on COVID-19 shots and attempted to scale back parts of the routine childhood immunization schedule, triggering legal battles with medical groups over public safety.

Public health officials, medical organizations, and political critics argue that Kennedy’s decades-long history of vaccine skepticism has directly contributed to the decline in MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination rates.  Kennedy spent years promoting debunked claims about vaccine safety while spreading misinformation about vaccine safety.  Over the years, Kennedy has downplayed the severity of measles, famously calling it “chicken soup and vitamin A”, and he has periodically promoted unorthodox, unproven treatments like cod liver oil or aerosolized budesonide instead of focusing on preventative vaccination.  His anti-vaccine views have bolstered activists right before a devastating measles outbreak in Samoa that sickened more than 5,700 people and killed 83 people, which were mostly children.  Samoan health officials and international public health bodies noted that his rhetoric heavily depressed vaccination rates (dropping below 33% for eligible 1-year-olds), leaving the population vulnerable and culminating in the devastating 2019 epidemic.

Trump selected RFK Jr. to reward his political loyalty and leverage his voter base.  Trump viewed Kennedy as a key political ally and promised to let him “go wild” on health care reform.  Trump empowered Kennedy to target nutrition and drug regulations at federal agencies.  Kennedy built a large following around his MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement, which criticizes ultra-processed foods, chemicals, and pharmaceutical companies.  Trump told Kenedy that he wanted him to end the chronic disease epidemic with measurable impacts on a diminishment of chronic disease within two years, and as of late 2026, roughly 18 months into his tenure as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not produced verified, population-level data showing a measurable national diminishment or reversal of chronic disease rates.  The MAHA Commission appears to be both ideologically driven and scientifically unsound, and as a consequence, its prospects of proposing policies that meaningfully address chronic disease are exceedingly low.  Instead of adopting an evidence‐based approach, in his actions and comments to date, Secretary Kennedy has undermined established science, particularly on vaccines; gutted U.S. science and public health infrastructure, including segments responsible for addressing chronic disease; and prioritized concerns that have little basis in science.

Critics argue that parallel federal funding cuts to scientific research, Medicaid, and nutritional support programs counteract chronic disease prevention efforts.  Kennedy has criticized GLP-1 weight-loss medications, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.  While physicians acknowledge these medications are not appropriate for everyone and carry potential side effects, medical organizations say they are safe and effective for many patients with obesity or Type 2 diabetes when prescribed appropriately.  Despite any of Kenedy’s efforts, chronic disease rates have not declined with him serving as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, and public health data shows no measurable reduction in national illness levels.  Leading medical journals have published editorials stating that the policy reversals and attacks on institutional science under Kennedy will take generations to repair.  In the early 1900s, the leading causes of death were infectious diseases, but as we developed antibiotics and vaccines, infectious diseases became less of a threat, and chronic diseases are now America’s leading health concern.

 

Medical Warnings

King Herod Antipasto

1. What is a strimmer?
This is a very skinny stripper.

2. What is a Mexican Wave?
This is when everyone at a sporting event stands up and sings, “Jose, can you see?”

3. What is hogwash?
A place where you take your pig after it has a roll in the mud.

4. What is poppycock?
This is the egg-shaped seed pod on an opium plant, the part that gets you high.

5. What is a doodlebug?
This is the offspring of an ant lion that mated with a love bug.

6. What is a pecan?
This is a portable pee bag for people that are going on a long trip.

7. What is a molar?
This has something to do with making a mountain out of a molehill.

8. What is an epiphany?
This is a question asking if you had any flash of sudden insight just before a full realization hits.

9. What is goulash?
This is a Russian prison in Siberia.

10. What is a parameter?
This is a term used in linear algebra to describe an eigenvalue problem.

Written for Di’s Fibbing Friday.

