Destinations
William Lawson
A Yucatan Adventure for Driving Enthusiasts!
A Yucatan Adventure for Driving Enthusiasts!
William Lawson
And there was the cenote…
And there was the cenote…
William Lawson
Ni Chac - A Yucatan Bourdain Moment
Ni Chac - A Yucatan Bourdain Moment
William Lawson
Hacienda Chochoh, a Dog, and some Flowers

Doggies, hacienda and flowers

Hacienda Chochoh, a Dog, and some Flowers
Destinations
William Lawson
Wild Lunch at Codornejo - Akil, Yucatan

…wild lunch in Akil Yucatan…

Wild Lunch at Codornejo - Akil, Yucatan

A very special Merida City Tour kind of day

How would you like to enjoy a private mezcal or tequila tasting experience?

Just yesterday, I had the opportunity to show a lovely couple a side of Merida that is talked about a lot (food, art) but not experienced enough, in my opinion. The kind of outing that was requested was a challenge and I almost didn’t come through, as I thought the items of interest would be a challenge to pull off… was I qualified to live up to their expectations?

It turns out that I was and they were extremely satisfied with the results!

Our day started at the popular Wayan’e street taco joint, a delicious favorite of locals as well as visitors. This is the place chef Rick Bayless comes to when he is in town, filming one of his foodie segments. The variety and flavor of the food and the authentic street feel of the place never fails to charm anyone who pops in. So far so good!

Then, we strolled over to the Lux Perpetua art gallery across the street where interesting and itinerant displays of are always impressive and can be enjoyed in peace and quiet and cool air conditioned comfort.

From there, a visit to the Maiama gallery specializing in all things baskets and weaving, followed by the sober, high end displays of Yucatecan crafts at Taller Maya. Finally, a ring on the doorbell at Nahualli Casa de Artistas revealed a world of sculpture and painting that was stunning. Things are going well and the couple was enchanted with all we saw, making some quality purchases as well.

Lunch was planned at the Manjar restaurant, a must for Yucatecan cuisine where we not only enjoy the food but also had the chance to say hello to chef/cocinera Miriam, the owner.

For dessert, a private mezcal tasting complete with pairings of Mayan chocolate, chile-covered mango gummies and peanut marzipan, carefully selected to accompany each of the four mezcals we tried.

The day was a total success and I am grateful for the opportunity to have provided this couple, celebrating a birthday, with a full and satidfying day that was also illuminating for me!

A Magical Mayan Afternoon

A smiling welcome

In the jungle near Coba and Tulum lives a lovely Mayan family that is trying something new by preserving something old: inviting select small-group tourism to experience their traditional way of life. From the use medicinal plants and agriculture practices to the cooking and preserving of time-honored recipes and processes, your experience here will leave you with a full stomach and an even fuller heart.

Efrain and Jose are two brothers and together with their families, they walk the fine line between the ancient and the modern. Their wives and children share their vision and welcome visitors for an afternoon that they will not soon forget. This is not hyperbole; guests we have taken there have come away with an enormous appreciation for what they are doing and also have been touched by the true and heartfelt attention to details and kindness that these people offer. Some even, have been moved to tears.

If this is something you would like to experience, either from Merida or Cancun and the Riviera Maya, we can set it up. To stoke your imagination and give you an idea of what you will experience, have a look at the photos, below.

A Yucatan Adventure for Driving Enthusiasts!

For those intrepid visitors who are looking for something out of the ordinary, happen to be fans of classic Land Rovers and are excited by the prospect of actually driving one, this tour destination and activity is perfect!

You will pilot your classic Land Rover from the Mayaland collection at Uxmal, through green fields and citrus orchards and through the countryside, visiting a massive observation tower and an abandoned ruin of a historic hacienda in the jungle, held in place by Angkor Wat-reminiscent tree roots.

To this experience we can add a catered taco or local speciality lunch, on the property, picnic-style or just light snacks and refreshing drinks. This tour can be taken as a stand-alone excursion for our cruise ships guests (time constraints) or a full day including a guided visit to the magical archeological site of Uxmal for those staying in Merida.

Have a look at these photos of a recent outing there and let us know if you would like us to set this up for your group!

