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As seems to be the case most mornings, I was up well before Marie and Caitlin and while they slept, I headed down to Calle 35 to see if there were, indeed, collectivo taxis that would take us to Ek Balam for 200 pesos (150 if there was a 4th paying passenger). There were collectivos. Lots of them. And almost none of them spoke any English at all… so between my limited (non-existent) Spanish and their limited English I was able to confirm that there would be taxis in a couple of hours when Marie and Caitlin were ready and that they would take us to Ek Balam (and that there would be taxis there to bring us back when we were done). Once again, the internet had come through where hotel concierges fail… or at least the internet showed us how to do it a lot more cheaply than the options presented by the hotels.
- At the Casa Hipil, they showed us a bunch of taxi “tours” ranging in price from 1400 pesos to 2000 pesos (to be fair they included much more than just a ride to Ek Balam and back but that is all we were really looking for) and did not mention the collectivo option. This wasn’t a language issue as the night desk guy spoke flawless English…
- At the Meson del Marqués, the concierge said there were no collectivos and suggested that we use someone that he would call for us… he called the guy and confirm that the price for a ride to Ek Balam, plus two hours of waiting while we toured and swam in the cenote and a then a ride back would be 800 pesos.
- The collectivo option is 200 pesos each way for up to 4 passengers (you either wait to fill the collectivo with four passengers or you pay the full 200 pesos for the vehicle). If you want the taxi to wait for you, the rate is 100 pesos per hour but there is no need to do this as there were a number of collectivos waiting in the parking lot when we were done. I’m sure there are times of day when you might have to wait a bit for a return ride but not at this time of year I’m guessing… This option ended up costing us a total of 350 pesos because a fourth passenger joined us for the ride back… Considering that the cheapest other option we were given was 450 pesos more expensive (about $30CDN) this worked well for us… If you want clean, newer, air-conditioned cars and bottles of cold water, you’ll probably want to consider a different option.
Our room rate included breakfast this morning so after confirming the transportation for later in the day, I checked to make sure that Caitlin and Marie were conscious and headed down to the restaurant to work on the blog and grab a coffee while they finished getting ready… it took them awhile… As they strolled into the restaurant, I realized something about the way we travel… They always look freshly scrubbed and clean every day while I’m always looking sweaty and disheveled… Part of that is because I slink out of the hotel room wearing the previous day’s clothes so I don’t disturb their slumber (I’d tell you to ask people what happens when they wake Caitlin prematurely but they don’t usually survive the experience). While I’m out schlepping around in the early morning muggy heat, they’re primping and prepping and putting on clean clothes… Then they meet me for breakfast and after we’re done eating, I get about 7 seconds to wash my face, change my underwear and socks and brush my teeth before they’re complaining that the day is wasting… Sometimes, if I’m really lucky, they give me time to shower…
Breakfast this morning was from a fixed menu with limited options but did include coffee and orange juice (freshly squeezed and delicious). Caitlin opted for a plate of fresh fruit (which was about 1/3 papaya which she hates… says it tastes like dirt… it kind of does) while Marie went for scrambled eggs in corn tortillas and I had something along the lines of Huevos Valladolitanos to something like that… it was tortilla chips covered in refried beans and shredded chicken and two fried eggs then drenched in red and green sauce… It was much tastier than it looked and was pretty filling…
We could only get one night at the Meson del Marqués and were changing hotels tonight so we decided to hoof it the 500 meters to the Hotel Zacil Naj and store our bags there for the day while we explored Ek Balam and swam in the cenote. We got to the Hotel Zacil Naj at about 10:30am and when we asked if we could store our bags until our room was ready later in the day, they checked us in and let us have our room… at 10:30 in the morning… I don’t think we’ve ever been able to check into a hotel that early… It’s like winning the hotel lottery… It wasn’t a particularly awesome room (it was very yellow and the beds were small and hard) but it was only about $50CDN a night instead of the $150ish we were paying to stay at the much posher Marqués… and truth be told, the Marqués seems to be riding on its location on the town square and the fact that parts of it are in an old building because it wasn’t particularly amazing. The room at the Zacil Naj also had a bar fridge in the room – something we didn’t have at the Marqués and which we sorely missed…
We dumped our bags in our room and headed back out to find a collectivo to take us to Ek Balam. There were plenty. We piled into the first cab in line (there seems to be a system) and the driver set a couple of land speed records getting us to Ek Balam (about 25km away). Once at Ek Balam, we paid our entrance fee (230 pesos each I think), maneuvered through the various stalls selling the same “authentic” Mayan souvenirs we’d seen in the main square each night and past the Mayan warriors posing for pictures with the tourists and headed into the ruins.
Ek Balam is a miniature version of Chichén Itzá. It’s not as thoroughly restored or as extensive but it is a) much, much less crowded (if the number of tour buses stopping in Valladolid each day on their way to/from Chichén Itzá is any indication it must be packed with tourists at this time of year) and b) you can climb to the top of the main pyramid (something you can no longer do at Chichén Itzá). We got there around mid-day so it was hot (not melt your face off hot but still hot) but it was not at all crowded and made for an interesting couple of hours’ exploring. We climbed the pyramid (even Caitlin whose fear of heights has not totally left her) and spent some time soaking in the view from the top (and taking the requisite selfies). On the way down, Caitlin engaged in some serious positive self talk (it went something like “Stupid Caitlin. Why do you do this to yourself. You hate heights. Stupid Caitlin. This is very high. Stupid Caitlin. And it’s very steep. Stupid Caitlin…” It must have worked because she made it down with no trouble (even stopped mid-way for a couple of photos) and didn’t have to crawl down at all (unlike many of the other tourists who slithered down on their butts). After the pyramid we made our way through the various other structures (there are tour guides available to hire at the entrance but we were feeling like doing our own thing at our own pace so didn’t bother with one).
