17.06.24-25. Missing Mike in Playa Del Carmen

Missing Mike in Carlsbad, Cancun, Isla Holbox, Bacalar, Tulum, Valladolid and Playa del Carmen among other places .......

After returning from Valladolid for a one night visit to Cancun so I could complete my crown work with my Cancun dentist,

 

 I took a one hour express shuttle bus ride to Playa del Carmen and  lodged in a brand new building of condominium units - one unit of which is owned by Claudia's dad and Nellie.  The building is not quite open for public rental yet, but the units were available for owner's use and they were nice to let me check it out for my last weekend.  

The room was very comfortable and relaxing and there was a great rooftop pool where I sat both nights at sunset - 

 

 - alone because there was practically nobody else staying in the building - it was a little bit like a ghost town. 

The condo building was on a major street just a short walk to the main shopping / restaurant / tourist section of town. 

 

I went there on Sunday to relax at the beach and had the last guacamole meal of my trip - 

 

at the very same hotel we stayed at and beach club /restaurant we enjoyed last year when we visited Playa del Carmen after the wedding. 

 

But darn it, someone was missing.

 

This completes my tour of all the places Mike and I visited together in Mexico last year.  

This also completes my Mexico trip related entries.  All I had to do once back in Cancun for two final nights was to condense my expanded pile of luggage into one checked rollerbag and two catrry-ons

 

And give big hugs to Claudia and Lupita for being such welcoming, helpful and loving hosts while I came and went from their home in Cancun at my free will - Muchas Gracias !! 

But this does not complete my recap of the places Mike and I enjoyed together. 

I am only half way through the first year without Mike, and I intend to continue retracing the steps we took last year because we enjoyed our journey together.  

We achieved our dream of living and traveling full-time in the motor home. We achieved our goal after he got sick of staying in the motorhome for as long as possible because it was what we wanted to do. 

He liked it. 

We liked it together. 

And I still like it. 

I know he wanted me to continue our journey and so I will - for both of us. He will be with me and I look forward to the special moments that he appears like he did through the live music at the restaurant in Valladolid ( see 17.06.14-23 Missing Mike in Valladolid). 

Enjoy the journey, my love!  I love you. 

17.14-23. Valladolid - traveling solo

I was never nervous about traveling alone. I've had plenty of experience flying and vacationing and I planned to go to places in Mexico that I'd already been once before. I was confident about my ability to express myself in Spanish when I arrived, and my confidence grew in relation to the time on the ground, especially with the Spanish school experiences. Plus, I had family in Cancun in case of emergency, and to visit on a regular basis - I was never completely slone. 

At the beginning of my trip I had no experience with traveling alone - especially at mealtimes. I missed the discussion and compromise associated with deciding what to eat and where. 

Thinking back to my first stop in Isla Mujeres, I now realize what a good opportunity I had to meet new people and talk to the locals.  I remember the first couple I met at an outdoor cafe in mid afternoon when we were both eating at nearby tables. About my age, from Tennessee. We started becsuse the man was working on his Spanish.  The "donde está" questioning was followed by the soon to become familiar  question that I heard many times during my trip:  "Are you traveling alone?"

That question always led to me telling my story of the loss of Mike and my draw to Mexico because of Eric and Claudia.  We talked about getting together again, but I was new at this sort of thing and let that ball drop. 

I traded FaceBook connections with another woman traveling alone in Isla Mujeres. I followed her travels to the same towns I also visited, but our paths never crossed again - at least not during this trip!

In Tulum I traded FaceBook connections with a guy and girl who were traveling together from El Paso to the Spanish school, but were not a couple. They just discovered they were good traveling partners. Interesting concept!  

I think traveling alone opened some doors for me that may not have been open had I been with another person. 

-  I was able to crash the all-inclusive resort on Isla Mujeres for the afternoon, coming in by bicicleta from the road rather than by boat like all the package deal excursion tourists ( see 17.05.17 Last Full Day on the Ilsland) 

-  In Tulum I walked through an exclusive hotel lobby to get to the private beach unquestioned.  

-  the entrance into private Spanish lessons in Valladolid was definitely something that would not have been possible had I not been alone. 

By the time I hit Valladolid I was embracing the traveling alone experience, and looking for opportunities to meet new people. 

-  I met a couple with a young teenage son at Pulpo Hostel and traded FaceBook contacts when we realized we had common interests in Oregon, learning Spanish, traveling by RV and staying in hostels and smaller, more local hotels and AirBNB type places. 

