Uaymitun 2013 – The Ducksoup Blogs

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #20 “San Ignacio and Farewell!”

Time for the last blog post of our stay in Uaymitun!

Our last excursion was to the cenote of San Ignacio in Chochola, south-west of Merida, with Mat and Terri.

Even though we had been before, four years ago, we were thankful that it’s well signed now as it feels like you drive into the small town, head down a minor street and turn into someone’s driveway to get there!

While I did take some pictures down in the underground cenote, I didn’t have the kind of lighting for my camera to take great pictures… so I borrowed a couple from their website!

… and its 10m (30 feet) depth make the view spectacular!

I did manage to get a few photos that I’ve been able to brighten up a bit…

The water temperature was ~82F (28C) so we all just jumped in as it was 104F (40C) outside

Mat and Terri sitting on a limestone bench

It was a Mexican holiday, so there were many more visitors than we expected!

As I mentioned earlier, this cenote was underground but accessible via some fairly steep stairs.

Doug’s on his way back up to the surface…

There were quite a few small palapas above ground… with netting (for bugs which we didn’t need) and fans (which we did!).

We claimed one of the palapas for ourselves and turned on the fans…

… and ordered some beverages and snacks for lunch.

Back home that evening…

Our last morning at Casa Uaymarima!

Tearful goodbyes to our valedor, Panchita…

After saying our goodbyes, we returned to the Merida airport and dropped off our car. Blueway rentals were very nice as they actually drove us downtown back to the Luz en Yucatan for our overnight. Unfortunately for the young man driving us, once we had been dropped off, the car stalled and wouldn’t start for 15 minutes or so… lots of honking in the street!!!

Our El Mozo room was ready, so we dropped our bags and walked down the street for lunch at the Chaya Maya!

After lunch, it was so blistering hot, we spent most of the afternoon at the pool.

We had one last stroll down to the Plaza Grande and had dinner at Amaro!

3:00 AM came very quickly… cab ride to airport (yawn, yawn)… 6:00 AM flight into Houston… 4 hour layover… and into Detroit around 5:00 PM.

Don and Michelle met us at the airport… I finally changed out of my shorts and flip-flops as it was pretty nippy!

We were back in Sarnia around 7:30 PM and were met by our daughter Tricia who had been house sitting for us.

My hope is that you’ve enjoyed viewing these blogs 1/2 as much as I’ve enjoyed creating them!

My goal was to impart a feeling for what one can experience or explore in this part of Mexico.

It’s not Cancun, its cuisine isn’t Tex-Mex and its people are not members of drug cartels! It’s the Yucatan!

It wasn’t a vacation… we lived in Uaymitun for 2 wonderful months and became part of the fabric of the community.

Farewell from Uaymitun!

Proximo Ano!

Love to all,

-doug and elaine
-mom and dad
-nana and papa

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #19 “Hacienda Yaxcopoil”

I’m back… only a couple more blogs to wrap up our stay in Uaymitun!

On the day we had lunch at Hacienda Xcanatun, Elaine and I and Terri and Mat spent the afternoon at Hacienda Yaxcopoil.

Hacienda Yaxcopoil (YASH-coh-poh-EEL) is a Yucatan plantation located near Merida, Mexico and dating back to the 17th century. The name Yaxcopoil means “the place of the green alamo trees” in Mayan and was named after the Mayan ruins nearby.

It’s located about a 1/2 hour drive south of Merida, so it was an easy drive on a new 4 lane divided highway heading to Campeche. In the small village of Yaxcopil, you’ll find the distinctive ‘moorish’ double arched gateway.

View of the gates from the park across the way

A closer look of the gates from the exterior

Within the perimeter walls, the grandeur of this place quickly becomes evident. It’s different from many of the other haciendas in the area as it hasn’t been restored or modernized. It feels as if it’s jumped 150 years as the rooms have been left as they would have looked back then.

The front courtyard and visitors parking

While a bit faded now, you can see the detailed work even on the walls

I loved this tree in the middle of the paddock area

Once you’ve entered through the main door and purchased your tickets, you can glimpse the inner courtyard through the doorway. Glancing and right then left you can see through the entire main house.

All the rooms had period furniture and many artifacts from the 1800’s arrayed on the walls.

The comfortable style of the home easily shifts from interior to exterior with areas of sun and areas of shade.

… shows the efforts spent on design throughout the hacienda.

The westerly view out to part of the village

In its hey-day, the paddock area would have been full of horses and cattle.

Note how the horses have ‘trimmed’ all of the hanging vines!

A quick jump back into the main house…

… where you can literally see from one end of the house to the other.

