Back                                                                    April 2007 Mexico Trip                                  by Greg Vandiver

Day 1- This day was pretty simple. I am not alone by the way. Dave Walter, 53 and from West Virginia, is with me on this trip. This is his first time to visit Mexico. I met Dave at the airport in Atlanta and we had a smooth flight on Delta Airlines. We arrived at the airport in Merida and immediately went to the ADO bus station "Terminal CAME", which is directly across the street from the 2nd class bus station. Dave and I missed the bus by about 5 minutes, because we were in the wrong line. I was trying to go on the ADO GL bus, which is a lot nicer. After buying our 1st class tickets for $12.20 one way to Campeche, we were both hungry, and ate some Church's Chicken meals at the bus station.

While Dave and I waited for 1 hour and 30 minutes, we decided to go look around a bit. By the way, I checked the temperature with my thermometer, and it is exactly 100 degrees. Dave and I found a little roadside bar, where there was a "one man band" playing, and we split a 40 ounce Sol Mexican beer and ate some appetizers. We were only there about an hour, and Dave told me he understood now why so many illegal immigrants cross our border, for a better life. We went back to the bus station and caught our bus. It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Campeche. Thankfully, the bus had air conditioning. I slept while Dave took in the scenery along the way.

Once we arrived to Campeche, I had a taxi cab take Dave and I to Hotel del Paseo. After checking into our room for $45/night, we were both hungry, and decided to go to a restaurant in town which is a chain here in Mexico that I know well. I flagged down a taxi and the driver took Dave and I to La Parrilla Restaurant. Dave ordered 1 Dos Equis amber beer and I did my traditional ordering of 2 Sol beers, right off the get-go. Dave was a little hungry, and ordered a t-bone steak dinner AND a skewer of grilled shrimp. I only had some steak/chicken fajitas. The service was excellent, and so was the food. We went back to the room, after walking down the beachside of the Gulf of Mexico. We turned in early, around 8:30 p.m..

Day 2 - Dave and I awoke at 7 a.m. and Dave could not find his glasses. We backtracked to the restaurant which we had eaten at the night before, and to the beach. Dave and I still could not find them. I knew Dave would not have a good vacation at all, without his glasses. Luckily, we found them back in the hotel room. We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which consisted of ham and cheese omelets and fresh squeezed orange juice. Afterwards, Dave and I went to the SUR bus station, to buy bus tickets to Edzna, for seeing the ruins there. I have with me a Rough Guide to The Yucatan book, which says there are 4 early morning departures, from the Terminal Sur bus station daily. Once there though, there were no tickets to the site for Dave and I to buy. The lady behind the desk did not know what I was talking about. After some research, we found out that one must catch a combi at the local market, to get to Edzna.

Dave and I decided to rent a car instead, and did so. We rented a Ford Focus for $50, and Dave drove. We went the 28 miles or so, and along the way, went through a town called China. Dave and I arrived at the Maya Ruins of Edzna and paid $3.70 each to enter the site. Dave took 2 times as many pictures as I did, I am sure. I got to see the one thing I was wanting to see, the Temple of Five Levels. After there for about 1 1/2 hours, Dave and I decided to go back to Campeche, because it was again 100 degrees here today and I was sweating profusely. Once back in Campeche, we decided to eat at a nice restaurant at the park square named La Parroquoia. They had very good food too. Dave had some fried chicken and french fries and I had some steak shish kabobs. We both had numerous beers also. I gave some money to an old lady, who was begging for money on the sidewalk, on the way back to the hotel.

Day 3 - Dave and I woke up at around 7:30 a.m. and went to the Terminal Sur, for getting a ride on a second class ATS bus to Merida. I tried to find a way, other than combi vans to Ticul, but had no luck. One can see a lot of the towns between 2 cities, by riding on a second or third class bus, because they stop at every town along the way instead of going to the city you prefer directly. Dave slept the whole way, and I was loving every minute of it. I saw how to connect at different cities, to make it easier and less expensive, for a future trip here. By the way, we had bought our tickets for $8.20 each. When we arrived in Merida about 4 hours later, Dave and I immediately bought another second class ticket to Ticul, for $4 each. The bus line was Mayab. We had 20 minutes before the bus left, so Dave and I bought breakfast/lunch, at a store there. I had 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, some strawberry flavored milk, and a bag of Doritos.

