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Jeff JollJeff Joll
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  • Valladolid
    1
    Day 28–30

    Mérida

    January 29 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Only had about 48 hours in Mérida but it gave us a flavor for the city. We stayed 5-6 blocks from the main square in the historical center. Again, we felt very safe at night. We got lots of walking in. Right after getting into the center, we were looking at a church. A retired teacher came up and started talking, explaining about the history and significance of multiple buildings in the main square. He spent 2 hours with us, switching between English and Spanish. Would love to spend time with him regularly.

    On Tuesday we stopped at El Cerdenal, a local cantina. We were the only apparent tourists in the place and it had a great outdoor courtyard. We had 5 beers between us and they brought 2 courses of snacks / tapas to us complimentary. The total cost was a bit under $12.

    Tuesday evening around 8:00, we took the open air tour bus around town. The weather was great and it was a nice way to see a bit more of the town. We had walked the Paseo Montejo during the day and got to see it lot up at night.

    During our stay here, we visited a couple nice coffee shops, bakeries, as well as a taqueria in a market area that had a whole row of them. My breakfast on Wednesday was mondongo, which turned out to be a triple soup dish. Yum, yum.

    There were lots of parks / squares through the town. Nice places to sit and enjoy the surroundings.

    This was a place where we could have spent a few more days.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    1
    Day 28

    Adiós, Telchac!

    January 29 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    After spending a few days in Telchac, we had a more favorite opinion than when we first arrived. It is a town that is seeing development and will see a lot more. The ocean front homes are all nice for the most part. There are some larger developments under way and I am sure this will change the character of the town

    Telchac Puerto is currently a summer getaway place for people who live in Mérida. This is the low season and it shows. It is extremely quiet and most places are closed by 7:00pm. Very local restaurants, the type where you can pick the fish you want cooked.

    One thing I hadn't checked on was how to get from Telchac to Mérida. It was easy getting there. While there is bus service, the schedule didn't line up with what we wanted. Uber would not let me book ahead and said limited availability. The host said there maintenance guy could probably get us to Motul, the next town down the road, where we would have more options. We decided to go to the new upscale place in town for dinner on Sunday and to see if they could provide recommendations fora ride on getting a ride the following morning. Leslye, the hostess, immediate got to work on it after getting all our information. By the time we were leaving, she confirmed that we would have a ride at 10:00 am. She provided me with the driver's name and number, as well as her own in the event there were any issues. Alejandro showed up shortly after 10 the next morning. The car was nice and it was a smooth trip. I made sure to message Leslye, thanking her for her help

    This incident reminded us of our incident last year outside of Mont Serrat when we hiked to the wrong spot and were trying to get a taxi. The woman working the bar we stopped in tried her best to get us a taxi before we decided we had just enough time to hike back to catch the last train to Barcelona. Good people everywhere who will go out of their way to help.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    3
    Day 25

    Hello, Telchac Puerto

    January 26 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    I (Jeff) may have went a little too fast in looking for a laid back beach town. Telchac Puerto is a small village/town that looks to be undergoing quite a bit of development. There are a lot of nice properties with some not so nice or empty right next door.

    Lots of construction going on on houses. Seems like everything being done by hand.

    We ate Friday afternoon at La Angelita, a seafood restaurant a couple of blocks from where we are staying. Very good and quite inexpensive.

    A bit later we walked 10-15 minutes to the center of town and the pier. Before heading back we stopped at the bakery and grocery store.

    We have 3 balconies / outdoor patios with the top one giving the best view of the sea. We are about 250 feet back from the beach, it is so quiet compared to Valladolid.

    The beach is fairly narrow, with lots of shells. We started Saturday the a five mile walk on the beach, with a stop at the market to buy some fruit.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    Day 24

    Goodbye, Valladolid!

    January 25 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    We originally planned to do a few days at the beach in the middle of the month but decided to move it to the end of the trip. We loved the city and where we stayed -- would definitely recommend a visit.

    Our last night in Valladolid, we had dinner at the place we did the first night 3rd, time there), Carolina was the waitress there each time. She is a 21 year old with a degree in tourism, with a goal of getting a job in Mérida and eventually Canada.

    We caught the 9:52 ADO bus (which was only about 10 minutes late leaving) to Mérida. The bus was very comfortable with lots of legroom. Tickets for the two of us were less than $34 USD. Not bad for a 2+ hour ride. Right before entering Mérida, there was a checkpoint where the national police entered the bus and checked everyone's ID. We were glad we had our passports on our person.

    Once in Mérida, we caught a DiDi (Cheaper alternative go Uber) for Telchac Puerto.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    Day 20

    Museums

    January 21 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    This week we visited two different museums which both turned out to have been established and run by people from the United States.