- while at Zentik Project I met a couple on vacation from Cancun and got the "are you traveling alone?" question. Valerie indicated I was "brave" for doing so and sympathetic about my reason for traveling alone - the loss of my partner.  We enjoyed the pool and conversation around dinner and massage appointments during the day. Later that night when we were in the cave enjoying the warm water ( see Valladolid - Cenotes and another unusual water feature). she encouraged me to live in the moment saying "you only have one life " another sentiment I heard from the locals more than once.  Her comments helped me to relax and enjoy the opportunity to meet and practice my Spanish with Daniel 

 

another solo traveler from Mexico City.  

- when I went across the street from my second hotel, Hotel Don Luis, for take out food on a rainy night, I got the "are you traveling alone?" question from Adriana, the restaurant hostess. She spoke very little English - only enough to wait on her customers, but we became friends immediately as a result of my story, and willingness to speak Spanish, and her interest in meeting someone not from around here. I went in once a day for my last four days to eat or meet her for recreation. 

We went for a beverage and guacamole in my favorite restaurant on the a central plaza one night after she got off work.

 

And the next day I took a taxi to her house in the outskirts of town and attended her son Jose's kindergarten graduation dance program at an air conditioned auditorium on the university campus.  

 

I was the only white person in a standing room only ( and therefore pretty hot) crowd.  Afterward we went back to her house and ate tamales her mother prepared. While I was there, her 15 year old son who speaks no English but is learning it in school brought out his homework for me to look at, and also the instruction manual to some PlayStation game. He had the game and the game console, but was not able to advance because he could not read the instructions. I'm not sure I was able to help since I know nothing about fantasy games, but I did read and translate the "concept" of the game as best I could. 

This frienfship with Adriana, the invitations I got from the teachers and the  Spanish instruction I got by crashing the  Eurolsnguage school and the welcome and encouragement I got from many people while trying to communicate with them in their world was  a tremendous experience. 

One of the Tulum Spanish school conversation clasd questions I was asked to respond to was:  "do you like traveling alone or with others best?"  At the time the question was asked, I could only think of one answer:  "I enjoyed traveling with Mike, my love and life partner, and have no experience traveling alone, but I am looking forward to finding out."   Now I can add that while I would definitely rather be traveling with Mike, since that option is no longer on the table, I am confident in my ability to enjoy traveling alone.  The opportunities are limitless!

17.06.14-23 Valladolid - Spanish education

My first act in Valladolid after resting in the cool of my room until sunset was to join Trevor, the owner of Pulpo Hostel at his bar and get acquainted during his ongoing happy hour which consisted of two beers and a shot of tequila for 45 pesos. Trevor is from the US but has been in Mexico for four years and spent some time teaching English at a school in Tulum where he met Sarah who is the owner of Meztli Spanish Language school in Tulum when her daughter was his student. He knew the teachers at Meztli and the town. Small world!  I was really excited to have that common connection. 

Trevor was fluent in Spanish and we spoke both English and Spanish together.  I can usually understand non-native speakers better than native speakers ( I guess because they are coming at it from the same perspective as me, but I still gave him the deer-in-the-headlights blank stare when I did not understand what he was saying, and then he would translate).  His partner, Jafet was from Tulum and spoke no English. 

 

There was another hombre at the bar during this first happy hour session who was also local, but was learning English, and I had a good time telling my story in the best Spanish I could muster and asking questions, hoping to understand the answer.

I learned about what would be my free-time recreation:  Cenote Zaci. Cenote Oxman, Zentik Project, música en vivo ( see Valladolid - Cenotes, and Missing Mike in Valladolid). 

I also learned there was no Spanish language school here in Valladolid, but everyone voiced the suggestion that I'd already heard numerous times:  "The best way to become fluent is to immerse yourself in it.  AND it helps if you have a love-interest partner" (actually a more accurate retelling of the suggestion is to "Take a Spanish Lover").  That is what Trevor did. That is what Eric did. Hummmmmm.. I was thinking more along the lines of attending a school. Like Meztli in Tulum.

So after my two beers and the shot of tequila I headed out to find dinner and some more people to talk Spanish with. Imagine my surprise when between Pulpo Hostel and the central plaza I passed a sign that said EuroLanguage School. Italiano, Frances, Alemán, Portugese, Ingles. But no Español? 

 

I was feeling brave and juiced by my recent tequila and Spanish conversation, so up the stairs I went to see what I could learn. I found the office. I was welcomed in with " Bienvenidos ".  I sat down and explained in Spanish that I was looking for a Spanish school.  I had a five minute or so conversation with Allen, el maestro.  Almost every conversation I have in Spanish with a new person goes something like this:

Me llamo Denise.  Soy de California. Mi hijo, Eric se casó una chica, Claudia, de Cancún. Después la boda hace dos años, yo empiezo aprendiendo Español con mi celular y Duolingo. Estoy aquí in Mexico por ocho semanas. Voy a Isla Mujeres, Bacalar, Tulum y Isla Holbox.   Estoy viajando solo porque mi esposo se murió in deciembre. Yo sé muchas palabras, pero todavía tengo mucho que aprender. 