Across the patio from the main house are a series of work rooms…

… where Mat and Terri had a seat on a Mayan bench.

As we toured the grounds, one could see the effort put into making this not just a working henequen plantation but someone’s home!

A view of the main house from one of the garden areas.

First glimpses of the plantation machine house.

Hacienda Yaxcopoil was once considered one of the most important rural estates in the Yucatan due to its size and magnificence. It covered about 22,000 acres of land at the time of its greatest splendor, operating first as a cattle ranch and later as a henequen plantation.

The smokestack that would carry the smoke and fumes away

The machine house contained all of the major…

… engines, flywheels and other industrial revolution era machinery.

While functional, all the buildings display the same care of detail as the house.

The work house, where much of the spinning took place…

… looks like a European church or courthouse!

Last view of the main house from the machine house patio.

It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon… in fact you could easily spend a whole day here exploring and absorbing the culture of the times.

Watch this space for the final blog post of our visit to the cenote of San Ignacio!

Love to all,

-doug and elaine
-mom and dad
-nana and papa

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #18 “Canucks Farewell & Xcanatun”

We’ve been home a week now… catching up with family and friends and handling the ‘business’ of retirement. I’m behind on my blog posts, so here’s the first of a few to wrap up our time in Uaymitun!

As the calendar moves into mid to late March, many of the Canadian Snowbirds start the migration back home.

Many of the local establishments hold farewell parties to thank these Snowbirds for their business over the past winter months.

We went to such an event at the Barlovento in downtown Progreso.

The Barlovento closed 1/2 the street and put up tents and chairs.

The owner, Francisco, greets the crowd… mostly Canucks!

One of the Corona girls came by to say Hola!

Two guys who are about to try some Mexican pizza!!!

There are a number of really great places to eat in or near Merida… one of those is the Hacienda Xcanatun just a few miles outside of the city.

The entrance to the beautifully restored hacienda.

Intrepid travelers looking forward to a great lunch!

Beautiful artwork everywhere to be seen!

… the royal palms lining the original carriage way.

The shared patio of the row of Superior Rooms

The former chapel is now a common room for all

HelpMe! HelpMe! was very enthused with Elaine’s camarones!

After a wonderful lunch, we continued on our journey of the day to the Hacienda Yaxcopoil!

Watch this space for the next blog post of our visit to the Hacienda Yaxcopoil and the cenote of San Ignacio!

Love to all,

-doug and elaine
-mom and dad
-nana and papa

HelpMe! HelpMe!-Blog Post #11 “HelpMe! HelpMe! visits Yaxcopoil and San Ignacio!”

Our time here in Uaymitun is almost at an end… we leave for Merida tomorrow and fly home on Thursday! Unless an extra special adventure presents itself, this will be HelpMe! HelpMe!’s last blog post from Mexico!

One day, Nana told Papa that he was looking a bit shaggy, so we went into Chicxulub to get his hair cut!

On another day, Papa took us to a real fancy, schmancy place for lunch called the Hacienda X’Canatun. Papa said it was time I appreciated some of the finer things in life… as long as I didn’t make a scene!

… but Papa was really daring and had pollo (chicken), hee hee!

My new best friends, Terri and Mat, came with us too!

Later that day we visited a really old hacienda called Yaxcopoil! It was really neat ‘cuz things were left as they were a 100 years ago!

This is the front of the hacienda… Papa said I had to stay out ‘cuz things were breakable inside. 🙁

I liked the pretty gates to the hacienda!

On our way home, we went into Merida to the Liverpool Mall! I like malls!

It’s so big they even had a skating rink! Papa said they didn’t have skates in my size so we couldn’t skate!

Papa said that now that he’s retired, he’d like to be a Zamboni driver!

Mat wanted a Carl’s Jr burger really bad… but Terri said no!

We all had nice American style food at a Chili’s in the mall!

Yesterday, we all went to visit the San Ignacio Cenote in Chochola!

Nana’s already in, but there wasn’t a life preserver in my size! 🙁

Papa!!! I’m upside down! HelpMe! HelpMe!

While they all had some lunch in a little palapa, I went to see the little animal farm with pigs and goats…

When we got back to our house in Uaymitun last night, Papa took me down to the beach to see the sunset!

Thanks for watching my first blog… I really enjoyed seeing and doing so many things and meeting so many wonderful people here in Uaymitun, Yucatan, Mexico!

Kirsty,

I hope you’ve enjoyed HelpMe! HelpMe!’s Excellent Mexican Adventure! She’ll be waiting for you to find her the next time you’re over to our house!

HelpMe! HelpMe!

