A road trip to our favourite places, Valladolid and Izamal Mexico

Centro Izamal Yucatan, Mexico

“I wonder if Sylvia knows where we are?” I joked as we turned down yet another tiny, unmarked street in the colonial town of Izamal. 

I was referring to John's iPhone GPS. We were looking for the route back to Highway #185 and Valladolid.

Franciscan monastery in Izamal

About a three-hour drive from Cancun, Izamal is one of our favourite places in the Yucatan Peninsula to take visitors. Settled in the 1540s by the Spanish, the city and the Franciscan monastery were built directly on top of an old Mayan temple. The monastery and many of the buildings in Centro have traditionally been painted a mellow egg-yolk gold. Even though the reason for the monochromatic hue has been lost over the decades, the golden colour gives a lively, vibrant look to photographs.

Our favourite Kinich Restaurante

Lawrie and I typically travel with maps, but since we have been to Izamal a few times in past years, we thought we knew where we were going, and he normally has a fine-tuned sense of direction. However, when driving on roads that wind through cramped, narrow streets on flat, featureless land, the topography looks the same all the time. Full from a spectacular lunch at our favourite eatery in Izamal, the Kinich Restaurante, we were a bit drowsy and probably missed the rare and sun-faded directional signs. So, John and his iPhone came to our rescue!

Stained glass window, Izamal

When asked, Sylvia, the iPhone politely informed us we were headed in the wrong direction. She then dispensed step-by-step instructions for multiple turns onto tiny one-way roads, including exactly how many meters before our next turn onto yet another dust-covered alley, wending our way to the intersection of the highway. 

 I take back every sarcastic comment I have ever made about people relying on GPS! Sylvia, the iPhone is a very knowledgeable lady.

Valladolid in the evening

Getting into the centre of Valladolid was easy; we had been there many times and we had good instructions – the pen and paper kind – for finding our hotel. The Casa Tia Micha is a tiny B&B a few steps off the square. With a total of three guest rooms available is probably the tiniest hotel that we have ever booked. The front entrance is quite plain, with a black metal gate opening up to a delightful entrance and courtyard. The B&B is beautifully decorated with great attention to detail; comfy beds, good showers, a complimentary bottle of wine and two nice wine glasses. Just perfect!

Our room at Casa Tia Miche, Valladolid

In the morning, co-owner Rosanelly Ayora Sosa treated us to a tasty three-course breakfast of regional dishes, a great start for our day of roaming the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá. Settled in around 600 CE and abandoned in the late 1500s, Chichén Itzá was rediscovered by European explorers in 1842. The entire complex was buried under an accumulation of trees, vines, and other assorted vegetation that had grown unchecked. By 1923, the Mexican government was interested in excavating the main parts of the city. Excavation projects are ongoing at the site as more structures have been located, some buried underground, some deep in the jungle.

Our travel partners - Maia and John at Chichén Itzá

We arrived at the complex around 9:30 in the morning. We had three hours of relative peace - to take photos, read information plaques, cruise past the hundreds of vendors and leave before the dozens of tour buses from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Mérida disgorged their sunbaked passengers.

Taberna de Los Frailes Valladolid

Turning back to Valladolid, we headed to our other favourite restaurant, the Taberna de Los Frailes, for a late lunch. Serving tasty regional specialties, the Taberna is a great place to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. The eatery is located in a sub-district of Valladolid called Sisal, beside the Convento of San Bernardino de Siena. The Convento (monastery) was built between 1552 to 1560 by the Franciscan monks and was in use until 1755, when it was abandoned. A self-guided tour of the property is a good way to walk off a few lunch calories.

San Bernardino de Siena

Early the following morning, we enjoyed our last tasty breakfast before setting off on our return trip to Isla Mujeres. We decided to drive the “libre” road, the toll-free, slower route, and more interesting than a four-lane, dead-straight, nothing-to-see route.

TriciTaxis - Leona Vicario

We bumped our way over the topes (speed bumps) of each small village, passing plant nurseries, handicraft stands and small restaurants. In Leona Vicario, we were surprised to see motorcycle-based TriciTaxis, buzzing around, carrying students to and from school, shoppers, supplies – anything. Cool idea!

Casa Tia Miche, Valladolid

And then finally we were headed home on the car ferry, content, tired, and ready to chill out for a few days in our island paradise.

We love road trips! And we really love getting back to our home.

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat

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