Category Archives: Yucatán Peninsula

Mérida Finale

September 12, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaMérida, Museum of Modern Artkarenfranza

Sept 8 – So we got back on the bus to Mérida, for the final time. We have a day in town to purchase our souvenir plate and repack our packs.

We saw a street performer for the first time this trip. He must be so hot in that costume!

We got into the modern art museum that had been closed the last time we tried

We went back to the cathedral and got to see the Lord of the Blisters up close

And then, as the turtle at our hostal looked like he was packed and ready, we did the same. The Uber came at 5:15am, and by midnight, we were home! Thanks for a great trip, Yucatán!

A little more from Progreso, Yucatán

September 10, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán Peninsulacoconut shrimp, lighthouse, malecón, pier, Progreso, wall artkarenfranza

Sept 6 – What do you do when you just can’t swim and sleep anymore? Walk into town, of course, where you can:

…admire the lighthouse, which is not on the shore, but blocks back into the town

…and a tribute to kids and their cellphones with the long pier in the background

Walk all the way to the end of the malecón to admire the world’s longest pier – 4 miles long, as the water is too shallow to allow large container or cruise ships to dock any nearer

Walk under the pier to the old wooden boardwalk

This end of town looks more like an old fishing village

Back on the malecón to look for beach souvenirs…

…and find a place for a seafood lunch – we eat seafood every day when we’re at the beach

Interesting appetizers – papaya with hot sauce, hot dogs in French dressing

When you order coconut shrimp here, you get the coconut!

Would you like one more sunset? Here you go! Thanks for the R & R Progreso, best beach ever!

Progreso, Yucatán

September 6, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán Peninsulabeach, Gulf of Mexico, Progreso, shrimp tacoskarenfranza

Sept 3 – So long Yellow City! We got on the bus back to Mérida this morning, then changed to the Progreso bus for our last stop of this trip.

Progreso is about 75 miles east of our last beach town of Celestún, still on the Gulf of Mexico. Another fishing village with calm green waters and a beautiful, sandy beach.

The difference is that Progreso is a cruise ship stop, so it is a lot more affluent, with a long cement malecón (boardwalk), and many more hotels and restaurants.

We are staying at the Itze Hostel, just across the street from the beach. We have access to the kitchen, so Jim can make our coffee and breakfast. There are so many food options right close by, we don’t need to worry about feeding ourselves.

Coconitos – the best shrimp tacos on the beach!

There is a dinosaur exhibit here for the kiddos

…and a little train that runs tourists up and down the malecón

So, what is there to do in Progreso? Nothing at all, except eat, swim, sleep listening to the gentle waters, and repeat. Of course, you may also:

What a lovely town! More in the next post…

More from Izamal, Yucatán

September 4, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaCenote Chihuan, Convento de Antonio de Padua, Holcá, Izamal, Mama Linda, Nuestra Señora de Izamal, subterranean cenotekarenfranza

Sept 1 – Do you remember when we were in Valladolid and tried unsuccessfully to swim in a cenote? Well, today we will get another chance! Although there are no cenotes in Izamal, our hotel host Monty arranged a taxi that will take us to a cenote about a half hour away.

Cenote Chihuan, in the town of Holcá, is on private land and is said to be the only totally subterranean cenote. Our taxi pulled up to the gate and it was… closed. Not again! The taxi driver banged on the gate and shouted, but no bananas. Our driver got back in the cab and started searching on his phone for an alternate cenote, when the proprietor opened the gate. Success!

We were given flotation vests and shown the stairs down

Jim brought his phone right into the water, which was cool, but not cold. Very refreshing!

We swam into absolute darkness, but kept an eye on the lighted entrance

The water was crystal clear and reflective, so we couldn’t tell if we were seeing stalagmites below, or reflections of the stalactites above.

A magical place, and we had it all to ourselves!

Returning to town, we asked to be let off at the Convento de Antonio de Padua, which is the centerpiece of Izamal. It is very yellow.

Buggies lined up to take tourists on a tour

I like a horse who can rock a saucy sombrero

A young beauty having her Quinceañera moment

Inside the church, there is a retablo at the altar featuring Our Lady of Izamal

This statue, affectionately called Mama Linda (beautiful Mother) is dressed every month in different raiment

Here are some of Mama Linda’s other outfits

There is a Pope John Paul II museum here – his visit in 1993 was the biggest event to ever happen in this town

When’s the last time you saw a habited nun? We saw several – I don’t envy them their outfits in this heat!