Alex in Chains

The ideology of being a rockstar is a cultural belief system centered on radical individualism, creative freedom, and living life entirely on your own terms.  If rock music has a defining characteristic, it’s the refusal to behave. Alex was repenting for his sins, as he decided that he would keep his eyes shut so that he would see no evil, wears earplugs so he would hear no evil, and have his mouth padlocked so that he would be unable to speak evil.  After reading the teaching of Confucius while he was incarcerated, he thought it would be best not to look at, listen to, or speak anything that goes against propriety (performing an action or behavior that breaks accepted rules of politeness, good manners, or moral standards).  He had lived the life of a rock star where he had done many things that were considered rude, improper, or that were in poor taste, like the drunken rants he went into onstage, his misguided political statements, and his many moments of unchecked ego.  He was a xenophobic, racist bigot who often spoke out about immigration policies claiming that native-born populations are being deliberately replaced by immigrants to alter the political or cultural landscape of the country.  He was an anti-vaxxer who said the MMR vaccine made children sick and caused autism, and he tried to discourage everyone from getting vaccinated.

He gave a cocaine-fueled interview where he said that he was more popular than Jesus and that Hitler was the first rock star, just before he shouted out “white power”.  He bit off the head of an armadillo which a fan tossed on stage, which drew condemnation from animal-rights groups.  At a show in Miami, he exposed himself on stage which caused moral outrage and the rest of his shows there were cancelled.  He had a tantrum on stage when he spotted a fan filming the band.  He leapt into the crowd, and he punched the culprit in his face spilling blood all over the place when the guy’s nose started bleeding.  His erratic behavior going off the rails with excessive LSD experimentation and his general unreliability made him a serious liability to the rest of the band.  He spent many concerts strumming a single chord, slowly detuning his guitar until the strings went slack, or merely staring out of the crowd.

His undoing came when he was caught on camera in a hotel beating, dragging and hurling an object at his wife, which became the darkest moments in his public career.  He spent seven years in prison for this brutal attack where he grabbed her by the back of her neck and slammed her down to the floor, but he said that prison made him a better man.  He claims to be sorry for all of his physically aggressive behavior that he showed toward his wife, and he hopes people will overlook all of those bad things he did now that he has repented.  He said that he is no longer an alcoholic, an absent father or a wife beater and all he wants is a second chance.  He feels that he deserves credit for owning up to his mistakes and now that he is a better person, and his arrogance of being blissfully unaware would like to have his past swept under the rug.  His wife said that she would forgive the once-beloved icon when pigs fly.

Written for Reena’s Xploration Challenge #447 where today she gave us an AI generated this image to match the quote by Albert Camus, “Communication is impossible with slaves.”

Thursday Inspiration #340 Better Man

Image generated by Bing AI

Respond to this challenge by either using the prompt word over, or going with the above picture, or by means of the song ‘Better Man’, or by going with another song by Pearl Jam, or a song that is about settling for something because a person does not think they can do any better, or another song where someone makes a bad choice, or you can go with whatever you think fits.  Eddie Vedder wrote this song before he joined Pearl Jam while he was still in his teens, and he performed it with his previous band, a San Diego-based group called Bad Radio.  Eddie Vedder was eight when he moved to San Diego with his family in 1973.  Grunge music started in the mid-1980s in Washington state (primarily Seattle), developing out of the local underground punk rock and heavy metal scenes.

Eddie Vedder met Jack Irons in November 1989 in the dark during a power outage at the Bacchanal music venue in San Diego where Vedder worked.  The unnamed opening act cut the venue’s power as an act of retaliation because they believed they were going to be stiffed on their payment for the night, and the blackout lasted for about an hour.  Vedder was working security when the power cut out during a show featuring Joe Strummer who had been the frontman and co-founder of The Clash before he went solo.  Vedder used a flashlight to help Strummer and Strummer sent Vedder to fetch some supplies.  When Vedder returned with the items, his flashlight beam shone around the dark room and revealed Jack Irons, who was the only band member that bothered to show up for the soundcheck.  They spent over an hour talking in the dark, which started their friendship.  After their previous band Mother Love Bone ended, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were forming a new group (which became Pearl Jam) and they needed both a drummer and a singer.  They asked Irons to drum for them, but he declined, however he recommended Vedder as their singer and gave him the demo tape he got from Gossard and Ament.  Irons told Vedder to listen to it and try to write some lyrics to go with it.  Vedder recorded his vocals over the tracks, sending back the legendary three-song mini-opera demo called ‘Momma-Son’ that earned him the job as lead singer.