Since this post is about learning Spanish, you will need to put this in a translator program if you are interested in translating what I just said in less than perfect Spaniah - (that is why I'm looking for a school:) I use the SpanishDict app on my phone for a translator, but I saw Paty and her daughter Valerie in Tulum use Google translator. There are other options.

Allen confirmed it was true, they do not offer Spanish classes, but he could give me private lessons - one hour per day for five days. OMG!  That is perfect!  We start tomorrow at 11:30. This is Allen and his wife Patricia on my very last day, but their picture deserves to be right here. They were AWESOME for taking me in.

 

Class #1. One on one in an empty (except for Allan and me) classroom. Review of conjugation of verbs. I was able to convince Allen that I knew the rules, and he pointed out that I needed to memorize and practice those rules so I could used them in conversation without having to stop and think between each word. 

Class #2.  One on one in an empty (except for Allen and me) classroom. Allen added two more tenses to be conjugated. I already knew the rules. DuoLingo is an effective teaching tool for my learning style. But I know I need to memorize and practice.  Then we read aloud from a story he provided.  That exercise lead to lots of questions and the discussion/lesson  of word order in Spanish sentences and conversations which is often exactly opposite of how we talk in English. Enough said on this topic because you are not here to learn Spanish ( and I am not qualified to teach!) but you should just know that I was very excited about the whole experience. 

We finished at 12:45. During our lesson, the subject of French people's love of wine and Spanish speaking people's love of tequila came up. So when it was time to go Allen offered a shot of tequila. I always have trouble in situations like this - you know, is the offer for business or pleasure?  But it was Friday, he is a married man, he already knew my story, and I didn't want to be rude, so "What the Heck?  He apologized for not having lime, salt and a shot glass, but he did have tequila! We each had a shot out of big red plastic beer-pong style glasses. I'm sad I didn't take a picture of this moment. 

Class #3.  When I showed up at school on Monday morning at the normal hour no one was there. I came back later in the day and Patricia told me Allan was called away for work, she was very sorry, and we would meet tomorrow at either 9:30 or 1:30 - I was not sure because she spoke no English.  She said she would confirm by phone and we exchanged numbers. I got no confirmation. 

The next day I showed up at 9:30. No one was there. I returned at 1:30 and Patricia told me Allan was teaching at the university but would be here at 4:30.  This was the day I had the bad food on my way home from school. ( see Valladolod - la comida). It rained hard all afternoon so I stayed in my room and knitted. At 4:15 I put on my water safe shoes and street appropriate swimwear and walked to school in the rain. I was committed!  I was pretty wet by the time I got there, but it was warm wet and I had a dry shirt to add to my outfit. The streets were flooded. ( bad photo of the view of the wet street from the school's office door). 

 

It was still raining when I got there but no Allen.  I met Julio, a young man who I spoke to in Spanish for quite a while during my wait.  Julio told me he lived in Valladolid, had been a student in this school to learn a bit of Italian and so much English that he was now teaching English in this school to others. In fact, he was going to be teaching a class soon. Allen was not here. I was welcome to sit in on his class. So I did. 

 

Julio took this picture of me with his other two students. The lesson was about body parts and other physical descriptions.  I inverted all the lessons to study the Spanish version of the English words he was teaching. He asked me for word and pronunciation help in English. It was not exactly a one on one class, but I enjoyed the experience counted it as a valuable class. 

Class #4. Julio is now my teacher. We had a one on one session in an otherwise empty classroom. I showed him the sentences I wrote out unbidden by any teacher and asked for corrections. That led to him explaining again a concept that I do not yet understand but am aware of.  A concept I learned first with Study Spanish, the app I moved into after completing DuoLingo. A concept I learned again in private lessons at Meztli. A concept my 60 year old brain has trouble with recall and implementation, but not with determination.   

Julio and I exchanged numbers because he was not sure if there would be class tomorrow, but I wanted my fifth class, so he had to ask Allan's permission. Permission came muy pronto via What's App, the preferred communication app for cell phones here in Mexico. 

Class #5. Julio and I showed up at the agreed upon hour - 9:30. The school was still locked. Nobody there. I invited Julio to the coffee shop on the corner that I had been to several times already. He accepted, but immediately after our caramel frappaccinos arrived, he got word via What's App that Allen and Patricia were now at the school and Julio asked me what I wanted to do. I said "Quiero quedar aqui". I hoped he was not in trouble. But after a phone call he gave me an "all clear" smile and we finished the final one hour session at Las Cabañas over frappaccinos. Perfect!