We wanted to go to the folk art shop, but it was locked up tight. We met an artisan, and he showed us one of the pieces he’s working on

As the sun went down, a thousand great-tailed grackles screamed and swooped for their last insect meal of the day. So noisy! A wonderful end to our visit to Izamal.

Izamal, Yucatán

September 2, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaHotel Macan Che, Izamal, Kinich Kak Moo, Yellow Citykarenfranza

Aug 30 – One more yummy omelette at our Celestún hotel, and we were off to the bus station for our ride to Izamal. Little did we know that our big bus was a local, not an express. We boarded the bus at 9:30, changed buses in Mérida at 12:30, and arrived in Izamal at 3pm. And there weren’t any movies to watch on the bus!

Izamal is called la Ciudad Amarilla (the Yellow City), and as soon as we got off the bus we could see why.

Yes indeed, friends – the city is painted a very deep shade of yellow. The internet provides two possible explanations for this: 1) the color honors the Maya sun god Kinich Kakmó, or 2) the downtown area was spruced up with a new paint job in preparation for Pope John Paul II’s visit here in 1993. You decide!

Jim always does a good job finding us places to stay, but for Izamal he really hit one out of the park. We are at Hotel Macan Che, a group of jungle huts surrounded by lush greenery and the sounds of tropical birds.

The path to our hut. As an added bonus, we have hot water in the shower! This is a perk we always appreciate, but know better than to expect.

Jim is swimming with a smile. Our pool is built over a natural stone bottom, warm, inviting and crystal clear.

He tried to swim to the bottom, but the deep part was very deep!

**Aug 31** – Today we will visit the two Maya pyramids that are right here in town. The biggest one is Kinich Kak Moo, the Maya sun god. We left early in an attempt to beat the morning heat, but it was HOT. The pyramid was right in town, a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Here are the steps up to the pyramid.

He made it to the top! (I graciously volunteered to stay behind to capture the triumphant photo)

A view from the top. See the Yellow City below?

As we were already nice and sweaty, we kept going to the second pyramid, called Itzamatul. None of the other tourists followed us here – we had the pyramid to ourselves. This one was shadier, and not as large

Celestún, Yucatán

August 30, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán Peninsulabeach, Celestún, flamingos, wall artkarenfranza

Aug 26 – So here we are in Celestún. The conference folks got back on their big bus and returned to Mérida last night, to catch flights home or travel onward. We had our packs on the bus with us, and checked into a very modest small hotel a block from the Gulf of Mexico. This is where our beach vacation begins.

This little town is about as different from Mérida as can be. If tourists come here, they only stay for a day.

It rained yesterday, and the streets are quite flooded this morning. We got our feet wet before we got to the beach

A calm, sandy beach with body-temperature water

Celestún’s claim to fame is its proximity to the Ria Celestún Biosphere Reserve, accessible only by boat. This is a place where flocks of pink American flamingos can be seen during mating season, but we are not here at the right time of year. Here is some flamingo wall art instead

Eat chiliquiles for breakfast and fresh fish for lunch

Admire the jungle that separates our hotel from the beach

Collect shells and swim every day – watching the pelicans dive for fish and then rest close to us on the water was a special treat

Look at the different ways to get around – the multi person moto…

Or go on foot – just bring your own shade!

…and our favorite baker, Flor. She gave us a sample coconut macaroon, warm from the oven on our first day, and we went back every day thereafter.

Watch another fine sunset – thanks for the leisurely days, Celestún. A very relaxing week!

Back to Mérida Yucatán

August 26, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaCelestún, Mérida, Monumento a la Patria, Palacio Maya, peacocks Yucatán cuisine, wall artkarenfranza

Aug 22 – Today we got back on the big bus to return to Mérida. This time we are going to the northern, more modern side of the city so that Jim can give a presentation at the Parapsychological Association Conference. This is the reason we are here.

We checked out the Monumento a la Patria, carved 1945 – 1956, showing over 300 important Mexican figures

An eagle, devouring a snake, perched on a cactus – this is the center image on the Mexican flag

And who did we meet on the shady sidewalk? A lovely couple from Dallas Tx, passing out tracts for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They relocated here several years ago to join the expat community, and couldn’t be happier. Such nice people!

Lomitos Valladolid was my favorite – tender pork in a tomato sauce on a bed of creamy frijoles

A mural in our restaurant – do you see Salvador Dali, Jackie Kennedy, Princess Di, Frida Kahlo, Gandhi and Gorbachev? How about Fidel Castro and Albert Einstein?

A perfect shady deep water pool with hummingbirds sipping at the flowers

And while I was lounging around with the peacocks, Jim caught up with his colleagues and gave an excellent presentation that was very well received. Good work, Jim!

