Public Transportation
From Merida to Cuzama Cenotes
Cuzama is a small town about 25 miles from Merida. The Cuzama cenotes are out in the sticks a couple of miles outside of Cuzama. The best way to get there is, you guessed it, colectivo. So, after breakfast, we hopped on whatever bus listed Centro on its windshield, and off we go to find the Cuzama colectivo in the maze of colectivo stands. We had heard that the Cuzama colectivo is near the Noreste bus terminal, so we go there first. In our quest, a guy promoting a different set of cenotes he claimed were better than the Cuzama cenotes approached us. His photos looked nice, but we didn’t fully understand his Spanglish. I did catch enough to indicate that I’d research it and maybe come back on Monday or Tuesday for his cenote package.
We located the Cuzama colectivo just behind the colectivo that the promoter was working. The colectivo was $23 peso each, and it quickly filled up. It took about 55 minutes, with half of the time just getting through Merida. I just don’t understand how these colectivos make any money. The Cuzama colectivo makes about $20 US for each run to Cuzama. By the time they wait to fill up and then figure in the drive time it takes at least 1½ hours to gross the $20 US. Each run probably burns up 2 gallons of gas. Gas in Mexico is not cheap - $1 US per liter or approximately $4 US per gallon. That leaves $12 US gross profit per run. But you have payments on the van, insurance (maybe?), maintenance, and repairs. They might make 5 runs on a good day, which will gross $60 US minus expenses. Is $40 net per day a reasonable estimate?