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You are here: Home / Archives for Photo Blogging / On The Road / Yucatan

Yucatan

On The Road – UncleEbeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 7 (of 8) – Comida!!

by WaterGirl|  August 1, 20235:00 am| 21 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

UncleEbeneezer

Now to the stuff that really matters…food.  One of the things we were most excited about was getting to try Yucatecan cuisine.  Aside from a couple places that serve Cochinita Pibil, it’s not easy to find food from the Yucatan peninsula, here in Los Angeles.  Here are some of the more memorable dishes and drinks that we had during our trip, along with whatever details I can remember.

On The Road - UncleEbeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 7 (of 8) - Comida!! 5
Idilio Folklore Cervecero, Valladolid, YucatanJanuary 8, 2023

Shrimp Tacos.  They really hit the spot (with a beer) after a very long day tour in the heat/sun.

On The Road – UncleEbeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 7 (of 8) – Comida!!Post + Comments (21)

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 6 (of 8) – Uxmal

by WaterGirl|  July 25, 20235:00 am| 18 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

Uncle Ebeneezer

Chichen Itza, is indisputably, the most famous of the Mayan Temples/Ruins in the Yucatan.  Unfortunately, there was a protest/blockade led by indigenous Mayans made it so that we were unable to go there.  But we knew about that before our trip and we had a good friend who had just visited the Yucatan in 2022 and she warned us that while Chichen Itza is amazing, it is SUPER crowded and suggested we would have a much more enjoyable time putting our effort into visiting Uxmal or one of the other sites.  Knowing how ourselves and how irritated we get by crazy-big crowds, it was an easy choice for us.  So we planned to spend a day driving to Becal, a small town known world-wide for its’ hand-woven Jipi hats (Panama) and then over to Uxmal, and then to more temples and cenotes before heading back to Merida.

On The Road - Uncle Ebeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 6 (of 8) - Uxmal 8
Uxmal, MexicoJanuary 11, 2023

After a quick stop in Becal where I did end up buying a lovely hat, we finally made it to Uxmal around noon.  It was HOT!!!  The walk into the grounds was fairly shady but it was still in the 90’s and probably 80% humidity.  Once you get into the grounds of the temples, there is very little shade.

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 6 (of 8) – UxmalPost + Comments (18)

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 4 (of 8) – Uayma & Espita

by WaterGirl|  July 11, 20235:00 am| 16 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

Uncle Ebeneezer

When we left Valladolid we were still traumatized by our nightmare experience on the main toll road the first night we arrived.  So we decided to take only back roads to Merida.  Fortunately the owner of our B&B in Merida gave us a suggestion on a great route that would take us through smaller towns and villages before we hit the big city of Merida.

On The Road - Uncle Ebeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 4 (of 8) - Uayma & Espita 5
Uayma, MexicoJanuary 10, 2023

About fifteen miles outside of Valladolid sits the quiet town of Uayma.  It is a tiny little town that used to be part of El Camino Real between Valladolid and Merida.  It is famous for its’ convent church.

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 4 (of 8) – Uayma & EspitaPost + Comments (16)

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 3 (of 8) – Ek Balam

by WaterGirl|  July 4, 20235:00 am| 14 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

Uncle Ebeneezer

After our lunch the van headed back towards Valladolid, stopping just North of the city to visit the Mayan temple at Ek Balam.  This was the first temple we would see on our trip.

On The Road - Uncle Ebeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 3 (of 8) - Ek Balam 9
Ek Balam, MexicoJanuary 8, 2023

The entrance to the Ek Balam grounds is particularly photogenic and very popular for tourists doing their best Instagram poses.

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 3 (of 8) – Ek BalamPost + Comments (14)

On The Road – UncleEbeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 5 (of 8) – Merida

by WaterGirl|  June 28, 20235:00 am| 16 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

UncleEbeneezer

Merida Mexico, capital of the Yucatan, is a pretty big city and you definitely need a car or taxis to get around unless you stay right near the Principal Plaza.  But once you are out of the car, there are tons of lovely park squares and streets to explore.  The following pictures were taken over multiple days but will highlight Merida’s incredible and colorful architecture.

On The Road - UncleEbeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 5 (of 8) - Merida 6
Merida, MexicoJanuary 10, 2023

Some lovely color on side streets of Merida.

On The Road – UncleEbeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 5 (of 8) – MeridaPost + Comments (16)

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 2 (of 8) – Rio Lagartos

by WaterGirl|  June 21, 20235:00 am| 11 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

Uncle Ebeneezer

Our first full day in Mexico began with us getting up early, making some coffee and then hopping in a small minivan/bus for our day long tour.  Unfortunately we were the last couple to get picked up so we got the worst seats in the van and we were the only people wearing masks (grrrr…). After about 90 minutes of driving through small towns and jungle we finally arrived at our first stop; Rio Lagartos.

