On the Road with Ró

My final week of the trip was ending in Cancun where I was to take a bitter-sweet flight back to Dublin.  The rest of my time was spent  in Merida, known as Latin America’s cultural capital. It has so much to give. My time was mainly spent eating (The Yucatan is one of Mexico’s foodie highlights). One of the days myself and Iv went to a group of cenotes which are natural waterholes. This was an incredible day, to access them we had to go by horse and carriage. We were essentially alone for the most of the time and had the cenotes completely to ourselves. The Mayans consider the water in a cenote to be sacred and are very protective over them. There is something magical about this water for the next few days our skin felt like a baby’s bottoms.

Some of the other foodie highlights of Merida included; tacos borracho aka drunk tacos where they cook chorizo in beer (a ridiculously good combination), salbutes (fried tacos), cochinita pilbil (divine pork), queso relleno to name just a few. The Yucatan hands down has the best food (with the exception of Mole from Oaxaca; a glorious concoction of chocolate and chili’s and lots of other divine ingredients).

En route home from the cenotes I really wanted to try the Yucatan’s iconic dish of Poc Chuc where pork is marinated in citrus juices and seasoned with achiote paste from the annatto seed. It is cooked in strips on the grill. So we drove the guts of 2 hours to the desolate town of Mani where they are famous for the creation of this dish. We screamed our hearts out to Mexico’s most famous singer Luis Miguel en route. For those of you that know me will know I have become a little bit obsessed with him. There is a netflix series about his life which is a must watch for everyone!  When we arrived in Mani the fecking restaurant was closed. Apparently the town of Mani shuts down after 6pm on a Saturday. Anyway positive as always we bombed it back to Merida and settled for a mountain of Panuchos, fried tortilla topped with all the local favorites of shredded turkey, cabbage, picked red onion. Anything tortilla based in Mexico (which is basically everything) is bound to be gorgeous. Be warned! the food in Mexico will make you fat! It is just sooo good.

One of the days we just went exploring the gorgeous town of Merida where I was lucky enough to bump into Mexico’s newest president. We did a spot of shopping and of course plenty more eating with Iv and all of her family. The family were genuinely like saints and treated me like I was more important than the president.

One member of the family that can’t be forgotten is the adorable Sheldon. A legend of a dog that I wanted to take home with me. He joined us on all of our excursions.

We finished the day by making our way to the beach the most northerly point of Mexico, Progresso. It was so beautiful watching all of the fishermen do their sunset fishing.

My last night spent with Iv and Magda consisted of a Mayan fashion shoot where I got to try on all of the traditional clothing. All of the clothes are beautifully hand stitched and like nothing I have even seen before. Magda gave me a gift of a gorgeous red dress as a memory of Merida and a tutorial on how to properly sleep in a hammock (this is a skill). The dress has since gotten a lot of airtime I love it. I will never be able to thank this family enough, truly special people who treated a stranger like royalty. I met Iv in the desert in Mexico in a remote place called Real de Catorce. I was camping and she was staying in a hotel. She used to supply me with the free shampoos and breakie bits, like gold at the time. She was travelling solo around her own country and we bonded over some gorditas (Mexican tacos) and our love of Mexico. We have stayed in touch ever since.

I made my way to Chichen Itza to see the famous archaeological site. This is like the Machu Pichu of Mexico and is known as one of the man-made wonders of the world. I wasn’t going to bother going as I had been to Palenque but you get a sense of FOMO if you don’t go to see a wonder of the word. It was a very pleasant morning I nipped in and out early to avoid the hoards of tourists. What wasn’t so pleasant was my refusal to pay for the cloak room which meant I had to cart my backpack around the sacred site. Served me right. I am not that obsessed with ruins so a quick in and out job is perfect for me.

Afterwards in an attempt to cool down I went to cenote Ik kil for a dip. It was beautiful but way too touristy for my liking. It was completely different to the ones in Merida where we were lucky enough to have them to ourselves. I was too scabby to pay for another locker so myself, backpack and additional bags walked down hundreds of steps to get into the cenote. A gorgeous day all round ended by me hitch hiking  to Valladolid where I was eventually making my way to Playa del Carmen for the home stretch of the trip. I stocked up on some corona and peanuts with a few old mexican men and we all squeezed into a TINY collectivo for the 3 hour journey. (peanuts and corona were a mistake in hindsight, I ended up puking out the window in true Ró style!).