 

This picture is dark due to backlighting. Darn!  I really enjoyed talking with Julio. I told him about this blog and gave him the address. He showed me his pencil sketches in a hard bound sketch book. He is a really talented drawer - I saw sketches of eyes, entire faces, and a horse that were extremely realistic. 

After class I walked back up the school office and took the picture of Allan and Patricia at the top of this post. I feel really fortunate to have had this experience, because I know I was unusual in their world. I feel like they let me "audit" the class and make my own rules.  I learned a lot and most important, had good practice speaking and had a good time doing it!

That is the end of my "formal" Spanish education, for this trip, but there was so much more informal experience during my time in Valladolid especially because it was near the end of my trip and enriched by all the other talking experiences I've had so far during my time in Mexico. 

I was in a non-tourist town where not everyone spoke English. I engaged with every person I spoke to in Spanish. When asked if I wanted English, I said "Español, por favor, estoy practicando". I was able to get my message across and get the information I needed. After my opening statement I often said "mi español es muy mal pero mejor cada día".  I received confirmation from taxi drivers, restaurant workers, shopkeepers, hotel clerks and other Spanish speaking tourists that yes, my Spanish was understandable and they were complimentary that I was trying. 

Very encouraging - I guess I'm learning Spanish!

17.06.14-23. Missing Mike in Valladolid

My first trip to Valladolid was with Mike on April 2014 when we came for 4 nights and were given the Royal Tourist treatment by Claudia and Lupita. Eric was early in his relationship with Claudia at the time, but all were eager to have us visit and we enjoyed the trip.  We spent one night in Valladolid that time and took this picture of us in the central plaza

 

where I now sit alone.

 

enjoying the memories and the beautiful plaza, with a large iglesia on one street, 

 

and bordered on all four sides by restaurants, shops and public buildings. 

Remember the Easter Miracle post dated 17.04.14?  I experienced another powerful message from Mike while I was here in Valladolid. 

I had asked Trevor at Pulpo Hostel for a recommendation about where to go for "música en vivo".  He told me Conato was nearby and had live music on weekends. I went there on Friday night after my visit at Pulpo with Sarah, the maestro from the Spanish school inTulum ( see Valladolid - Spanish education ). 

I arrived about 10:00. The band was two hombres. One with guitar the other with percussion.  They were positioned up on a loft above the open-to-the-sky restaurant seating area out back. 

 In this photo the band up in the loft above the seating area looks like four people because the two musicians were sitting in front of larger than life sized photos of other musicians in action.  

Since it was past dinner hour, I was greeted immediately why my Spanish speaking server, and had time to place my food and drink order while the musicians finished the song they were playing when I walked in, and did a bit of chatting to the guests in the restaurant in Spanish as they prepared for their next song. 

The very first song they played after I was seated, comfortable and enjoying my mojito was the ONLY song they sang in English all night AND from Bob Dillion, one of Mike's favorite artists. The song was (and I kid you not).....Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door - one of the songs that Mike and I chose for our favorite songs playlist while we in in Oregon during our last active month alone together last year. Now I wonder how the band knew to play that particular song in English at that particular moment?

Actually, I don't wonder, I know. I simply said out loud "Thanks, my love!  I love you too!"  Then I had a delicious,  full-blown, deep from the pit of my belly cry right there at my table:)

17.06.14-23 Valladolid - los hoteles

I found my first hotel from AirBNB.  Pulpo Hostel and Restaurante.   

It sounded good because it had a pool and advertised a good location close to El Centro and the bus station. All true. In addition, there was an outdoor restaurant with a nice bar around the pool and a friendly and helpful young man owner who was not native ( he was from Flint Michigan originally - another reason I liked him) but was fluent in Spanish and patient with my Spanish communication. He and his business and life partner, Jafet, a non-English speaking local

 

were good tour guides and helped me find both cenotes I visited and the day spy retreat Zentik Project ( see Valladolid - Cenotes and another unusual water feature). 

I enjoyed the pool twice - once in the late afternoon after being out in town in the heat. I went in for a 30 minute treading water exercise session and stayed for 45 minutes because while there I enjoyed the leading edge of a thunderstorm.  Black clouds, strong wind, light rain followed by heavy rain which sent most of the restaurant 

  guests away but I was already wet, so decided I might as well stay in.  When the thunder and lightening arrived I got out and was offered Tequila by the two guys still sitting under the palapa by the bar, but I declined in favor of returning to my room to take this picture of the pool, rain and hostel layout from my balcony. 

The second pool experience was after midnight on Saturday when I returned from the Zentik Project day outing.  Trevor and Jafet had friends and we all went in to cool off ( I was still in my bathing suit from the cave swim and it was still hot at midnight.)

