Tour of the Yucatan: June 24 ❤ Valladolid and Merida

In the morning in Valladolid, we went to eat breakfast at the same place we had dessert.  It wasn't that great and we wondered why we had come back...maybe expecting a better experience in the morning.  It was a surprise when Juan's chilaquiles with turkey instead of eggs.  We headed over to the Casa de los Venados after breakfast and the owner of the house showed us around as well as three Australian people.  The house itself was impressive and the art pieces were amazing.  It was absolutely beautiful.  

In the foyer at La Casa de los Venados.

The foyer at the La Casa de los Venados.  Frida and Diego bench = so cool!!!

John, the owner of the house and our guide.  He's explaining this mural that he and his wife contracted to a Mexican artist.

Okay, can you imagine creating this amazing piece of art with your hands?  Now imagine doing it blind-folded.  The artist is blind!!!  Absolutely amazing!!!

Their beautiful pool, gorgeous bridge, and art pouring water from high up on the walls into the pool.  This bridge and pool setup has been used in model photo shoots.

The dining table.  The woman next to this priest was one of Diego Rivera's lovers as well as an actress.  John said as a penance he sat Diego furthest away from her on the other side of the table, next to the nun you can see poking out over the bowl in the middle of the table.  

Even the bathroom is art!!!

After the tour, we asked the owner, John, how to get to the exconvento San Bernardino de Siena and he told us the directions and that the Taberna de los Frailes was an excellent place to eat near to the exconvento.

Outside of the exconvento San Bernardino de Siena.

One of the cenotes on the grounds of San Bernardino de Siena. 

The landscape was beautiful at the exconvento.

Inside the church at San Bernardino de Siena exconvento.

San Bernardino de Siena was on beautiful grounds, but I think I liked the Taberna de los Frailes better.  I was expecting to see more artwork at the ex-convent.  We ate a lot of good food that looked like art at the Taberna.

Yummy salad at the Taberna de los Frailes.

After lunch we found a taxi to take us to the X'keken cenote for relatively cheap.  We paid a bit more and he waited for us an hour while we swam.  Cenotes are realy cool.  They're freshwater pools in caves.  You walk down into the cave and there's a hole in the top letting in sunlight.  The water's clear and there were black fish everywhere.  There were also bats on the ceiling of the cave.  Juan was a bit nervous that the pool was so deep in the middle, so we rented him a life jacket.  They had ropes spanning out to the extremities in three or four places.  We touched the stalactites and the roots hanging down from trees growing above.  I hit my toe on a rock because it was hard to tell how deep the rocks were.  When I got out I also slipped on some wet rocks, butt thankfully I landed on my butt.  The taxi driver had gauze and alcohol to put on my toe, since it had started to bleed when we got out of the water.  He was really nice.  We left after I changed out of my swimsuit and he took us to our hotel.  We got our bags, got an ice cream at the store next to the hotel and then went to the bus station to go to Merida.

Going down to the X'Keken cenote.

The X'Keken cenote.

Swimming in the cenote.

Once we got to Merida, we got a taxi to go to the hotel I'd found online.  I was looking forward to this hotel, but seeing as it was Friday, it was all booked up.  We went to the Hotel San Juan next door instead.  After showering, we went to the Chaya Maya restaurant that the taxi driver had recommended.  We got crema de chaya soup, an entrada of papaxules and an entree called the 4 Yuccas.  It was four types of the Yucatan's typical meat dishes: cochinita pibil, relleno negro, pepian de pavo, and pikul de pavo.  They had women making fresh tortillas to the back of the restaurant and they served them in jicara gourds.  The food was excellent but we were so full afterward.  We walked around and looked in some shops before going to the Nieveria Colon.  It had been recommended to us by our tour guide in Chichen Itza and Juan had also heard of it.  I got sorbette de nance and Juan got sorbette de mamey.  Both nance and mamey are regional fruits.  They were really good and refreshing.  At the hotel unfortunately we passed a brutal night because we thought the A/C was broken.  It was suffocatingly hot and humid, but we survived.

Cuatro Yuccas entree at the Chaya Maya in Merida.

The cathedral in the plaza in Merida.

Tour of the Yucatan: June 23 ❤ Chichen Itza and night in Valladolid

We woke up early to catch the early bus, but the lady said we might have to stand on the 7:15 bus, so we opted for the 9:00 bus.  We went to eat breakfast across the street from the ADO station.  The juice and eggs were good but unfortunately there was mold on the carrot bread.  :(  To make up for the moldy carrot bread, we got some popsicles made from fresh fruit.  I got mango/strawberry and Juan got coconut.  We went to go wait in the bus terminal with our popsicles.  The movies on the bus were the end of The Proposal and El Raton Perez 3.  El Raton Perez 3 was pretty annoying and I kept teasing Juan, saying I was going to buy 1 and 2 for him for his birthday.  :)

We got in line for tickets at Chichen Itza and checked our bags for the day in some lockers.  It was a free service!!!  We passed on an official tour guide but were accosted by a guide named Roberto inside who offered a much cheaper tour for the Ciudad de Norte.  He was a really good guide - very knowledgeable and friendly.  Some of the cool things we learned were that they had a game where they hit a ball weighing 2-3 kilos with their hips.  Roberto said if they lost the game they were sacrificed to their gods for their blood.  (The guide in Uxmal said it was the winners who were sacrificed and at Palenque he said there is no sure evidence as to whether it was the winners or losers who were sacrificed.)  They also sacrificed prisoners of war and lined the walls with their skulls.  They strung them along with a thick pole.  We also saw an area where the monks played a game like basketball.  The whole place was pretty impressive.