In Playa I was meeting my friend Brenda who I used to work with in Cusco in Peru. She is working as a doctor in Play del Carmen but is originally from Monterrey. I ended up leaving all my bits in a Mexican dentists office and went exploring as Brenda had to work. I have to say Playa lived up to its awful expectations. I felt like I was in Magaluf. It was a real slap in the face that my trip had come to an end (and apparently Cancun is much worse). This place is filled with western restaurants and bars, hoards of Americans, all english speaking, high-rise hotels, tacky shops and you pay for things in dollars. It was horrific and I immediately to decided to escape to a nearby Island for my last 2 days.

Iv, my friend from Merida put me in touch with her friend who lives in Cozumel, an island near Cancun. The gent sorted me out with free ferry tickets and offered to drive me around the island. An offer I couldn’t refuse and I was delira to leave grotty Playa del Carmen. I just went for the day. It was absolutely idyllic. I splashed out on a private bed on the beach and amazingly it was deserted so I had the place to myself. The snorkeling was really impressive. Crazily I only had my first margarita on my second last day (I had been sticking to straight mescal and tequila). It was dolla bill but worth every penny. Long gone are the days of eating stale bread in Patagonia and cold pasta out of cereal boxes.

I wanted to spend my last night on an Island avoiding Cancun like the plague. The plan originally was to go to Holbox which is supposed to be more authentic than Isla Mujuers. Anyway time was not on my side and I only had one night left so myself and Brenda opted for Isla Mujuers and it was perfect. There is no doubt that it is very touristy but if you search enough you will find quiet pockets of absolute bliss.

Our last night was perfect. We dined in one of the Island’s best restaurants; Limon. Ta Jo for the serious recommendation. They are famous for their caramelized pineapple desert. The owner/head chef Sergio is bbq-ing the finest seafood and meat in his garden. I am allergic to taxis, no matter where I go so I convinced Brenda the walk wasn’t that long. We walked the entire length of the Island (about one hour) until we arrived drenched in sweat to the finest restaurant going. Nothing a few margaritas didn’t fix. The pina is a sensation. You get served half a pineapple where they caramelise the inside and flambe it with rum and serve it with ice cream. Definitely a contender for the best dessert I have ever eaten.

The airport was a disaster with the bag 10 kg over weight it was going to come with a hefty price tag. I was a bit of an emotional wreck anyway that when the flood works came on your woman left me off scott free when I explained to her that I wante to keep my tent. There was issues going through security when they found 6 pork and mole tacos in my bag. I explained to the police man that it was my last Mexican taco  and he let me away with it. I gifted him with a taco to thank him. There is no end to the disasters but I wouldn’t have it anyother way make life more interesting.

Mexico you have stolen my heart. I will be back

Myself, Lorcan and Emma decided to do a cookery class to learn how to make tortillas from scratch; Mexico’s most iconic food.  We firstly went on a tour of the market which was great where the woman explained all of the weird and wonderful things you typically see in Mexican cuisine. The markets here are incredible and you could easily spend hours floating about.

After purchasing all of our ingredients we went back to her house where we started making the dough and our fillings for our tacos and quesadillas. I was in my element. We also learnt how to make traditional Mexican salsas and guacamole. One of the most interesting things we tasted was a type of corn that had mushrooms growing from the side of it. Apparently these guys are really rare in  Mexico but were so so good. The tortillas we made were black because of the variety of maize we used. Nothing will ever compare to the taste of a homemade tortilla ridiculously good.

My last day in San Cristobal was spent recording videos on the exotic fruits and vegetables found in Chiapus. Emma kindly co produced these. We rewarded ourselves afterwards with a trip to the famous wine bar where the hours seem to disappear too quickly. We had spent that day mooching around the shops and cafes. San Cristobal is famous for the amber stone. I tried to buy some as it is dirt cheap but failed miserably and settled instead for some pox tasting (a delicious liquor made from corn).