‘Better Man’ was recorded on Pearl Jam’s 1994 third studio album Vitalogy, and Vedder was thinking about his stepfather and his mother’s troubled relationship with him, where she stayed in a difficult marriage because she felt she couldn’t find anyone better when he wrote this.  The lyrics describe a woman trapped in an unhappy or abusive relationship who lies and says she is in love with him because she believes she can’t find a better man.  Eddie Vedder’s father left the family when Vedder was a toddler and died of multiple sclerosis before Vedder knew he was his real dad.  His mother remarried a man named Peter Mueller, and Vedder grew up believing Mueller was his biological father, because he went by the name Eddie Mueller (or Eddie Mueller) for a portion of his childhood and youth.  When Vedder was in his late teens, after his mother and Mueller divorced, his mother revealed that Mueller was a stepfather and that Edward Severson, who Eddie was told was just an old family friend, was his real dad.  Eddie’s mother, Karen Lee Vedder told Eddie that she kept the secret of his real father from him because he had three younger brothers who were actually his half-brothers, and she wanted all the brothers to feel equal as brothers, and not as step brothers.

A widespread online and media breakdown of a comprehensive marriage survey of married couples showed that 57% of married men think their wives are sexy, but only 38% of married women think their husbands are sexy, so it is possible that some women are looking for a better man.  Although once men are married, they don’t put the same effort into staying attractive to their wives that women do.  Some women choose to marry a partner they view as “good enough” instead of waiting for an idealized or flawless person.  Many people realize that a completely perfect partner does not exist, so they will look past superficial traits and focus on core values like kindness, respect, and responsibility.  Holding out for an impossible standard can cause people to miss out on a stable and fulfilling relationship.  A dependable partner provides emotional safety and steady support, which many people value more than high-drama romance.  A long-term commitment involves choosing to love an imperfect person in an imperfect world.  Aligning on finances, family, and life direction often matters more than finding a storybook match.  Pressures related to age, starting a family, or career readiness can influence the decision to commit sooner rather than later.  Partners often build mutual respect and deep companionship over time, even if the initial spark was quiet rather than overwhelming.  When Women with children choose a second husband, they prioritize emotional maturity, shared parenting values, and how well a partner integrates with their existing family.  The women that have lived through a failed marriage, will often screen more strictly for financial responsibility, emotional regulation, and communication skills.

Waitin’, watchin’ the clock, it’s four o’clock, it’s got to stop
Tell him, take no more, she practices her speech
As he opens the door, she rolls over
Pretends to sleep as he looks her over
She lies and says she’s in love with him
Can’t find a better man

Unhappy Sports Fans

Image generated by PIXLR AI

Most sports followers dislike this expensive patchwork of platforms which includes a mix of traditional cable TV and expensive sports-only streaming apps that are necessary to watch NFL games, as this can add up to a monthly cost that very few people enjoy paying.  I am lucky, as I only watch NFL football, so I don’t have any need to pay for a package that includes basketball or baseball and collegiate sports.  I purchased the Family Group NFL Sunday Ticket for $480.00, which is only good for 18 weeks, which is just over $26 a week, but this will allow me to catch every game.  This plan allows up to five additional family members to also watch all the games, but I am only sharing it with my cousin, and we will both stream it on YouTube on our laptops, while we are also watching the televised games on cable TV.  The NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube only allows you to watch out-of-market regular-season Sunday afternoon games broadcast on CBS and FOX.  NFL Sunday night games air on NBC and stream on Peacock.  ESPN and ABC are the exclusive home for Monday Night Football.  Amazon Prime Video broadcasts the majority of Thursday night games, but the Week 1 international matchup held in Australia between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will be on Netflix.  If you live in the home market of the competing teams, the game is still broadcast on free, over-the-air local television channels.  Tonight’s opening season game, which is the Super Bowl rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will be broadcast on NBC and streamed live on Peacock.

Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26) will feature a tripleheader with the Bears at Lions, Eagles at Cowboys and Chiefs at Bills.  This year there will be a Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday, Nov. 25) game with the Green Bay Packers playing at Los Angeles Rams at 8:00 PM ET on Netflix, and also a Black Friday (Friday, Nov. 27) game with the Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers at 3:00 PM ET on Prime Video.  There are three NFL games scheduled for Christmas Day in 2026, which is on a Friday this year.  The first two will be on Netflix and the third game can be seen on FOX.  On Christmas Day the Green Bay Packers will play at Chicago Bears at 1:00 p.m. and the Buffalo Bills will play at Denver Broncos at 4:30 p.m.  The Los Angeles Rams will play at Seattle Seahawks at 8:15 p.m.  I have Peacock, Prime and Netflix, so I shouldn’t miss any games, and I won’t scowl even if my teams lose.