After wandering around a bit, it was time to head to Cenote X’Canche – conveniently located a leisurely 1.5km from the Ek Balam ruins. We decided to rent some bicycles to make the trek a bit quicker (it was really hot) which made the total price of entrance 130 pesos per person. We could have opted for a bike “taxi” but that just seemed cruel to make someone pedal us in the mid-afternoon heat… so we pedalled ourselves instead… did I mention it was very hot… and the bikes were not particularly good ones… and after climbing up and down pyramids earlier there may have been sore legs… after a what seemed like an extra long 1.5km “ride” we arrived at the cenote where we were told to park our bikes and shown the change rooms and where the bathrooms were… we changed in record time (it was very hot and the cenote looked very refreshing) and then headed for the cenote (stopping for a couple of selfies at the top) and made the treacherous “climb” down – Caitlin was convinced the wooden ladder/walkway was steeper and more dangerous than the pyramid… she may have been right but we survived and were soon jumping into the cool waters. Marie and Caitlin were not too impressed with the numerous small black catfish that inhabit the waters but soon realized they weren’t interested in eating people…
We splashed around for a bit then lounged a bit in the shallows (Caitlin may have concussed Marie a little when she slipped trying to climb out and used Marie’s head to break her fall) and then headed back into the heat to get changed and to find a collectivo to take us back to Valladolid. There were a couple of collectivos waiting and we ended up picking up two kids from a larger family who were also heading back and had too many people for a single taxi (turned out they were from Montreal). This driver also tried to break a couple of speed records and had us back to Valladolid in no time…
After getting back to Valladolid we decided to grab something to eat from a little “Mexican Snacks” place called Tacos Y Tostados Lobo near the Hotel Zacil Naj – it turned out to be an awesome find. Delicious tacos (we ordered a plate of pork, beef and chicken), freshly made guacamole, a habanero sauce that took the top of your head off and cold mirinda (a sort of knockoff orange Fanta). The prices were very reasonable (65 pesos for a plate of 3 tacos and 20 pesos for a soda) and the service was excellent. The food took a while to arrive because it was all cooked to order but it was well worth the wait… The only downside was that they weren’t licensed so you can’t get a cold beer with your meal…
After “lunch” (it was after 4) we headed back to our room where I decided to hang out in the room for a bit (I don’t do heat and sun well) while Marie and Caitlin went out to do some exploring and some shopping. When they got back, Marie wanted me to come with her to look at some souvenirs she’d found in a nearby shop (and where they had an inexpensive small bottle of X’tabentun (a locally made anise liqueur made from fermented honey that Marie really likes). I dragged myself out to the little shop while Caitlin stayed behind to use the wifi – the young guy working the store was very good at his job and was very, very pleasant… We ended up buying a couple of souvenirs along with the bottle of X’tabentun. We really enjoyed his story of the origins of a square spiral design he used on some jewelry in the store (google inlakech halaken)… As we were heading back to the hotel room, we heard a few loud “booms” nearby and then started to hear a large number of sirens heading in our direction. As we were coming into the hotel, Caitlin was coming out wondering what was going on… having been in Kampala when riots broke out following the arrest of a popular opposition politician, she was a little concerned we’d brought her to another riot… The booms and sirens were getting louder and closer (there were a lot of sirens) so being the curious tourist I am, I headed for the corner to see what was happening… it turned out to be a “parade” of taxis and other vehicles shooting off fireworks and sounding sirens and blue and red flashing lights as part of a Childermas “celebration” – We found out what was happening when Marie went to ask the young guy at the souvenir shop we’d been at earlier… we got quite a kick out of his explanation that is had to do with the massacre of some children back in 1985 or 1986 but he couldn’t remember exactly… apparently Childermass commemorates the children slain by the order of Herod… our young friend was out by a solid 1985 years… whatever the occasion, there were a lot of sirens and flashing lights… definitely not something you would see in Canada where sirens and blue/red flashing lights are reserved exclusively for police vehicles… Caitlin was relieved it wasn’t a riot after all…
After the riot that wasn’t a riot, we sort of hung out in the room until about 8 and then headed out to find something for dinner… none of us were particularly hungry but felt we should at least eat something… We ended up at a little bistro type place near the square… it wasn’t great… service was okay but the food was overpriced and not that great. Marie ordered potato wedges and got herbed french fries while I ordered a chicken wrap that was smothered in crema (I do not like crema)… It also took a very long time for the food to arrive… We polished off our food and downed our drinks and headed back to the room where I sacked out (the heat and sun had done me in today) while Caitlin and Marie watched episodes of Friends on the Caitlin’s iPhone… Tomorrow we’re on the bus to Playa del Carmen…
Valladolid has been an interesting place. On the one hand, it’s quite touristy and at the same time it’s quite authentically Mexican… It’s got the cobbled streets and colonial architecture going for it but is also quite crowded, a bit dirty and a little hectic (especially after Puerto Morelos). It’s definitely worth a couple of days though and if you’re interested in shopping the prices are better here than they are on the coast…
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