Based on the success of tortilla making class stemmed the idea of an Irish taco bar named; Bag of Limes so watch this space……

The next day both myself and Rob planned on making our way to Palenque. Usually the bus to is 3 hours but naturally enough in our case it was 10. Surprisingly it went pretty smoothly as we were warned about road blocks which are v common in this area. Some of the locals lay out a load of nails on the road and demand 50 pesos off each passenger to let the bus pass by. I was lucky enough on this occasion to be travelling with Rob because as per usual there were a few funny fish on the bus. We arrived v late and felt fairly delirious after the long journey.

Palenque is famous for its Mayan ruins but what makes this place distinct is that the ruins are located in the middle of the jungle. They are supposedly more beautiful and less crowded that some of the other more well-known ones. Rob who was travelling for 5 weeks was also an avid camper. He was keen to camp in the jungle so delira with a camping buddy I decided to join him. We rocked up to these cabanas who were charging a whopping 3,000 pesos for a cabana compared to a refreshing 100 pesos to pitch the tents.  Obviously there was no one staying there for that price so we had the place to ourselves including the most stunning private pool. Palenque is insanely hot so I was pretty worried about sleep that night. I was almost 10 weeks in Mexico and my first and only bad meal was in Palenque which in fairness isn’t bad going. The uninspiring chicken fajita were served with a side of salsa aka ketchup in this case. Really really bad. Unfortunately we were in the middle of no where so had no other choice. During the minging dinner there was a torrential rain storm where my tent conveniently leaked. Rob’s gear was a little bit more upscale so he was home and dry. Despite the wet I managed a couple of hours sleep. The beer always helps with this and after almost 1 year on the road my sleep standards are extremely low.

We were woken to the sound of howler monkeys which was pretty cool. We made an early start to try to see the ruins before the heat and the crowds. We had a delicious breakfast of tamales and tacos. Dirt cheap and ridiculously tasty. I am not the biggest ruin fan but figured while in Mexico I had to see at least one. I was pleasantly surprised and actually really enjoyed them. They were absolutely stunning and the backdrop of the jungle made it a truly enchanting place.

That afternoon we were wiped from walking around the ruins it is pretty exhausting. We chilled in our private pool while nursing a couple of beers. Where we had pitched our tents we were surrounded by lime, banana, mango and star fruit trees. We used to pick fresh limes to put into our ice-cold coronas which we drank in the pool. Not a whole lot to complain about that setup. We then ventured into town for a delicious lunch and went browsing for a Piñatas for Rob’s nieces.

Back at the pool I spent a while chatting to a creepy Dentist offering me free accommodation at his ranch. Maybe next time…… I was planning on catching the night bus to Merida to meet my friend Iv. This particular night bus was notoriously dangerous but I decided to take my chances with no alternative option. Before catching the bus myself, Gustavo and Rob met up for some wine and seafood. With my trip sadly coming to an end I am allowing myself a few more treats wine being one of them!

The night bus was rough and absolutely freezing. I was completely wiped out of it with the air con. I arrived at the crack of dawn and there was another backpacker outside crying because she had been robbed on the bus. I felt awful for her as I have been in that situation and it is the worst especially when alone. Rob caught the same bus the following night where two other people were robbed and they attempted to rob Rob but he managed to kick them off. So unfortunately the bus lived up to its awful reputation. God only knows how I got off scot-free.

Iv, the most gorgeous Mexican who I met in Real de Catorce while I was camping invited me to her home in Merida. She came to pick me and insisted I stay with her. At this stage of the trip I was looking very disheveled and to be honest I was hanging on by a thread. The visit to Iv’s house couldn’t have come at a better time. It was only when I arrived that I realised I had left my camera, bag of electronics and some clothes in Palenque which was 12 hours away! A desastre.

Like most places in Mexico I ended up staying longer than expected. Merida is beautiful and parts look really similar to Cuba. The heat is the only issue but is a pretty big one. It can sometimes reach up to 50 degrees. Needless to say I was dying. Iv knew I had no clothes to my name so including the huge private room she gave me she  also included loads of clothes. Iv you are one of the kindest people I have ever met thank you for taking me in and showing me the most amazing Mexican hospitality.