Written for FOWC with Fandango – Scowl.

Time of Their Lives

The elderly woman was wearing a cream-colored robe at the wedding reception of her granddaughter because she was experiencing memory loss and had some cognitive issues, and she did not realize where she was or what clothing was appropriate.  She heard the music playing and she wanted to dance, so she gently held the hand of her great grandson who was dressed in a black tuxedo.  She told him, “I gotta cut loose, so kick off your Sunday shoes.”  The young boy said, “I never felt like this before, and I owe it all to you.”  This was different and new, unlike any other and they wanted it to last till the end of time.  All of the guests watched in awe as the couple strutted their stuff, observing this magic moment unfold in front of their eyes.

Written for Simply 6 Minutes hosted by Christine Bialczak.

The Devil Made Her Do It

Image generated by Microsoft Copilot

The accident wasn’t her fault.  She was watching the traffic, and she only took her eyes off the road for a few seconds to look in the mirror and touch up her makeup, because she was trying to save time during a busy morning commute.  When she slammed into the car in front of her, she blamed that driver for stopping, but the signal light turned red and all the cars in front of him had stopped.  She lived her whole life blaming others to justify her behavior.  She never faced her own mistakes, which freed her from feeling any guilt.  She was always the victim, never the architect.  She walked through life completely unburdened, leaving others to carry the weight of her actions, which made it easier for her to blame others for her bad behavior.  Her life was a consistent pattern of shifting blame to avoid accountability and maintain her victim identity.  By refusing to acknowledge her errors, she never realized what went wrong, and this prevented her from being able to adjust how she lived and change the choices she made.

She felt that all of her problems were caused by other people, bad luck, or circumstances that were out of her control, because fate was ruling her life.  She knew that any efforts she made to go against her fate would be futile, so she decided to roll with the punches and accept the outcome.  When she went to court for the wreckless driving ticket she was issued at the scene of the accident, the judge did not accept “fate” as a valid defense for her crime.  She told the judge that feel destiny forced her hand, but she learned that the law focused on her actions and her intent.  The legal system held her responsible for what she did, because society requires rules to protect people, regardless of cosmic forces.

Written for Fandango’s Story Starter #263.

Almost Anyone Can Become a Blonde

A woman likely in her 20s or 30s with shoulder length light blonde hair parted down the middle, that has darker natural roots which are visible along the top part line is standing in front of a wall with framed pictures on it, that are all blurry.  She is wearing a light blue button-down long sleeve shirt that is tucked into her white high-waisted skirt and holding a cell phone in her right hand while she appears to be tapping or swiping something on the screen with her left hand.  The back of her phone contains a sticker with the following message, “Social Media seriously harms your mental health”.  Becoming a blonde can be viewed as a path to the sacred side of the Force, because it is a dramatic transformation, that requires a major lifestyle commitment.  Some people are born blonde and others can be made blonde, as there’s a shade of bleached perfection that can fit every single person.  People will often be able to tell if hair is dyed by looking at specific details like roots, multi-tonal depth, and texture.  Natural hair has a mix of lighter and darker strands created by the sun and natural growth.  The hair near the scalp transitions softly instead of showing a harsh line.  Natural blondes often, but not always, have lighter skin, eyebrows, and blue, green, or grey eyes.  Blonde hair with dark roots is widely accepted as a fashionable, intentional style rather than a sign of neglected maintenance.  Many bleached blonds will intentionally show their dark roots, which are often called a “shadow root”, “root smudge”, or a “lived-in blonde” look, as a smart way to stretch time between salon visits.

The photos on the wall are blurry because of a photography technique called shallow depth of field, which keeps only the main subject sharp while making the background soft and blurry.  A camera can only focus sharply on objects within a specific range of distances, at this one precise point, which becomes the zone of acceptable sharpness.  The photographer intentionally focused the camera lens on the woman and her phone, which are located in the foreground.  The background elements like the picture frames on the wall become softly blurred, a visual effect often referred to as bokeh.  Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur in the out-of-focus areas of an image, often appearing as soft, pleasing circles or shapes of light.  It is not the amount of blur itself, but the visual quality and texture of the out-of-focus background or foreground.  This photographic technique forcing our attention on a particular area of the image.