The cenote on the grounds of Chichen Itza.

Juan and I in front of the castle at Chichen Itza.

The hoop for the ball game at Chichen Itza.

We walked around the Southern City by ourselves.  By that time we were really hot, tired, and hungry.  We bought a few souvenirs: a jaguar that makes jaguar noises, a shirt for Juan, and a dress for me.  There were lots of places all along the way selling artwork.  It was sort of annoying to be harassed all the way through the ruins.  They bothered us less when we had our guide.  

Part of the ruins in the Southern part of the city at Chichen Itza.

We got some doritos to tide us over and bought some guayas from a couple kids who were selling them in front of where the buses came in.  We had gone under the same tree where they were at to wait for the bus in the shade.  The bus ride to Valladolid was pretty quick, but we were dying of hunger by the time we got to the hotel.  We found the hotel Maria de la Luz that I'd found online painlessly and after we showered we went down to the hotel restaurant.  The food was really good (although not as good as Charlie's.)  We had papaxaules to start off, which are egg-filled rolled taco type things.  I had cochinita pibil which was a type of pulled pork with a red spicy sauce.  Juan had tasajo a la legna (pork cooked on a wood plank).

Tasajo at the restaurant at the hotel Maria de la Luz in Valladolid.

Cochinita Pibil at the Maria de la Luz restaurant.

We went to the cenote de Zaci after dinner, but it was about to close so we walked a bit around the town instead.  Juan took a quick dip in the pool and then we decided to rest a bit in the room before going out for a drink.  

The fountain in the downtown plaza in Valladolid.

The cathedral in the downtown plaza in Valladolid.

We went to a place around the corner of the main park and it was okay - the ambience promised a lot, but the service was poor.  We ordered a brownie and cheesecake (we ordered only one, but they brought the wrong one, so we got both).  I got juice and Juan got a dark beer.  We took some pictures in the park because it was really pretty with different colored lights lighting up the areas around the park, the fountain area, storefronts, and our hotel also.

The fountain at night.  So pretty!!!

The cathedral at night.  Love the lights!!!

Loved these funky chairs in the plaza.

In front of our hotel.

Tour of the Yucatan: June 22 ❤ Tulum Ruins, Charlie's, and Zazil-Kin

Juan and I went to the Tulum Ruins first on our tour of the Yucatan.  It was extremely hot and humid at 10:30 AM.  You have to walk a bit to get to the entrance and there were people offering deals to go snorkeling with the turtles plus go to the ruins.  We passed on that.  There were men in red costumes high up on the pole and Juan said they would spin down upside down but they wanted a tip before they did it.  Everything for a price!!!

The guys ready to spin down from the top of the pole.  Another uniformed guy came around for a tip.

We walked around the ruins for awhile and met couples from England and Louisiana.  The ruins were interesting but we just stayed to take pictures of everything and then went on our way.  There is a beach below the ruin, but we decided we would go to the beach later.

The beach at the Tulum ruins.

The Tulum ruins.

Us at the Tulum ruins and beach.

Juan and the Tulum ruins.

Before we went to the Tulum pueblo, we took pictures with this huge iguana.  He's so cute!!!

 I had found a restaurant called Charlie's in Tulum Pueblo and so we went there for lunch.  It was so good!!!  I had a Mexican salad with jicamas, grapefruit, cucumber, and red onion and then ate chicken tostadas.  Juan had a nopal and orange juice salad and then chile poblano.  So good!!!  We had margaritas and they were so strong I couldn't finish mine.  Charlie said he had made all the tables and artwork.  It was really impressive!!!  He chatted with us for a bit.  We were lucky to be the only ones there while we were eating.  We asked him for a hotel suggestion and he suggested the cabañas at Zazil-kin.

All the artwork at Charlie's restaurant.

Margarita plus nopal and orange juice salad = YUMMY!!!

Chicken tostadas!!!  So good!!!

At Zazil-kin, the cabaña was small, sparse, and smelled of mildew, but the grounds were amazing.  The grounds were all sand and we walked out to the beach and lay on some beach chairs outside of a bar the hotel set up on the beach.  The water was beautiful, but it was a bit more active (more waves) than in Cancun.  It might have been because the sky was threatening rain.  We sat our there all afternoon, showered off the sand, and then walked down the beach to the nearby restaurant for dinner.

Our cabaña at Zazil-kin.  Pretty cool, huh???

Some guys were playing soccer on the beach in front of the bar and beach chair area.