My first day with Iv who is also a foodie involved going on a road trip with her and her legendary mother; Magda. Magda is 83 years old and when she was younger traveled the world on her motorbike.  She is a hero and we immediately hit it off. We went to the town of Motul to sample their famous breakfast of Huevos Motulenos. This is a popular  dish with the locals consisting of fried eggs served on tortillas with refried black beans and a tomato-based sauce, which is often studded with ham, peas, and plantains and then sprinkled with cheese.The Yucatan has some of the best Mexican food and the most variety.  The place we went to is the most famous place to get this dish and on a busy day they might go through over 1000 eggs.

Next stop of the day was a quick dip in a nearby cenote (a natural underwater pit). We then drove to the town of Izamal. It is known as the Yucatan’s yellow city where all of the buildings are painted yellow this is compulsory and the result is nothing short of magical. It is also known as one of Mexico’s Pueblo’s Magicos.

More food was on the menu in the afternoon where  I tasted more local dishes in the most stunning restaurant. I tasted  papadazules (tortillas stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and topped with a sauce made of pumpkin seeds and tomato), Queso Relleno (Edam cheese, stuffed with a mixture of pork, peppers, onions, tomatoes, raisins, capers, olives and herbs and spices) and sopa de Lima  (soup made from chicken stock and lime and filled with chunks of chicken and pieces of fried tortilla).  All of this was polished off with  Agua de Chaya.  A traditional drink from the Yucatan made from a local spinach. This is really good for you and so refreshing.

Iv and the sublime queso relleno

Luckily Rob was also planning a trip to Merida which coincided nicely with him being able to return all of my stuff from Palenque’s jungle. We met for Moijitos in La Negrita (Merida’s coolest bar) and exchanged the goods. Once again someone was looking over me. Rob such a pleasure travelling with you for the short time good luck with your vegetable allotment and more importantly your beer making business.

Myself, Gustavo (a lad I met while eating seafood in Puerto) and Rob (another lad I met while eating goat in Oaxaca) all caught the same night bus from Mazunte to San Cristobal de las Casas.  Everything generally evolves around the food here in Mexico. As always it was a turbulent puke inducing journey. I was luckily positioned beside an aggressive snorer that serenaded me for the 12 hours. We all booked into the gorgeous hostel;Puerta Vieja. Gustavo was a lovely man from Bariloche in Argentina and was a bit of a yogi. He was mad for the meditation and a big believer in the hollistic way of life. He refused to use creams, mosquito repellent or any unnatural substances. Not exactly my gig but a nice chap all the same.

The worst thing about night buses is arriving at the crack of dawn with hours to kill before you can hit the leaba. On this occasion we were lucky and the hostel let us have their delicious breakie. This consisted of empanadas with guava juice and buckets of coffee. Poor aul Gustavo lost his shoes on the bus (he had been hanging out with me for far too long) so he went back to try and hunt them down. Myself and Rob decided to power through the tiredness and did the free walking tour. San Cristobal de las Casas is on everyone’s hit list while in Mexico and rightly so it a gem of a place. It  is a highland town in Southern Mexican in the state of Chiapas.

It has a similar buzz to Oaxaca except is smaller, more quaint and prettier as far as I am concerned. It is well known for its wine and coffee scene.Need I say more? I had planned on camping out here for a good few days to soak it all in. The walking tour was amazing and probably one of the better ones I have done on the trip (best one still remains La Paz in Bolivia).

The guide brought to all the different markets and explained about the indigenous people in Chiapus. He brought us to loads of different coffee shops, cool bars and galleries. This is the type of town you could mooch around in for hours and get stuck in for days or even weeks! After the tour and some shots of pox (a liquor  made out of corn) a few of us joined the guide for lunch in his favourite restaurant; famous for its soups (more like stews). I went for the really healthy version of beef, chorizo and chicharron (pork cracking). This was sensational!

I was having a chill in the hostel when I heard the refreshing sound of a north Dublin accent. It had been a while. Lorcan from Clonliffe road also travelling solo indefinitely around Mexico. He provided me with some much needed Irish sense of humour that I had so badly missed. A legend! Lorcan was the definition of cool. He wore shoes and tracksuit bottoms and a fanny pack around his chest and got away with it. Need I say more? I was so lucky with the people I met in the hostel and we quickly formed a great gang.