It was about a 1 hour bus ride, maybe a little more to Ticul. Once we arrived, Dave and I caught a couple of bicycle taxis to the Hotel del Plaza, where I had made our reservations. Dave was impressed, once we went inside. We only had to pay $34/night w/air conditioning. I told Dave we could walk around the town square, to see what was in town, if he wanted to. I found an ice cream shop, which sold all sorts of frozen fruit bars. Dave bought a lime flavored one, after which I told him he would regret buying. He said it was extremely bitter. I only laughed at him. I decided to hire a taxi to take Dave and myself to the town of Mani. I had a good reason, for going there. By the way, it is 100 degrees here again today. Our driver was named Victor and he enjoyed heavy metal very much, to my astonishment. Victor even played a Rammstein cd along the way, for Dave.

Once we arrived at Mani, Dave wanted to know what was so important about this place. To Dave, it was just another cathedral, but to me, it was the place where the greatest tragedy in Maya history took place. I had to explain to him, as I will you now. Without my books as a reference, Friar Diego de Landa on July 12th, 1562, held an infamous "auto-da-fe" in which he burned most of the Maya historical books, which were written on bark paper and folded up accordian style in front of the Convent of Mani. He did so, because he was to stamp out idolatry here, and convert the Maya people over to Christianity. Diego de Landa felt the books or codices, contained only words of the devil. Only four exist today, because of some sympathetic priests in those days.  

Dave and I made a tour of the place and went back towards Ticul. We paid Victor $25 for the trip there and back, which included him waiting for Dave and myself for about 1/2 hour. I had Victor drop us off at the best restaurant in all of Ticul. It is named "Los Alemendros". The restaurant, is not near the center of town as one would think, but a little into the suburbs. It is strictly a Yucatec Maya restaurant. I ordered up a couple of Sol beers, and had Combinado Yucateco with cheese soup. The entree` included marinated suckling pig wrapped in plantain leaves (before baking), broiled sausage served with sour orange, turkey slathered with pepper, cinnamon, garlic, and bay leaves, and pork marinated and broiled. The food was great! I think Dave had 3 beers and I had 6. The total bill was $37 for both Dave and I.

Day 4 - Dave and I woke up at 6:30 a.m., and walked to the local market for some breakfast. We were eating as the local people here do this morning. Dave and I had 2 Coca Colas and 8 pollo asado tacos, for $2.50. They were very good too, I might add. We went back to the hotel and our taxi was waiting for us at 7:45 a.m.. Dave and I had paid for a driver to take us on the Puuc tour during this day, for $70. He drove and waited at each site for Dave and myself too. The driver's name was Javier and he was middle aged. By the way, we had overcast skies here today, and unlike most days at this time it was a very much appreciated 80 degrees. Javier first took Dave and myself to the Maya Ruins of Uxmal. We paid $9.50 each to enter the site, and looked around for 2 hours. Dave took many photos of the place, because it was the one place he wanted to see on this trip the most. We left there as the large tour groups were arriving from Merida, at 10 a.m..

Javier then took Dave and myself to the Maya Ruins of Kabah, and we paid the $3.40 to enter the site. We left there after about 30 minutes, and visited the Maya Ruins of Sayil. The entrance fee was the same, and Dave and I stayed the same amount of time. We went to the Maya Ruins of Xlapak next. This site was free to enter, for some reason. Dave and I stayed there for around 30 minutes too. The next, and last site we visited, was the Maya Ruins of Labna. Here at this site, was about 100 teenagers, without a guide or supervision. Many of them climbed to the top of the arch there, while their friends took their photo and I was furious. Dave told me he could tell I was irate with them. They were not supposed to be climbing anything at this site. It showed a lot of disrespect, in my opinion. I told the man at the entrance, and even showed him a photo I took of one of them on top of the structure, and I could tell he was not happy either. He said he was alone, and could not go tell them to not do this. He said he would talk with them, when they came to exit the site.

I saw 3 sites today, which I had never seen before. Even though they are rather small, they are still very important to me. Javier took Dave and I to Loltun Caves nearby, and they were not going to open for another hour. I was hungry, and we all went across the street (including Javier), from the entrance to Loltun Caves to the restaurant there, and it was good food. The owner stacked 2 plastic chairs for me to sit in, for fear of me breaking the legs, on only a single chair when I sat down. That made me feel wonderful...Geesh! I had lime soup and Puc Choc, which is a pork dish and is very good. Dave and Javier had some kind of chicken dish, which was a leg quarter, smothered in some red sauce. We had a few Sol beers of course. I had 5 and Javier and Dave each had 2 a piece. I paid the bill and told the owner of the restaurant, we had enjoyed the food. After lunch, it was time to enter the caves. It was a long cave system, and I felt it was a little dangerous too. It was very very slippery and dark. It was fairly nice to visit, at any rate, although not my cup of tea. Once back in town, Dave and I decided to eat dinner at La Gondola Pizzeria, near the square in Ticul. We both ordered medium pizzas, and a few Sol beers.