I would have stayed at Pulpo Hostel the whole nine nights in Valladolid except for a couple negative points:

1. Most important, there was no comfortable place to sit outside my room on the balcony 

 

( this would have been a good spot with a hammock or a lounge chair but the 4 month new hostel provided neither) or by the pool ( the only chairs were straight back plastic chairs meant for the restaurant ) and the room was pretty hot - the ceiling fan was worthless, but the floor fan made my stay tolerable for the five nights I was there.  

 

2.  Trevor and Jafet played loud electronic music in the outdoor bar and restaurant at night - annoying!

3. The trickle of water ( never mind it was cold water, it felt great!) from the shower head was not really strong enough to wash my hair, but I managed. 

I was on the fence about whether to gut it out for my remaining four nights because the location, price and people were enjoyable. But on the fifth evening, the music turned into an even louder more annoying DJ and the trickle of water ran dry while I was shaving my legs in the shower and I had to exit the shower with conditioner still in my hair. I though about the shower scene from one of my favorite dumb movies Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but decided that idea was worse than simply being sticky!

So on Monday morning I packed early and left on good terms with Trevor. I told him I enjoyed change and exploration " Me gusta cambiar y exploración" which is absolutely true!  I mentioned the lack of water and he said "Again?"    Guess I made the right choice to move!

 I had already scoped out quite a few other hotels during my walks around town. I would pass one that looked like a possiblity, enter and ask the reception desk  "Tiene cuartos disponible por una persona por cuatro noches en el lunes?  Sometimes I would get a look at the room which also gave me a look at the public spaces which is what I was looking to improve over my Pulpo Hostel experience.  I learned the price of the room was also negotiable - one person speaking Spanish and staying for multiple nights resulted in a price decrease from $600 to $500 pesos per night at Hotel Don Luis where I decided to go. 

Moving day was the day I had plans to meet up with Cesar ( see Valladolod - la gente).  During breakfast he mentioned his friend has AirBNB lodging and he was taking care of it while she was out of town, so had a key. Would I like to see it". I said sure, but ultimately chose the hotel I had picked out because it was closer to the school and the central plaza where I could eat and shop. 

I found Hotel Don Luis when I passed it on my way to Cenote Zaci. It was closer to central plaza than Pulpo, just as close to school, and had an in-ground pool which I didn't get to use too much because it rained in the afternoon three of the four days I stayed there.  I did get to sit out by the pool on the lounge chair a couple times.  This hotel actually had hot water, and a TV on which I watched CNN Espanol and The Hunger Games dubbed in Spanish. I also did a lot of knitting in the room because of the rain, and could dash put easily for food.  

I enjoyed staying at this hotel.  But have not a single picture to show for it.  I think it might be because 

I didn't stop to talk Spanish with the hotel staff here like I did at Pulpo and Posada Isla Mujeres until the last day when I needed late checkout (and the owner gave me longer than I was asking for.)  But I did find time to make a return trip to Pulpo on my final night in town to say goodby.  I received a shot of tequila and a goodbye toast offered to all the bar guests by Trevor.  Then I climbed up to take this farewell picture 

 

and discovered too late that the chair was broken. I fell and bloodied my left shin pretty bad. (This picture was taken after three days and Dr. Lupita declared me "on the mend" but it kept me out of the water in my next stop, Playa Del Carmen)

 

I was given triage medical care by one of the toasters at the bar, and stopped at a farmacia on my way back to Hotel Don Luis for some proper tools for the actual medical care needed.

I'm not sure the photo was worth the price, but Pulpo Hostel was a good memory non-the-less. 

17.06.14-23. Valladolid - Cenotes and another unusual water feature

I walked through town to Cenote Zaci on my second full day in Valladolid. 

Cenotes are fresh water pools fed by a vast system of underground rivers and contained above and below ground by limestone rock. A geologist or google search would do a more thorough job of explaining this natural geographic feature which is found widespread in the Yucatan Penunsula. From my perspective the important thing to know is that the water is deep, crystal clear and refreshing.  Many people would also note they are great for snorkeling, and some are great for scuba diving,  but that was not my interest. 

Every cenote is different, of course, like every place on earth is different from the others. Cenote Zaci is open-to-the-sky, ( as opposed to being a completely underground cave like many Cenotes are) and partially covered by rock from which three waterfalls (visable in the photo below) fell down into the water from the cave ceiling at a distance farther than it would be safe to jump. 

 

Access to the water was gained by walking from street level down a declining rock walkway through a cave to get to the open air area and then climbing down rock steps to get to a stone sidewalk that circled the cenote completely at various distances up from water level. There were lots of places where a person could make a jump into the water, or walk into the water using more stone steps.  The call of the cool water was stronger than the fear of the jump 6 foot jump and in I went for a cool-down swim.

