Mexico- Yucatan Peninsula
Not even sure where to start. What a pleasant surprise! I absolutely loved this area of the country. The people were great and the food was delicious! There is a totally different cuisine for the Yucatan than other parts of Mexico. Each state has their own specialties, but I really loved the food I discovered there. Their food is heavily influenced by Mayan cooking traditions, so that's why it's so different from what I think of when I think about Mexican food. But it wasn't all about the food. Seeing even more Mayan ruins made me marvel even more at the advanced societies that they created. Chichen-Itza was the main city for Mayan culture, then Tikal(I posted those pictures last week). Look at the video's at the bottom of this post. It'll demonstrate just how advanced they were. I started in Playa Del Carmen after landing in Cancun. Then Tulum, Bacalar, Campeche, Izamal, Chichen-Itza, and Valladolid was the final stop.
Playa Del Carmen- started with me watching the sunrise on my first morning there from the balcony. Then around town and finally the food. I'm going to try to remember everything.
Ok, starting at the top- my favorite, Gorditas and Pambazo. Full sandwiches and then with a view of the filling. Then tamale-did not like at all. Couldn't eat it-way too spicy. Enchiladas de Mole-Rojas-Verdes. Actually quite good and different than any of the mole I had tasted previously. Then the birria(goat) taco's- this was a suprise. I've had it before and didn't like it, it was quite good here. It's on a large metal pole- like Giros, and they shave it off into the tortilla. I had this in Merida and spit it out. It was really, really good here. And also the sirloin taco-my favorite taco now. Then the bean enchilada, with cheese. I hadn't had an enchilada without cheese before and when I got it, I wasn't happy. I didn't know it wasn't in all quesadillas- learned something new. And the picture next to it is what they cook the quesadilla on. It was interesting to watch, but she was too shy to let me film her cooking. The picture after is me showing you the inside of the quesadilla. Then a pork taco that we got at the above restaurant - not a fan. But she gave me free flan, so I left happy-lol! And then the traditional marquesita- a rolled wafer filled with nutella and bananas-yum! It's traditionally filled with Edam cheese, but I opted for this one. The final one is Aguachile and chips. Also a traditional dish made with raw shrimp and cured with lime juice and spices. Think ceviche-but a lot spicier! Next up- Tulum. Now both of these were touristy beach towns, which is why I didn't take too many pictures. I enjoyed my brief stay in both places, but I don't think I would want to stay longer.
Yes, those are pyramids. They used them for time, seasons, and farming. Again, just mind blowing how advanced they were. When I got to Tulum, I opted to go to Muyil ruins instead of Tulum. It was crazy over there and since I had a car, I drove about 30 minutes out of town to explore this. Just walking through this village and imagining what it looked like thousands of years ago is amazing. Then I was off to Bacalar, which sits on a lake in the southern part of the Peninsula closest to Belize.
I visited the old fort and museum, plus pictures from around town. Unfortunately it rained the whole time I was here, so I didn't go out on the lake-thunderstorms, not just rain. Below is the rest of the pics from the museum. And on my final day, the sun came out-of course...
Next stop, Campeche. At one point, during the colonial era this was the main international port(It has 325 miles of coastline) until it moved to Veracruz once Mexico gained it's independence. It's old town is also a Unesco World Heritage site(1997). I took a tour and my guide is a college professor. So I can add more info, because he made it fun to learn and I remembered!
Above see traditional Spanish style house with the courtyard where the well was, outdoor kitchen, rocking chairs over 100 years old from Europe(Dutch). Imagine life for the wealthy back then...just below is a mock up of what the city looked like behind brick walls.
I was about to keep uploading pictures, but I think this is enough for this blog. I think I will break the peninsula into two different post. Hope you enjoyed this set! And I will upload the video's with the Chichen Itza pictures.
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