 As we were sitting in the restaurant waiting for our food, our taxi driver earlier in the day, Javier, rode up in front of the restaurant on a bicycle. He had seen Dave and I sitting inside and decided to stop in to visit with us. I ordered for him a to-go meal and also bought him a few beers too, for he said he was not hungry at the time.

It was interesting talking with him. He did not know any English, was 45 years old, had 3 kids, and was separated from his wife. He told me that in March of this year, President Bush and the new President here in Mexico - Felipe Calderon, flew into Merida and rode to Uxmal in passenger vans very fast. He said they reserved the entire hotel at the ruin site, while they visited the ruins. Javier said the Mexican military was everywhere around, while they were there. I know Bush has now seen Chichen-Itza and also Uxmal, from talking with the tour guides and taxi drivers here. We finished eating and I told Javier goodbye. Dave and I went to the town square to see what was going on there, for it was loud in that area of town. They were having a election registration meeting there, and kids were playing everywhere, on furnished battery operated cars and trucks.

Day 5 - Dave and I woke up at 7 a.m. and we walked to the bus station. Once there, Dave and I bought two bus tickets to Merida, for 8 a.m.. They were $4.40 each. The bus line was ATS. When we arrived to Merida, I told Dave we could walk to the bus terminal for Progreso. We only had to walk like 6 blocks to get there. Along the way, we passed by a donut shop. I had to stop in and get myself some breakfast, for I was starving. Dave ate 2 and I ate 4. They were good too. We arrived at the bus station for Progreso, bought our tickets one way, and immediately boarded for departure. The tickets were only $1.30 each for the 30 minute trip.

Dave and I arrived in Progreso and we walked about 10 blocks to Hotel Embajadores, where I had made reservations. It is a hostel, and was $30/night with private bathroom and A/C, and even had 3 computers with free internet. I had a room to myself for a change, and so did Dave. We talked with the owner, originally from Canada, named David. He was a very nice man, spoke excellent English, and was very informative. This was going to be a rest day for Dave and I, so we basically knocked around town a bit and the beach too. Dave and I walked 1 block to the beach and walked towards the pier. They say this concrete pier is the longest in the world. It stretches about 3 miles out into the ocean and is the main Customs port, for the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Dave found a man selling Cuban cigars and bought one for $10. He smoked it as we walked around town, looking for some lunch. Finally, we went into a restaurant called La Loncheria El Gallito. It was a favorite place of the locals it seemed. We ordered steak fajitas, chicken fajitas, and Dave had a soda too. I already had one with me, which I had bought earlier, so I did not need one. We were both full when we left, and our bill was only $7.20. Dave and I went back to the room and took a short nap. By the way, it was 84 degrees here today. We went to eat some dinner at the Flamingos restaurant, across the road from the beach. Dave had grilled shrimp, a New York strip steak, and some lime soup. I only had pollo a la plancha with some vegetable soup. We had some Estrella and Pacifico beers too, with our meal.

Day 6 - I woke up at 4:50 a.m. and came up with a game plan for the day. Dave had mentioned to me, on 2 different occasions, that it would be a good while before he could go somewhere like this again. He also told me he wished he could visit Chichen-Itza, while on this trip. I decided to make his wishes come true. I let Dave sleep in a little, then gave him a wakeup call, at 7 a.m.. We checked out of the hostel and walked to the Progreso bus station, then bought tickets to Merida. Once there, I had a taxi take us to Terminal CAME, which is for 1st class buses. We bought our tickets to Valladolid for $11.20 each, even though we would get off at the Maya Ruins of Chichen-Itza, on the way there. We watched a decent movie, on the 2 hour bus ride. Dave slept the whole way.

Dave and I arrived at the ruins site, and bought our tickets to enter, for $9.50 each. This was the 6th time I had been here. Needless to say, I gave Dave the "Greg tour" of the site. I showed Dave everything they have to offer there. I think he bought 4 figurines and a t-shirt for his wife, along the paths to different structures. I only bought a gift for my friend Mark Taylor, which was small. I think Dave took 48 or so pictures, and I actually took about 4 or 5 myself.