Here is a panoramic view of the entire cenote from slightly above water level.

 

And here is one of people swimming and lounging at the edges like I did until it started to rain. 

 

Then I went for cover under the cave roof and enjoyed the view of the cenote and the rain for a while, and eventually went to the adjacent large palapa covered restaurant for some comida. 

I rode a rented bicicleta to Cenote Oxman two days later. This cenote was also open to the air, but very deep below ground level, making it feel and look like a 50 yard diameter well. Here is s view from the top looking down to the water with a few people swimming in the sunshine reflection.

 

The outhouse shaped entrance to the decent path said 73 steps. Not for the faint of heart!

 

Once I was down to water level, there was a group of locals already in the water and a guy at the  top of a diving platform at the bottom of the staircase I had just descended.  I was one of about 10 people in the cenote at the time and the only non- native ( see the related story in Valladolid - la gente). I looked down into the water from the diving platform.  It was way to far for me to be comfortable jumping, but  a distance my kids would have scoffed at (Mike and I used to take them to the Yuba and American Rivers near our house and we have watched them jump from crazy high places!) The guy at the top indicated I should use the rope swing to enter the water and offered a life jacket.  I declined the jacket because I am not worried about my ability to swim - it was the fall distance I was worried about.  I watched one of the other men swing and drop then decided "what the heck".  The family group bobbing in the water below in their life jackets started to chant Go, Go, Go and I was in too deep now to turn back so I grabbed the rope swing handles, 

 

got some more instruction and took off, hanging on to the rope for as long as possible to get to the end of the outward swing arc and let go. Piece of cake, I thought!  Of course the cheers helped. So I treaded water a while (that is me waving)
 

watching others jump and decided one more jump was in order. This time when I hit the water, my left leg did not go straight in, but sliced to the left and I nursed a minor groin muscle strain for several days. Good thing I am a strong swimmer!  That was it for me in the cenote, back to the comfort of the above ground pool I went!

The unusual water feature mentioned in the title of this post was not a natural cenote, but a man-made underground cave filled with warm,  (like a comfortable bath) lightly salted water. I learned about this when I asked the owner of Pulpo Hostel about a nice place to spend the day with a pool.  So on Saturday when I did not have Spanish class I walked the short mile through town in the morning (this is a scene I passed in town ......

 

on the way to my destination) and checked in with a day use pass to Zentik Project - a small resort with ten rooms, an open air restaurant, and a nice pool in addition to the underground cave. I spent the afternoon above ground slipping in and out of the pool frequently to stay cool.

 and enjoying the artwork from the hammock.

 

I had a massage in the upstairs palapa in the afternoon, listened to the Giants game on the radio while knitting under the palapa when it rained in the late afternoon, and had dinner at sunset in the restaurant.  After dark it made sense to retreat to the underground cave 

 

where there were no mosquitos, friendly people and drink service from the bar upstairs. I made the most of my day pass and was much more comfortable than I would have been at the pool on my hotel ( see Valladolod - los hoteles ).

17.07.14-23 Valladolid - la comida

Bad food - Good food 

I only had one bad meal during my nine night stay in the interior city of Valladolod. I can blame that meal on the weather. I was out shopping after my Spanish class on my way back to the 2nd hotel I lodged in, and it started raining. It rained almost every day in the afternoon, but this rain was early and I was unprepared, so I ducked into a large covered market on the corner which had several different options for what I now understand is fast food. The ambiance was OK and I was dry, so I ordered a late breakfast of Chiliquiles-a Mexican dish with chips covered in salsa, topped with egg or meat and cheese. I did not clean my plate like I normally do, and I did not feel so great after eating. Bad choice. Here is an example of GOOD Chiliquiles

 

that I ordered on my last day in town at Restaurante Eleganzza 

 

where I went several times because it is across the street from my 2nd hotel, the food was muy barato (inexpensive) AND good and I made friends with Adriana - more on that in the upcoming post: Valladolid - traveling alone.  

Street food

I learned about local food-cart food from Cesar, a friend of Claudia who lives on a ranch nearby.  Based on Claudia's introduction, he and I hooked up for breakfast just to say hello one morning and he took me to a market square where we had fresh made tamales from a street vendor he likes. 

 

We sat on a bench next to the tamale stand and   watched them sell out and shut down while we were there. 

I returned to that corner for more food once on my own, and then on a different day braved a new food cart in a different neighborhood. This vendor was in the same spot every day on a street between my school and my first hotel. 

