Based in New York, Sebastian Palazio is a financial professional who has traveled widely in locales from Southeast Asia to Central America. One of Sebastian Palazio’s favorite countries is Mexico, which he lived in for a year as a youth, and he is interested exploring the history and cuisine further.
Situated in southern Mexico, bordering Belize and Guatemala, the Yucatán Peninsula is one of the lushest and most Mayan influenced areas of the country. It is best known for its beaches around Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, and also features coastal Mayan ruins in Tulum. One of the unique natural features of the area are cenotes, or bedrock limestone sinkholes that form when caverns collapse.
Forming an interconnected body of freshwater pools, cenotes are characterized by pure, clean groundwater that is rich in minerals and support surprisingly diverse life, including algae and small fish. With the name meaning sacred well, local Mayan people used cenotes to replenish fresh water and as hiding places during the Colonial era. They also considered the often deep sinkholes as portals to the underworld. The Yucatán features more than 3,000 cenotes, some in their natural state and others popular as diving and snorkeling locations.
Sebastian Palazio 