On The Road - Uncle Ebeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 2 (of 8) - Rio Lagartos 7
Rio Lagartos, MexicoJanuary 9, 2023

On the North shore of the Yucatan Peninsula, Rio Lagartos is a small fishing town and home to a spectacular nature reserve:

Home of more than 400 bird species, Rio Lagartos is a protected area on the Yucatan coast, mainly famous for the Pink flamingo, also called American Flamingo. Many tourists flock here all year round to admire this spectacular natural ecosystem, including the most Instagrammed pink salt flat lakes, Las Coloradas.

But Rio Lagartos is more than that. Few people know that this huge territory of 60.348 acres was decreed “reserve” in 1999, although since 1976, it was considered a wildlife refuge.

It includes 8 ecosystems from coastal dunes to deciduous lowland jungles. The first Ramsar site was decreed in Mexico due to the great importance of its wetlands.

The estuary formed by brackish water channels (fresh and salty) surrounded by mangroves is home to a great diversity of flora and fauna. Besides the 400 birds, they have also registered 100 species of fish, about 105 species of reptiles, and 57 mammals.

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 2 (of 8) – Rio LagartosPost + Comments (11)

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 1 (of 8) – Valladolid

by WaterGirl|  June 13, 20235:00 am| 20 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging, Yucatan

Uncle Ebeneezer

In the Fall of 2019 we had a trip all lined up, planned and booked to visit the Yucatan Peninsula and more specifically, the capital city of Merida, Mexico but unfortunately the health of our beloved doggy Juniper (who you can see on the Balloon Juice Pet Calendar) was starting to go South so we ended up having to cancel, knowing that we would be unable to enjoy a week away and would be constantly worrying about her.  Then a little thing called Covid happened which basically killed our desire to do any long flights for the next couple years.  We finally decided that 2023 would be the time to finally pull the trigger on our Mexico trip and timed it to coincide with my wife’s birthday.

On The Road - Uncle Ebeneezer - Yucatan Adventure Part 1 (of 8) - Valladolid 8
Valladolid, MexicoJanuary 7, 2023

— Travel Nightmare You May Want to Skip —  After a lengthy but pretty easy flight we landed in Cancun and that’s where the headaches began.  After waiting FOREVER in a crowded line in the airport, we got scammed into paying way more than we should have on drivers insurance for our rental car (Hertz).  Then we waited for an hour in a very hot, very muggy parking lot with five billion other people, all waiting to get our cars and nobody having any idea what the hell was going on.  It was especially frustrating because it was already 9 pm and we still had a 2 hour drive to Valladolid.  We had been told that we could get pesos at the airport through a bank that is connected to our own bank in the US, without charge, but the ATM’s at the airport (at least the ones that we passed) were all out of order.  We were also told by the guy at the Hertz counter that the toll roads would take US dollars (they don’t).  Once we finally got our car we drove around Cancun for almost an hour trying to find someplace with an ATM where we could get pesos, because our cell phone maps were giving us completely useless directions.  The ATM’s didn’t have pesos.  Once we finally got to the toll road, they refused to let us on because we didn’t have pesos.  We had to wait for a car behind us to make change for our US dollars which was really frustrating since we still hadn’t eaten dinner, were exhausted and had a long drive ahead of us.  The toll road (180) was also under major construction so that the entire, 90 mile drive was through a maze of concrete barriers with the speed limit repeatedly dropping down to about 40 mph almost every other mile.  It was one of the most exhausting drives I have ever done in my life and we were both on our last nerves until we finally arrived in Valladolid at almost midnight. It was like Mexico was telling us “Bienvenidos, and GFYS, Colonizers!” lol — End of Travel Nightmare —

Once we finally arrived in Valladolid our spirits immediately lifted.  The man working the front desk at our hotel was super nice and told us we could easily get something to eat at the main central plaza.  I wanted some grub and a drink on a rooftop bar.  Mexico has stunning plazas, usually highlighted by gorgeous cathedrals so for this whole trip I was kind of obsessed with the idea of us chilling in such a luxurious and (for us) exotic environ.  Exhausted and starving, we finally got to one with a view overlooking the plaza and the San Servacio Church.  Sadly, I just learned that the church was built with the stones from a large Mayan temple that used to stand in the center of the plaza but was destroyed by Spanish conquerors :(  Unfortunately we also learned (multiple times on this trip) that rooftop bars kind of suck.  Sure, the views are spectacular, but the food and drinks are very pricey and not particularly good.  We had some tacos that were just OK and a beer and then went back to our hotel to crash.  We had a very long guided tour the next day that was going to pick us up early so we wouldn’t even have a chance to eat breakfast.  All we had was Trader Joe’s scones that we had brought from home, that had been mashed up from being in our luggage.  We were so burnt out from the travel and challenges that we both went to sleep hoping the next day would be better.

On The Road – Uncle Ebeneezer – Yucatan Adventure Part 1 (of 8) – ValladolidPost + Comments (20)

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