That night, we all took advantage of the unlimited free cocktails in the hostel. Generally there is a catch but on this occasion there was no none and they were actually v decent so this escalated into a Mexican/ Irish dancing session. The beauty of travelling as an Irish girl solo is that anytime you break into Irish dancing people think you are Micheal Flatley. Any aul muck will satisfy a casual onlooker. The next morning a bunch of very hungover backpakers pilled into the bus to take us to the Sumidero Canyon. This is a massive canyon set within a National Park. The canyon is instantly impressive and home to so much wildlife such as; crocodiles, monkeys and thousands of birds. One of the most shocking things about it was the rubbish. It was horrible seeing animals chilling on plastic bottles. Apparently during rainy season all the rubbish from the nearby villages floats down into the canyon. They make attempts to clean it up but are failing miserably.

En route home we stopped off at a random town where all we were fit to do was to stock up on goat tacos. Back home, I crawled back into the leaba for a quick power nap before hitting San Cristobal’s famous wine bar. 1 euro glasses of wine served out of an actual wine glass which also included free tapas. A dangerous place.

Myself and Lorcan escaped to watch the Conor Mc Gregor fight where we were conveniently sat beside a group of rowdy Mexicans. The excitement got too much for them and they needed to escort their very drunk Mexican friend home. So happy days we were left to the honors of  finishing off their bucket of beers. A tough job that someone had to do. Afterwards we made it back to the wine bar for a few more late night tipples. Things escalated quite quickly when a funny German starting setting off fire works. That was our que to leave.

The next days plan was to visit to the famous village of Chamula.  We picked up a few randomers from the hostel who joined us for the day. I have never experienced anything like this place before it is on a complete other level. Firstly the village is made up entirely of indigenous people who speak their own language. This community is mostly known for its church. They have a very distinct culture that they are very private and protective about. Tourists are allowed to pay to visit the church but are forbidden to take photos. One guy from the hostel got his phone smashed out of his hand for trying to take a photo. Another guy I met got his hand whipped by a man on a horse for attempting to take a photo.

Inside, the church is a different kettle of fish. The floor is entirely covered in pine needles and there are hundreds of candles. To add nicely to this fire hazard everyone is drinking Pox a lethal spirit made out of corn.  Another common practice in the church is for them to kill chickens as a sacrifice if a loved one in sick or they are praying for someone. The people of San Yuan believe that if they drink until they pass out it will cleanse them so their goal is to drink until they collapse. While we were walking around at about 2 pm in the day we saw countless amounts of people just collapsed on the streets.

We were lucky enough to arrive during one of their many festivals
(which happens about every month). The party had been in full swing since 5 am! There were fire works being randomly set off. I almost ended up in one of them fairly lethal but an unforgettable experience nonetheless. Everyone was dressed up in their indigenous clothes which were made out of fur just what you need in 30 degrees heat.

En route out of the village one of my friends from the hostel Emma got groped by a drunken man. This is just one of the many examples of this crazy little village. Anyone visiting San Cristobal you need to visit this town which is only 10km away. It is amazingly bonckers. Go on a Sunday for market day that’s when all the madness happens.

One lazy afternoon back at the hostel a German lad asked me to go for coffee and watch sunset with him. We went back to a gorgeous art gallery we had visited during the tour. This had the most stunning view of the city at sunset. Wined out of it we decided to stick with a coffee on this occasion. Germany opted for a brownie but little did he know it was a happy brownie. En route home we stopped to listen to some street artists drumming. Afterwards, Germany looked very emotional and he said he had never experienced anything more beautiful in his life.  I honestly thought that they were only alright and wanted to leave half way. He then went on to give a 500 peso donation this is mad money for Mexico. To put it in perspective I was routing around for 5 pesos to give and eventually abandoned ship when I couldn’t find it. I tried to warn Germany not to give all of his money away saying the drummers were good but I could have done a better job myself. A good lesson to Germany is to steer clear of the space cakes in the future It was the drummers who were the happy ones earning a small fortune that night.

San Cristobal and its numerous wine bars and not to mention Puerta Vieja’s insanely comfy beds made it impossible to leave and we all extended our stay.