cenotes

cenotes is a new word to me; it connotes natural wells where freshwater surfaces.  i learned it from my continuation in reading "anthropology of turquoise" by ellen meloy.  (which, incidentally, i had automatically misspelled in a previous entry from the time i worked at anthropologie the store and stand corrected).

meloy writes that cenotes are abundant in the yucatan in the form of ocean, marsh, lagoon, and underground rivers, "...a tropical forest swollen with transpiration...by invasion and sheer presence, the sea pushes itself into what is drinkable and what is heard, or what you miss hearing when you are distant from the surf.  the sea holds an abundance of comfort and inspiration and danger, all that a person needs in order to rise to the full largesse of beauty."

meloy's writing is so enjoyable to me that i looked her up to see what else she had written and was sad to discover she had already passed away (same with alice steinbach) both at too young of an age in my opinion.  so i was extra grateful to them for taking the time to describe their adventures in such great and poetic detail. on the bright side, there are other novels authored by them.  and it was fun to learn that colin meloy (local singer-songwriter, lead of the decemberists) is ellen's nephew.  and so, her legacy continues!

life, like freshwater, always surfaces.