Merida and Valladolid, January 2023
One of the reasons Mike and I decided to retire to Mexico was because we fell so in love with the country, the culture, the people and the diversity when we took 3 months to drive from South Carolina to Puerto Aventuras and back. Our dream was to settle here and use it as a home base to enjoy more of this huge and wonderful place, and as usually happens when you make plans – God laughs and plans change. That is why we were so excited when our friends, Sally and Rich came for their second visit and were open to taking a little road trip!
I have always been happiest when planning a trip! It doesn’t really matter why I am planning one. Over the years I have planned film shoots with crews, group travel trips, work trips to write reviews and, of course, vacations. I love the research that is required prior to the trip. I love the tasks of making a schedule and planning out the logistics to hit all the places in the allotted amount of time. I even like the challenge of having to wing it last minute when something doesn’t work out. Most of the time when I plan a vacation just for Mike and I, I have a detailed itinerary which I then throw out the window the minute we land somewhere.
This trip Sally mentioned she would like to see a church. If you travel through Mexico, you are almost always going to fit a visit to a magnificent church into your plans. That said, the Riviera Maya’s coastline was never colonized by the Spanish, so you have to go inland to find colonial cities with churches and cathedrals. The closest colonial city is Valladolid and next is Merida.
Plans set, we picked Sally and Rich up at PA Hotel and Beach Club and headed to Merida. We took the Cuota (toll road), which has been under construction for several years and appears to have several more to go, with the addition of train tracks from Cancun to Merida being installed, we did have some slow going in spots.
We chose to stay at Luz del Yucatan https://www.luzenyucatan.com/es/inicio/ in the heart of Merida’s St. Lucia neighborhood. It was originally a convent and the location is perfect for walking to all the best spots. We checked in, were shown our rooms and given tickets for a free cocktail at the pool bar for that afternoon. Hungry, we headed out to lunch at Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca. We chose this restaurant because several locals highly recommended it, and we were not disappointed. It is located in a lovely, old hacienda. The service is great and the local Yucatecan food is excellent.
After lunch we wandered the shops around St. Lucia park before heading back to our hotel for our complementary drink pool-side.
We had made dinner reservations at Apoala restaurant in the heart of St. Lucia square. St. Lucia square has several lovely restaurants, all with café style outdoor seating. What we weren’t expecting was the 5 Star level of service and food we found at this amazing restaurant. Add the ambiance of an amazing Latin jazz musician and you have a recipe for an evening of great memories.
After dinner we wandered up to the main square, the zocola, at Plaza Grande. I highly recommend visiting Merida on a weekend when they close some of the streets. The feeling is festive and alive. Along the walk there were several vendors set up especially near the Gran Hotel. At Plaza Grande there was a band and a fashion show while we were there. I love seeing all the families out wandering around. It always warms my heart how Mexico families enjoy their weekends with the smallest child up to the oldest Abuelos.
The next morning we were we scheduled for a Free Walking Tour, so we headed back to Plaza Grande to meet our guide. The Free Walking Tours are a great way to get an overview of Merida and learn a little of the history. After our tour we headed back to St. Lucia to grab lunch at La Tratto before checking out and heading to Valladolid. I would highly recommend this restaurant, and the plus is their large air-conditioned bar and dinning area. We chose to eat outside, but Merida can get very warm so this is a great option to get away from the heat.
We decided to stay off the Cuota for the rest of our trip to give Rich and Sally a taste of rural Mexico. For those who have never done this, I highly recommend it! The small towns are well worth the visit, but beware of topes! Mexico is the land of topes (speed bumps). You can count on one being at the edge of each small village, some are marked, some are not. Some are marked but don’t exist. Some are not marked, but do exist… driver beware!
We were surprised at how much development there has been on this road between Merida and Valladolid, especially the closer we got to Chichen Itza.
Valladolid is one of our favorite places to go for a quick getaway. We had been there just a month earlier. I have lost count of the number of times I have visited this quaint colonial city, and I almost always stay at Meson del Marques. I love this place. I love its location, right on the main square. I love the staff. I love the restaurants, and I especially love sitting on the rooftop, with a drink in my hand, watching the flocks of birds, settling in for the night, on the tree tops while the sun is setting.
The many times I have visited Valladolid I had never visited Casa de los Venado, so this time we made a point of doing that. Casa de los Venado is a private home which is open for tours 4 times a day. It is a magnificent example of a large, old but beautifully renovated, hacienda-style home which happens to be chock full of the largest private collection of Mexican folk art in the country. All the proceeds go to local charities. It did not disappoint, AND it will not be the last time we visit!
Since we had breakfast at Meson de Marques we decided to have a light lunch at a café we had found on our last visit, unfortunately it was closed on Monday, so we headed home and decided to go back via Tulum and stop at our favorite beach front restaurant, Lolha in Akumal. Sally and Rich had been there for dinner on their first visit, so they were delighted to go back and enjoy it during the day.
This is just one of many short trips we hope to finally be able to start doing in Mexico. We look forward to hearing what some of your favorite getaways are.