    The first was the museum of clothing. We were out for a walk and stopped in a park in the San Juan neighborhood. A gentleman told us about the museum and talked us into going in. The first person we met greeting people by the door was a man from the eastern part of Pennsylvania, Dennis. He moved here roughly 20 years ago and long story short, he donated the property for the museum. The director of the museum, Tay, is from Pittsburgh and used to work at the Carnegie Museum of Art. She retired here for 8 years and then started the museum. It was fun just talking to the two of them and learning about their journeys that brought them here. The museum has traditional clothing from the various areas of Mexico and one room of embroidered panels depicting the life and beliefs of the Yucatan people. In the courtyard you could buy desserts and coffee. The young man serving had a desire to open a bakery and Dennis and Tay are letting him get practice here at the museum. This is an example of the kinds of fun things you just happen to stumble upon when exploring.

    The second museum was on our list of things to do though we weren't expecting it to be that exciting. Boy, were we wrong. The Casa de los Venados is very near to the central park. It is a house of mostly original Mexican art of all kinds. The couple who own the house are from the United States and also live and entertain there. The house was in disrepair when they bought it and they took 8 years to fix it up. It has something like 23 rooms, bathrooms equipped with mini frig and coffee makers, and a swimming pool. It encouraged over 18,000 square feet and includes some beautiful open air space. There is art everywhere you look (over 3000 pieces). They are major collectors addng 50 pieces to their collection last year. The owner described his collecting as a lifelong "addiction" . Unfortunately the wife died last July. The house is open for 5 tours a day for a donation. All of the money collected is given to charities.

    http://www.casadelosvenados.com/history-t.php    Read more

  • Valladolid
    1
    Day 18

    Local fair

    January 19 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Friday was the opening day of the fair, which runs for a couple weekends and coincides with the celebration of Our Lady of Candelería. We decided to get there shortly after opening at 7:00 pm. While there were a couple pickup points where free transportation was being offered, we decided to take a taxi.

    Upon arrival we could see that while the gates were open, the opening ceremony had not taken place yet. The dancers and others were still lined up outside the gate. It had rained a short time before and there was mud and puddles everywhere. The dancers dressed in their white garments were trying to stay clean. We stayed outside for a while waiting to see the start
    Evidently we were too close to the front and a lady politely asked where we were from and then led us back into the crowd. After waiting a bit longer, we decided to just head in.

    This was the first time for the fair to be held as this location and it was a muddy mess with puddles everywhere. And then it decided to rain more! We took shelter under a big tent with 3 stages. There were 3 bands taking turns playing but there were interrupted by opening ceremony speeches and the introduction of the Princess of the fair. Not sure if this was intended to be outside and was moved under the tent because of rain.

    The fair was evidently run by a company called Big Rhino. They were a fair amount of rides although they didn't get the roller coaster set up until Sunday. We thought there was to be livestock but the only animal was a single Zebu, a strange looking animal from the cattle family. Lots of food vendors and some games. There was a free concert at the main stage featuring a popular band. Other nights, the concerts on this stage required buying tickets. And some days there is bull fighting.

    We decided to head out shortly after 10:00, which was obviously early because people were still streaming in and traffic seemed to be backed up for close to a mile waiting to get in. The fair evidently ran to at least 2:00am, because that was the last run for the buses.

    It was fun seeing the local people enjoying themselves with so many of them dressed in the traditional Yucatan garb For us, it might have been better if it were drier... And we weren't really impressed with most of the music.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    Day 18

    Chichen Itza

    January 19 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    No trip to the area is complete without a visit to the ruins off Chichen Itza, one of the 7 wonders of the new world.

    We decided to take the first collectivo of the day, scheduled to leave around 7:00. I was amazed that we were pulling out with a full load in the van by 6:55. Eileen and I were in different rows in the van. I ended up sitting with a young couple from Amsterdam.

    We arrived before the gates opened at 8:00 and were close to the front of the ticket line. The process was the same as at Ek Balaam -- you had to buy two tickets, one from the state government and one from the federal. And there were two tickets takers, a rep from each. I guess there is no trust between the levels of govt.

    As the initial pictures show, it was rather foggy when we got there but the fog quickly burnt off. I think one of the things that amazed us as much as the building was all the vendors and the amount of set up they had to do. It appeared that every morning they had to set up their displays, including tables, tents, racks, etc from scratch. They were able to leave that stuff in the woods and just had to carry it up and assemble but they also had to bring in their merchandise and supplies. So many merchants, so much of the same stuff, not sure how they made any money. Lots of chants of "only a dollar".