People put stickers on the back of their phones to personalize their devices and make them look unique.  A person who puts a sticker on their phone that says, “Social Media seriously harms your mental health” probably cares deeply about the negative effects of screen time and wants to change their habits.  This woman is most likely aware of digital overload, and she wants to set personal boundaries, while pushing back against the modern pressure to be online and available all the time that is called hyperconnectivity, and it often leads to burnout and stress.  This sticker probably serves as a signal to her friends that she values real-world connections over digital noise, but sometimes placing an anti-social-media warning on the very device used for social media is meant to be funny or sarcastic.  Major public health institutions and researchers largely agree that excessive or unregulated social media use poses serious mental health risks, particularly for adolescents, but she appears to be old enough to regulate her own usage without incurring any devasting consequences.

Written for Melissa’s Flash Fiction Challenge #393.

Vacation Getaway

This photo shows the famous “Follow That Dream” sign and a parked white beach cruiser bicycle fitted with a brown seat and a front wicker basket located near the Ahau Tulum resort and Raw Love cafe area in Tulum, Mexico.  Tulum is located on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.  Tulum is the desired Riviera Maya destination where time goes slow, nature is wild and lightbulbs grow from palm tree trunks.  The city is growing and evolving with all the lovely travelers that fall in love with the place and decide to move in, because Tulum will welcome you with a gentle smile and this boho-chic feeling. Tulum is Mexico’s most cinematic destination featuring ancient Mayan ruins above a turquoise Caribbean Sea, jungle cenotes (freshwater sinkholes), and a bohemian beach culture that is unlike anywhere else in the Americas.  Tulum’s clifftop Mayan ruins are the only major archaeological site in Mexico directly overlooking the Caribbean and it is said to have extraordinary sunrises there.

Travelers frequently compare Tulum and Belize (which is in Central America south of Mexico and East of Guatemala) because both offer a mix of Mesoamerican ruins, lush jungles, and Caribbean coastal access.  Tulum leans into a trendy, boho-chic atmosphere with high-end wellness retreats, fashionable beach clubs, and vibrant nightlife.  Belize is more laid-back, rustic, and focused on nature, diving, and uncrowded islands.  Tulum boasts powdery white sand, but it suffers from seasonal sargassum seaweed issues.  Belize features clearer water and superior access to the world-class Belize Barrier Reef.  Tulum requires navigating Spanish and regional transit from Cancun or its own newer airport.  Belize uses English as its official language, making it very easy to navigate for English speakers.  Tulum has thousands of accessible freshwater sinkholes, but Belize also has a few notable sinkholes and limestone-formed pools, most famously the St. Herman’s Inland Blue Hole on the mainland and the iconic Great Blue Hole off its coast.

Tulum is world-famous for having some of the most stunning and accessible cenotes (connected lagoons) in the world.  The region sits above the world’s largest underground river system, with thousands of cenotes accessible for swimming and diving.  The term cenotes originates from and is primarily used in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, derived from the Maya word ts’ono’ot, meaning a cavern with water.  The Maya viewed them as life-giving water sources and sacred spiritual portals to the underworld. All cenotes are natural sinkholes, but not all natural sinkholes are cenotes.  The bedrock of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is pockmarked with natural sinkholes, which twist downwards into the porous limestone bedrock. These cenotes vary in size from tiny openings to vast water-filled caves. They have become scenic landmarks that are popular scuba diving sites, swimming holes, used for paddle boarding, snorkeling, and cave diving.

The Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico has about 6,000 cenotes total according to Google, all diverse and unique in their own way.  Some of them are in the ground, others inside a cave, some are small and exclusive and others absolutely massive.  Their beautiful is observed in their blue water which is said to be absolutely breathtaking to witness. They are considered to be Mexico’s hidden gem.  Only a handful of cenotes are known by tourists and there are hundreds left unknown or only familiar to locals.  The ones that are known and easily accessed have completely blown up on social media which in some cases has resulted in overtourism.  The Gran Cenote is the most accessible and beautiful cenote near Tulum, with stalactites, turtles, and crystal-clear water.

Written for Sadje at Keep It Alive What Do You See #357.