 

When I was ready to eat there I watched from across the street for a while before approaching the cart and then I watched for a few minutes more as people came up, placed their order, took the food and ate standing at the cart or carried food out across the street 

 

....like I did ( eating standing up in the shade with my plate on a building shelf) after I finally realized there was no line, just a continuous stream of people to keep the cook's momentum going.  I never saw anyone pay so I didn't know the process. When I tried to pay the cook he pointed to another hombre who told me "siete pesos". Bacically 40 cents for one taco. Delicious!

Guacamole

I have been on a serious guacamole roll this entire trip. I can't tell you how many days I ate guacamole and chips for one of my meals. Here in Valladolid I did it three times. Once as take out from Consto, a restaurant near to and recommended by my first hotel on the second night in town.  Once outside by the pool at Cenote Oxman, and once with Adrianna in a restaurant en El Centro. Here is a picture of one on the times I ate it with a Mojito in Tulum at a restaurant on the main drag at on outdoor table. Very satisfying to eat a whole order of guacamole all by myself!

 

Ceviche

I have also been on a bit of a ceviche roll.  Here in Valladolid I had one in a large open air restaurant. This ceviche was OK, a bit salty, but I ate it and the restaurant's ambiance was good because it was outside the first Cenote I visited. ( see the upcoming Valladolid-Cenotes).  

A few days later I passed a hand painted sign advertising ceviche near the entrance to a building on a corner near my second hotel.  The place did not look inviting but did have a new paint job on the front entrance wall. 

 

It was the second time I noticed the sign and I decided to go in even though there was no ambiance at all once inside and there were no other customers ( it could have been the time of day, I told myself, because the first time I noticed the place there were people at the tables).  I think the husband and wife team that took my order and delivered the dish had to thaw the shrimp first because I waited a while for my food which I thought was strange since with ceviche, there really is no cooking involved.  But the ceviche was delicious! Top quality medium sized shrimp with a fresh tomato/onion/cilantro salad bed. ( the first ceviche I described above had small and not top quality shrimp and was served quickly, so in retrospect was probably from a can rather than freshly prepared)

Eating out is always an adventure - often you are going in blind and hoping for the best. That's one reason I like to stay more than a day or two in a town - gives me time to research and ask for recommendations, recover from a bad choice, and if I'm lucky, have time to return for seconds if it was a good choice. In this case, I tried to get back for more good ceviche, but didn't make it in favor of the good Chiliquiles mentioned above. 

Most Unusual Table Award

I walked in to La Ville Restaurante about 8:30 at night thinking I'd have a small bite and head home early. The place had a French restaurant theme with this table in the empty back room right next to an open door which let in a cool breeze.  The table had two swing chairs hanging at the perfect comfortable level from the ceiling.  

 

This chair and breeze were so comfortable, and ordered a full meal ( and took half home for lunch tomorrow) and I sat there so long enjoying my food, my phone and the cool breeze, that I ignored the large party of people who arrived at what I thought should be closing time. The owner finally came and asked me how I enjoyed the place and the food and I realized that was his polite way of telling me to get the heck out - he was having a party!  

I realize the reason people take pictures of their food. It is not so much about the food itself as a way to preserve the good memory of the whole experience!

17.06.14-23 Valladolid - la gentes

The residents, shopkeepers and restaurant personnel of Valladolid 

 

are mostly of Mayan descent  (native to the area in the way American Indians are native residents in the US., but in this town they are a strong majority).  Some speak a bit of English, but many do not. They describe themselves as living in a 'muy tranquilo" town with "muy agradable" people. I agree on both counts. The town is mellow and the people are very nice to visitors. I felt safe walking the streets and welcomed by all. 

Some examples......

1.  When the bus from Cancun arrived at the Valladolid bus station in mid afternoon I decided I could walk to my hostel because Google Maps told me it was close and the AirBNB description said it was three blocks from El Centro and ADO. Trouble is, I had to start walking to get my bearings about which direction to go and of course it was hot. So I'm walking down the street on the very narrow sidewalk pulling a pretty big roller bag all by myself. Looking like a tourist. One taxi drove by and the driver shouted "bienvenidos, Necesitas un taxi?"  "No gracias, estoy caminando."  I replied.  I stopped to check google maps and get my bearings, got in the street to turn a corner to change directions and another taxi pulled over, said Bienvenidos.  I gave him a nod and he pulled over and helped me load up my bags.  Obviously I needed help.   He knew where I was going and I did not. 

2.  On Fathers Day I rented a bicicleta and took a tour of the neighborhoods outside my walking range on my way out of town to Hacienda San Lorenzo and Cenote Oxman which Google Maps said was a short 6 kilometers.  The streets are not like streets in Auburn, that's for sure, and while I was not exactly lost, I did not know which road I needed to get to the Cenote. An older man on a bicycle rode  past me, and without being asked told me in Spanish that if I backtracked one block and went in that direction I'd get to a cenote. "Muchas Gracias, Senior!"  Now how did he know that was where I was going?

