Use the links above to see more photos.

And here it is today. Nobody uses it as a well anymore, it's become a tourist attraction. I could have done without the mannequins on the ladder and the sound and light show. But never mind, with temperatures above ground hitting over 100º F it was a refreshingly cool visit.

X'tacumbilxuna'an - is the Mayan name for this grotto ('place of the hidden girl'). It's about 100 km from Campeche just outside the town of Bolonchen ('nine wells').

This well is hundreds of meters deep and shows you what people went through to get just enough water for everyday use. And by the end of the dry season even this water supply was gone and they had to squirm down through narrow fissures to an even deeper source.