The conference ended with a bus ride to the beach at Celestún for a sunset swim and a feast of Yucatán foods. A gorgeous sunset!

More from Valladolid

August 25, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaCasa de los Venados, Cenote Zaci, Mexican folk art, Valladolidkarenfranza

Aug 20 – Today our plan was to visit the Cenote Zaci. Swimming in a “bottomless” cenote is on the ‘must do’ list of every tourist visiting Valladolid, and we are tourists, so off we go.

Google told us the Cenote would open at 9am. Having been in the Yucatán a while, we know not to set your watch by the times promised here. We arrived around 9:30, figuring we’d beat the afternoon crowds (when it is REALLY hot). The Cenote was not open, but the man said it would open at 10. We waited with the other tourists, striking up a conversation with a nice young couple from France.

There is the Cenote – 130 feet deep and blue and just waiting to be jumped into

We waited some more, and more of the hopeful tourists wandered away. After another while we decided to cut our losses and see what else Valladolid had to offer us today. Oh well!

Jim navigated us to Casa de los Venados, a private home owned by an American collector of Mexican folk art. This is a mural in the entrance foyer

The house is huge (23 bathrooms!) and each room is just filled with colorful art pieces. We were given a guided tour by David, a local Mayan who answered all our questions and let us take our time examining the pieces.

There is a room filled with tributes to Frida Kahlo

There was so much more, but you get the idea! A worthwhile morning!

Chichen Itza

August 23, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaChichen Itza, Mayan art, Mayan ruins, Valladolidkarenfranza

Aug 19 – This morning we got up early to catch a collectivo to visit the ruins of the Mayan city Chichen Itza. We arrived at the collectivo stop a little after 7, knowing that the 15 passenger van wouldn’t leave until it was full. Thankfully, this collectivo had air conditioning – an unexpected bonus!

It took about 45 minutes for the drive to the ruins of the city. It was already HOT, and we were glad to have our sunbrellas and plenty of water.

Temple of Kukulcán – El Castillo is the largest structure

Chichen Itza thrived from the time period of approximately 600 – 1200 CE. Unlike other ruins we’ve visited, none of these monuments may be touched or climbed upon.

The Great Ball Court- the largest of Chichen Itza’s ball fields

The object of the game was to get the ball through the small stone circle on the wall

A souvenir vendor showed us the size of the ball – a human skull may have been used to form the center

How the game may have been played – no hands or feet on the ball, only hips and forearms

The Temple of the Jaguars as it may have looked in its painted glory…

The buildings are carved with lots of serpents…

The Temple of a Thousand Warriors, represented by a thousand pillars

The Observatory – the windows line up so that the sun shines through on equinoxes

The Yucatán doesn’t have a river system, but a series of deep sinkholes that are used as sources of water. The Cenote (Sen OH tay) Sagrado provided all the water for this city.

The Maya had a very complex calendar system

A typical Mayan house with thatched roof

So many masks – faces surrounded by the teeth of a jaguar for protection

Valladolid, Yucatán

August 22, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaConvento de San Bernadino de Siena, Templo de San Servasio, Valladolid, wall artkarenfranza

Aug 17 – One more good breakfast in our little kitchenette, and we are off to find the ADO bus terminal to purchase tickets to Valladolid, about 2 1/2 hours to the east. We allowed plenty of time to get some lunch, but the line for tickets was so long we ended up buying a Subway sandwich and eating it on board. The bus was big and air conditioned, and we got to see a movie about a soccer team!

A long line at the bus station – lots of people on the move

We are going to Valladolid (Buy a doe LEED) because it is the nearest town to the pyramids of Chichen Itza. Most touristas breeze through here on a bus from a Cancun resort or a Cozumel cruise ship, but we’re here to see what there is to see!

We are staying at a little hotel called Kinich Ahau, named for the Mayan sun god, and run by Anna. Our room faces the pool, and Anna will cook our breakfasts.

Google Maps showed a plethora of restaurant options within minutes of our place, so we took our hungry selves out in search of dinner. Where were the restaurants? Although Google showed menus and photos and reviews, no restaurants could we see. A mystery.

We eventually found a fast food place called Mr. Taco that filled our bellies with pork and gobs of cheese, but this was definitely not health food. Jim asked Anna if he could use her kitchen to cook up some chicken vegetable soup, so we stocked up at the grocery. Problem solved. Tomorrow we explore.

Aug 18 – We got up early to beat the heat, and decided to use our sunbrellas for the walk to the city center. We headed to Convento de San Bernadino de Siena, built in the 1500s.