    We spent about 3 hours wondering the grounds following a self guided tour we had found online. No guide like we had at Ek Balaam. One of the most interesting things was seeing one of the ruined structures being rebuilt. They take what looks a lot like a pile of stones and turn it into what the building is supposed to have looked like originally.

    Our take: we enjoyed Ek Balaam more than Chichen Itza. Ek Balaam was way less crowded, less commercialized, and you could climb on some of the structures.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    1
    Day 13–16

    Enjoying the warm and not the snow!

    January 14 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    We have taken to a slower pace the last couple of days with lots of walks and plenty of chill time. We went on a bee tour. Mexico is the largest exporter of honey. They have 46 types of bees with 40 of them being stingless. The tour was in a dry cenote in a forest setting, perfect for the bees. Our guide explained the different kinds of bees, the different kinds of honey they make, and how the bees are moved to boxes and their honey collected. We got to sample various honeys and honey products at the end. Honey collecting has a lot of Mayan culture associated with it. On our tour was a brother and sister from Denmark. He was an exchange student in Mexico when he was in high school and they were back to visit with his host family. He visits once or twice s year.

    We have already taken a lot of neighborhood walks usually in the morning before it gets too hot. We either pick a direction or a place on google maps and start walking. We have seen a variety of neighborhoods this way. There are sidewalks most places, although many are uneven or in need of repair. We need to watch where we are walking. We have felt completely safe everywhere we have gone, day or night. When we get back, we jump in the pool at our building to cool off. Later we grab a coffee and head to the park for dancing entertainment, people watching and occasionally desserts from the vendors.

    We have also tried a few new restaurants and bars. When we eat somewhere, Jeff will ask the person waiting on us where they would eat or drink when they go out. We have gotten a lot of great suggestions this way. We have been to a rooftop bar overlooking the center park, a Harry Potter themed bar, another local cantina, and have eaten very well!    Read more

  • Valladolid
    1
    Day 9

    Hanging out

    January 10 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    The last couple days have just been hanging out around town, walking, and reading. We did stop at a local history museum (all displays in Spanish) and another location that had murals depicting history.

    Brunch was at Loncheria Olich, a place recommended by multiple people. It had a nice outdoor space and the food was good and fairly inexpensive.

    Last evening, we had a delicious dinner at Restaurante de los Santo, a small, family run operation. It is one of the few places we have been without any outdoor seating. We followed that up with a trip to Idilio Folklore Cervecero, an at gallery/brewery. They had about 8 beers on tap. Would rate as "ok" for beer, but a beautiful setting. We finished off the evening with the light show / history presentation displayed on the monestary, first watching the Spanish presentation, then the English.

    We continue to ask our servers where they like to go to eat and drink.

    On both Tuesday and Wednesday, we picked a direction and walked to the edge of town. Tuesday, we went east and Wednesday we went south. We had been west several days ago. Generally speaking, the neighborhoods aren't "pretty" but there are some houses that look pretty nice. Most of them have walls and gates.

    The town is reported as being very safe and we have felt that way, no matter where we have been. We haven't been out much later than 10:00pm. People seem fairly easy going.    Read more

  • Valladolid
    Day 7

    Ek Balam

    January 8 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Today we went to Ek Balam, a Mayan ruin. The ruins were started around 300bc and peaked in population. around 1000ad. Eventually they were abandoned and over time deteriorated and were covered over. Excavations started around 1970. So far they have uncovered about 30 structures but you can see the piles of stone where there are more structures waiting to be uncovered. At Ek Balam you can climb on most of the structures. The biggest one was a palace for the noble and elite. Others were places of worship. This area was surrounded by walls to keep the commoners out. The entire area is surrounded by forest . We had an English speaking guide.

    Next we walked a mile to a nearby cenote. The cenote had cabanas where you could spend the night and hammocks to rest in. It also had a rope swing, a place to repel down and a Zipline to ride across the cenote. Much more touristy than the others we were at, but still very beautiful!

    Walking back, we stopped at a "food stand" for tacos. The lady made fresh tortillas and cooked them on a skillet over a fire. The beans were cooked with the pork and served in a bowl. The couple running the place only spoke Spanish. I am sure there were things said that we didn't understand, but we got the jist of things . The lady also had a homemade loom that she weaved hammocks on.

    We took a colectivo to the ruins and back. They are like a taxi but they wait until the car is full (ish) before they leave.

    When we got back, we realized we did not have the key to our apartment, but with a little help, we got back in.

    In the evening we went to a bar (Libran
    os del Mall, deliver us from evil) on our street for a beer, served in liter glasses!    Read more

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