We went to sleep after dinner, tucked away under our mosquito-netted bed.  The electricity only worked from 7 PM to 7 AM - we kept the fan on all night, but it was still stifling hot for me and I had a bit of a restless night.  Before we left in the morning, Juan took a beautiful picture of the sun rising on the beach at Zazil-kin.

The sun rising at the Zazil-kin beach.

Next stop: Chichen Itza!!!

Cancun: June 19 ❤ Father's Day with Bananita and her Papa

It was raining really hard on Father's Day morning.  Juan ran out to get the last of the ingredients he needed to make Peruvian ceviche and arroz con pollo (rice and chicken).  Ana and her father came over to eat lunch with us.  They arrived just as Juan was finishing up in the kitchen.  He also treated us to Pisco sours.  Yummy!!!

Ana's father, Ana (aka Bananita), me, and Juan with our Pisco sours.

Peruvian ceviche.  Que rico!!!

Arroz con pollo still in the pot.  :)

Happy Father's Day!!!  Let's eat!!!  :)

Cancun: June 8 - 9 ❤ First whole day and Isla Mujeres

I got into Cancun late on June 7th.  Juan's friend Pikachu, as I call him, (Juan calls him Pokemon though his name is really David) came to pick me up from the airport.  Juan and I thought it was better to use his days off to spend the entire days together instead of having him pick me up and only be able to spend a day and a third with me.  It worked out well since Pikachu had the day off.  He helped me with my bags and to find the bus that took us into the downtown part of Cancun.  We took a taxi to Juan's apartment where he left me.

Juan got home really late and in the morning we went to eat at our favorite breakfast restaurant, 100% Natural.  It's so yummy.  Afterwards we walked around Mercado 28 and ended up getting a few gifts as well as these bracelets.  I was tired from traveling, so we just spent the rest of the day relaxing

Our "tourist" bracelets.  You can tell by the shade of skin that I got one with Juan's name and he got one with mine.  Cancun hadn't given me my tan yet...  ;)

The next day, I was rested and ready to go to Isla Mujeres, an island that's a short ferry ride away from Cancun.  The water is absolutely gorgeous as you can see from the pictures from the ferry.   The beaches on Isla Mujeres are like in Cancun, white sands, beautiful!!!

On the ferry going from Cancun to Isla Mujeres.

Once we got there, we got bombarded by the people trying to sell us boat tours down the coast of Isla Mujeres.  I thought we were going to walk around for a little bit, so we turned down the first offer.  It was a good thing we did because the next one was better.  Juan told me that it would take a few hours to do the boat tour, so it would be a good idea to take this offer since it was already past noon.  The tour promised us two areas of snorkeling, a look at the dolphinarium, and a chance to hold a shark.  It was only us and another couple from the northern part of Mexico.  The two guides gave us life vests, snorkel gear and swim fins.

Before going snorkeling.

We got to see a lot of different fish while we snorkeled as well as some reef and reef dwellers.  I loved the big yellow fish and I'm pretty sure we saw barracudas.  Actually I know we did, but I'm glad I didn't know that's what they were until we were out of the water because I may have freaked out a bit more instead of just pointing in amazement at how big and shiny they were.  :)  I was proud of myself that I snorkeled in open waters.  It was already a big hurdle to go snorkeling in Xel-Ha where the place we snorkeled was naturally enclosed.  It was different to jump off of a boat to swim and snorkel against the currents.  I did okay though, only bruised up my leg a bit getting back up in the boat the first time.

After we snorkeled in two areas, they brought the boat up to the side of the Dolphinarium so we could watch the people having their "dolphin experience."  The dolphins were pulling people across the enclosure and performing tricks.  It was cool, but the poor dolphins looked like they were working so hard.  Juan already says that he works like a donkey (because in Spanish it's working like a burro), so after seeing the dolphins working so hard, he adopted the phrase working like a dolphin.  :)

Our next stop was to the place we were going to eat the lunch that was included in our tour.  The only thing not included were drinks.  We were also able to go into an enclosure to hold a shark.  We just had to pay for the photo if we wanted it.  We decided it was worth it, since it's not every day that you get to hold a shark.  :)

Holding the shark on Isla Mujeres.

Juan and I played a game of pool while I sipped a piña colada and he drank a beer.  I won.  ;)  We went to eat our lunch that our guide had cooked.  Juan asked what type of fish it was and he told us it was a barracuda.  We had the fish, rice, tortillas, and noodles.  I was wondering where the idea of noodles came from.  They were good though, just didn't know they would be part of a Mexican meal.  They encouraged us to eat more fish since they wanted to use up all the fish they had cooked.  Juan ended up eating most of my second helping.  :)

After lunch we went to back to the boat and our guide told us some of the history of Isla Mujeres before he dropped us off at the North Beach, the best beach on Isla Mujeres.  Juan and I lay down on the beach and ended up falling asleep for a half an hour, before heading back down toward the ferry terminal.

The sign for Isla Mujeres with a Barracuda and a swordfish displayed overhead.

We got an ice cream before we got back on the ferry back to Cancun.  It felt good after all the heat and humidity.  And that ended our trip to Isla Mujeres...

Our feet pointing the way back to Cancun after our day at Isla Mujeres.