The cenote itself was beautiful—clear freshwater, a central platform, and exactly the kind of place people come to photograph. We weren't planning to stay long.

Before entering, everyone has to shower. I'd already done that, but because it was raining and I was completely soaked, the staff thought I'd just come from the bathroom and skipped the shower entirely.

So I had to do it again.

I walked back to the open showers, soaped up in the rain, rinsed off, and returned. Only then did they hand me the life jacket and let me in.

The cenote wasn't the most spectacular one I've visited, but that's not what I remember. What I remember is standing in the rain, proving to a stranger that I had, in fact, taken a shower.