We had a late lunch at one of the restaurants there. It was decent food. I had 3 burritos and Dave had steak fajitas. We both had a few Sol beers too. As we were walking out of the restaurant, I noticed a lady which I knew from the trip here last Fall, with Scott Turner. Her name was Flor, and she was in training to be a tour guide, as we visited Dzibilchaltun. I talked with her a bit, and she asked about Scott. Dave and I had to buy another ADO bus ticket to Valladolid, for $3.60 each. We only had 5 minutes to catch the next bus and it was right on time too. I think we had to wait only 2 or 3 minutes, for it to arrive.

Once the bus arrived into Valladolid, we walked 2 blocks to the town square. I found a nice room, for $68/night, at El Meson del Marque, with 2 beds and A/C. They have a nice pool and also a very nice restaurant. I found out the information I was looking for, at the tourist information office, and planned the next day. Dave and I walked to the restaurant nearby, which has live music, and had a few beers. Afterwards, I walked around the corner and bought myself one of those frozen watermelon bars, seeds and all, for $.60.. Let me tell you something. That thing was as sweet as anyone could imagine.

Dave and I took a walk around Valladolid. He saw a barber shop and decided to get a haircut. He wanted the man to cut his hair completely off. Dave got his whole head buzzed, for $4. I was laughing at him, and also took a photo of him in the barber chair. We decided to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant. I think Dave ordered a shrimp cocktail and a chicken dinner. I ordered some cream of corn soup and chicken a la plancha. We both had a couple of beers and also, ordered a bottle of red wine. Everything was good. Dave fell asleep early, and I watched the new show "Planet Earth", on The Discovery Channel.

Day 7 - Dave and I awoke at 7 a.m. and went to the area in town where the taxis are located, for various destinations. We were looking for a certain one though, and found 3 waiting for us at the particular place designated. Dave and I caught a taxi to the Maya Ruins of Ek Balam. The taxi was $10 to the site. Once there, we paid the $2.70 entry fee each, and went inside. By the way, it was 8:40 a.m. and we had the site to ourselves, for a little while anyway until other tourists arrived. When we walked in, I saw how beautiful a site it was. There are a lot of structures there to see, and some wonderful hieroglyphs. I took a lot of photos, and even shot some video with my camera. I honestly believe the ballcourt there, is one of the best I have seen. It was in great shape, all but the rings on each side, being ripped off the wall. They are probably in a museum somewhere, if I had to guess. Dave and I toured the site for about 1 hour or more.

We left there in a taxi and were headed to, supposedly, the most photogenic cenote in the Yucatan. The name was Cenote Dzitnup. The taxi charged Dave and I $15 to take us there. Once there, we paid $2.50 each to enter. It is a rough climb down, to enter the cenote. You cannot simply just walk right in. You have to bend over, and almost get on your knees, to go under the overhead rocks. I am tall, and had a hard time. Once inside though, it opened up. The cenote is very nice, but I feel Cenote Ik Kil looks alot better, and is more easily accessible. They also have a smallish animal zoo out back, behind the ticket office. There were turtles, crocodiles, deer, coatimundis, an owl, a leopard, a monkey, and some peccary.

Dave and I caught a taxi to the Valladolid bus station, and we each bought a first class ADO bus ticket to Merida, for $11.20. We had 2 hours before our departure, so Dave and I decided to eat at the restaurant right beside the bus station, for we had not eaten all day. I cannot remember the name to save my life and I should have written it down. Dave had a vanilla frappe, 2 glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice, a hamburger, and some french fries. I had 1 glass of orange juice and steak a la plancha. Our bill was only $14. I decided to go walk a bit, while Dave waited for our bus to arrive. I stopped by a ice cream shop and bought a grape flavored popsicle. I decided to use their internet for a few minutes, and went onward to the bus station. Once back at the bus station, I found Dave there, still waiting.

Dave and I caught our bus, a little after 1 p.m., and we rode for 2 hours and 45 minutes back towards Merida. Dave slept the entire way, and was snoring like everything. I could hear him across the bus, and we were watching a movie on tv, while going down the road. I listened to my Ipod, to drown out his snoring, and watched the movie "Stealth" in Spanish. Once we arrived to Merida, Dave and I caught a taxi to the Holiday Inn Hotel, where I had made reservations with my Priority Club points. The hotel was very nice and I decided to watch a movie on tv, while Dave went to a bar nearby for some beers.

I found Dave later, at Chilis Restaurant. We ate a nice dinner, and they had 2 for 1 specials on drinks, from 7 p.m. till midnight. As a special request by Millie a few days ago in an email, I had a few Tecate beers for her, 7 to be exact. Dave had 7 Sol beers. I was so full, I was miserable. Dave and I walked around town a bit, and called it a night.