Located in the far southeast of the country, Quintana Roo (pronounced kin-tah-nah row), is home to a variety of flora and fauna, or wildlife, and natural features that are unique to this region. Some of the most incredible things I saw were the cenotes, or freshwater springs. Cenotes are formed when land collapses into a sinkhole, exposing the water that was hidden underground. They are home to a lot of different types of fish and vegetation that can be sustained within the closed ecosystem of a cenote. Often, cenotes are connected to underwater cave systems. The longest such underwater cave system discovered by cave divers so far is beneath Quintana Roo, and it's around 215 miles long!
The cenotes themselves are like watering holes, though some are hidden in holes deep in the earth and are difficult to access from the ground above. The wildlife within them includes an assortment of fish, eels, amphibians, algae and vines that swing from up above. Inside the caves connected to cenotes, some of the animals that have adapted to their pitch black environment are blind and/or colorless. Many cavefish, found around the world, don't have any eyes at all!