3.  When I got to the Cenote I chose to sit in a lounge chair by the pool for a while.  
 

When it started to rain, I visited the Cenote.  There was a family group of about 10 people who I interacted with in the Cenote. ( more details on that experience in the upcoming "Valladolid Cenotes" post - this post is about the people). 

When I returned to the above ground pool, I ordered some food and sat under the palapa shelter to continued my relaxation - knitting and listening to the Giants on my MLB.com app. Pretty soon the family from the Cenote came up to enjoy the pool too and before long one of the ladies swam over to where I was sitting alone and asked where I was from, why was I alone ( more on that subject on the post "Valladolid - Traveling Alone") and invited me to join them for food. It was Fathers Day and they had at least three generations of family.  I declined the offer since I was engrossed by the Giants losing another game and knitting. Pretty soon the matriarch of the family came over with no English at all to check out what I was knitting and offer suggestions.  Friendly people. 

4.  On Sunday night one street boarding the central plaza was closed to traffic to allow for dancing on the street to music provided by a big band playing regional music that I really enjoyed. 

 

I circled the band, the chairs set up on the curb for watchers and the dancers in the street.  One circle turned into a second circle.  I was enjoying watching the salsa dancing that I tried to follow with my eyes using my memory of the one salsa dance lesson I got at the Spanish school in Tulim.  I saw an empty chair, asked the neighbors "está disponible?" and sat down. When the song ended, people started toward the chairs that I had recently occupied, so I jumped up and kept on moving, not wanting to steal someone's chair. No biggie. Almost immediately, a short Mayan woman motioned to me that I was welcome to sit down in her family's area. So I did. One song later, while  the teenage sons were encouraged up to learn, she invited me up to dance, too. I figured "why not? so got up but had trouble getting in the groove with her, so we both gave up after a couple minutes. I sat back down in their area at her insistence. Pretty soon a new song started and this time her dad asked me to dance and again I did, but this time I had much more success and finished the song, including twirls and a backwards dip at the end of the song. Pretty cool!  Also, pretty hot and sweaty.  "Muchas gracias por bailando con mi, pero no más!" I told my partner and sat back down.  I left the group shortly thereafter so they didn't ask again - enough dancing for me tonight, but it was fun, and I was impressed with the welcome and enjoyed the experience. 

5.  Claudia connected me to Cesar, a friend from her permaculture studies circle ( she met Eric in a permaculture class that Cesar also attended). Cesar is not Mayan, he's Spanish speaking originally from Columbia, but was muy agradable none-the-less. He agreed to pick me up at my hostel on the day I was changing hotels.  He showed me through a big indoor/outdoor market where we had tamales for breakfast and he told me about the nature and workings of the food vendors selling in this market. 

 

He had errands in town and I had Spanish "class" so he kept my luggage and agreed to meet me in a couple hours to help me get settled in my new hotel for the next 4 nights. He went out of his way to make me feel welcome and I enjoyed our interaction. 

6. Adrianna, the hostess at the restaurant across from my new hotel, was a very agreeable mujer. I'll describe her more in the post "Valladolid, Traveling Alone"

7. Allen and Patricia from the Eurolanguage Escuela were very helpful. I'll describe them more in the upcoming post " Valladolid - Spanish Education"

8.  The shopkeepers as a group were very agreeable. I always engaged them in Spanish and often ended up in a conversation about where I was from and why I am here. 

9.  The hotel owner let me stay in the room until 2:00 on my checkout day even though check-out time was noon because I asked him in Spanish if I could sit by the pool and wait since my bus was leaving at 2:30.  He had family in El Monte, CA

10.  My last example of local generosity happened when I was standing in front of my hotel to wait for a taxi to go to Cancun - my nine night stay in Valladolid is over. 

 

Taxis are not hard to find in El Centro - there are many taxis and tourists and the locals use taxis too since not everyone owns a car. Almost immediately a car stopped at the curb where I was standing, rolled down the window and asked if I needed a ride. 

The driver spoke pretty good English but his car was not a taxi. I questioned that obvious point, but on the heel of all the good experiences I have had here, I got in anyway and he drove me the three blocks to the ADO bus station during which time he said he lived in a nearby community, had been a realtor in Tulum and offered the ride because he liked liked talking to visitors.  He offered to show me around town, but I declined citing my 30 minute departure time. When we were parked at the curb in front of ADO he refused dinero.  While I was searching ( unsuccessfully) to find a knitted item to give him instead, he starting thinking out loud about driving me to Cancun, I hopped out quick and said "Muchas Gracias!"  

The more I think about it the more I think this post belongs in the "traveling alone" entry. He was driving a nice black Acura with air conditioning. Hhmm........