A hearty welcome from Luis, at Land Rover Experience, Uxmal, Yucatan, MEXICO

Merida's Hanal Pixan: El Festival del Pib

One of the many local businesses making pibs

Each year, at this time (Hanal Pixan or Day of the Dead) the city of Merida organizes the Festival del Pib, which, if you are from Argentina means one thing, while to most Yucatecans it means something else and is very special indeed. In fact, many look forward to this time of the year just to be able to enjoy one.

The pib, aka mucbilpollo, is the giant tamal baked in the pib (hence the name) and shared with loved ones including those who have “passed” who return at this time in spirit form, to walk among the living for a moment. We set up altars for them with their favorite foods and vices and mark the path to the altar with flowers and candles. All of this you know.

Back to the Festival del Pib. A pib festival! Held every year in the San Sebastian neighborhood and anyone and everyone who cooks participates and presents their best version of the famous tamal and people flock to the festival to eat, drink (sodas) and be (relatively) merry. This year (2023) I went by myself as my better half was not in town and perhaps because of this, I found this edition of the festival less festive and even, well, a little sad.

First of all there were far too many people for the amount of tables and chairs available, which meant you had to sit in the park or stand at a wall, balancing your styro plate and eating your pib with a plastic fork, a terrible idea since it will inevitably break. The problem of not enough seating area by the way is normal and I expect it to be the same in 2024 and the foreseeable future!

Musical entertainment was provided by what was probably the worst trio (two males plus one female who did not sing) I have ever heard in Merida, anywhere. Butchering songs by Manzanero and Cárdenas it was truly painful to my neurotic self and completely unnoticed by most.

All that aside; if you have the time and appetite and can tolerate a festive, hungry crowd, mark the last days of October for this very Yucatecan family style event.

San Sebastian - Barrio de / Neighborhood of Merida

In the city of Merida, you will encounter many different barrios, colonias or neighborhoods. So many in fact, that when you look at a map of greater Merida you will be overwhelmed with choices and unfamiliar names that go way beyond the generic “centro” so often used by the expats (hint: centro is not a neighborhood that will appear on any map) or “el centro” which is its local name.

From Azcorra to Miraflores to Mayapan to Brisas, the colonias are all over the map. And they are not all in the central Merida area. The interesting ones with colonial-era churches are, however, and these are the neighborhoods with the most history and often the most photogenic and desirable from a visitors point of view.

One such neighborhood, one of the traditional ones and less visited than say Santiago or Santa Ana, is San Sebastian. San, as you know, is a saint and San Sebastian is a coastal town in the Donostia region of Spain as well.

In Merida’s San Sebastian neighborhood, the yearly celebration of note is the Festival del Pib, where many providers of this important Hanal Pixan dish gather to sell their versions of the delicious and Omeprazol-invoking baked tamal called the pib. This festival is held at the end of October and is a must for all those interested in local food and ambience.

A pib close-up

Another interesting attraction of this neighborhood are the murals/street art on the facades and walls, between La Hermita and the church dedicated to Nuestra Señora de Asunción. These paintings, sponsored by the authorities to revive interest in the area and with paint from Mexican paint company COMEX, are about inclusion, and they are colorful and photo-worthy if you like that sort of thing.

Then of course, there is the Our Lady of the Assumption church, the center of the neighborhood and what gives the area its rather stately feel. Originally a modest center of worship, construction began with help from donations by the faithful around the year 1800, to enlarge the small chapel and create the building we see there now.

This effort was spearheaded by one don Juan Esteban Quijano. The legend of how he came to be involved goes like this:

Don Juan Esteban Quijano, a notable resident of the “white” city of Merida, known for his charitable nature and philanthropic bent, received one day a female visitor, who, in spite of her ragged clothing and poverty-stricken appearance, gave off a dignified air of beauty (these are legends and legends of that time dictate that the poor cannot generally be considered beautiful or dignified). This woman implored don Juan to visit her neighborhood and to help her rebuild her home, a simple palm roofed structure. Her neighbors, all poor, could not be of any assistance and this is why she was asking him. He in turn, impressed by her demeanor and bearing agreed in principle and asked for directions on where he could find her house to which the mysterious woman replied that he would find it in the south west section of the San Sebastian neighborhood and that the home would be identifiable by a ray of sunlight.

Upon visiting the area he found the hut and shining into it was a ray of sunlight, which illuminated the face on a statue of a virgin inside. To his surprise and wonder, the face of this virgin was the face of the woman who had come to ask him for his help.

You can visit the San Sebastian church and neighborhood on your own walking tour of the downtown area or as part of a city tour Lawson’s can organize for you.