Love,

-nana and papa

HelpMe! HelpMe!-Blog Post #10 “HelpMe! HelpMe! explores Mayapan and more!”

After much urging, HelpMe! HelpMe! has finally been able to spare time away from her beach chair to update her blog!

-papa

Nana and Papa try to take me everywhere they go! One day we went to see the Mayan ruins at Mayapan.

Holy Kamoly! look at the size of Kukulkan’s Castle!

Papa says that’s the Crematorium… sounds scary!

HelpMe! HelpMe! I’m about to be eaten by Chac the rain god! Hee! Hee!

Papa! This has too many stairs… I need help!

We had lunch a cool place called Na Lu’Um which Papa says is Mayan for ‘little cats should be thankful and obedient’!

Papa wouldn’t share his X’Catik soup with me! 🙁

On another day, Nana and Papa and their friends Dave and Deb took me into Merida.

… I met three new artsy Mexican friends!

… after lunch we visited the big square in downtown Merida near the cathedral!

When Papa wasn’t looking, Nana let me slide down the banister rail in the Governor’s Palace!

We went on a carriage ride… this is me with my amigo Jorge!

We stopped a large monument… I don’t know what it is but Papa does!

Dave and Deb shared their cappuccino with me! Yumm!

HelpMe! HelpMe! he’s going to put me in the oven!

at the end of the night… Papa let me play with the band!

What a big day that was… time for bed!

Watch this space for HelpMe! HelpMe!’s last blog post before coming home!

Love,

-nana and papa

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #17 “Progreso and Merida with D&D”

For a few days after our Mayapan trip, I was a bit under the weather so we didn’t do much… then it was the end of Dave and Deb’s time in Uaymitun!

Deb had some shopping to do before they headed home, so we went into Progreso to browse through the shops on Calle 80 and the Malecon.

Getting Mayan Vanilla from Anita’s in the Progreso Mercado!

Not liking the pollo area of the carneria…

And then it was departure day for D&D… we went into Merida to drop off our car and then spend the afternoon and night in Merida. They would fly out home in the early morning and, after a leisurely breakfast, we’d pick up our car and head back to Uaymitun.

From the airport, we took a cab into the Centro to our hotel, the Luz en Yucatan.

the view from our patio at the Luz en Yucatan

We had lunch a great lunch at Amaro!

If you weren’t looking for Amaro on this busy street you wouldn’t notice it!

Picture courtesy of our waiter.
The couple behind us on the left were from Germany!

After lunch we walked around the Plaza Grande!

At the entrance to the Governor’s Palace

We took a very memorable horse-drawn carriage ride from the Plaza Grande up to the Monumento a la Bandera and back!

Our guide, who let me out to take pictures…

… while he was parked in traffic at the glorieta!

For dinner we caught a cab to and from Rescoldos, a Mediterranean restaurant run by a couple from Kelowna!

The owner/chef in front of his wood-fired oven

We had a great day in Merida… what fun… this is our favourite picture of Dave and Deb’s day in Merida!

Dave and Deb took a very early morning cab ride to the airport.

As we sat on our patio having our morning coffee, we actually saw their plane fly overhead on its way back to the Great White North!

Watch this space for further blog posts of our last 2 weeks in Uaymitun!

Love to all,

-doug and elaine
-mom and dad
-nana and papa

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #16 “Mayapan”

After a great lunch at Na Lu’Um near Tekoh, we headed down the road to visit the Mayan ruins at Mayapan.

According to many sources, Mayapan was the political and cultural capital of the Maya in the Yucatán Peninsula during the Late Post-Classic period from the 1220s until the 1440s.

A short drive down a driveway to the parking lot and the ticket booth… unbelievably the vista of Mayapan is within view!

I’ve included a map of the site to help you picture where things are!

The Temple of the Crematorium is unmarked on this map, but it’s the one just above and to the left of the Templo Del Nichos Pintados.

There is also an unmarked cenote to the right of the Castillo De Kukulkan.

At the entrance with the ruins in sight!

The Observatory from the Temple of the Fisherman

The Crematorium Temple from the Temple of the Fisherman

we were mostly totally alone on the site!

totally immersed and absorbed in the experience

just inside one of the Niches was this enormous moth… wingspan ~8″

one structure uncovered in front and one not… many more to be excavated

the shelter protecting the wall paintings

… their source of water was a cenote (now mostly dry)

At the one end of the Observatory was found…

… a complex with several masks dedicated to the God Chac (the rain god)

small carvings were also evident in certain walls

As Dora would say…
“We did it! We did it! I can’t believe we did it!

What goes up, must come down! Very carefully, I might add!

Not to be outdone, the Deb and Elaine made it…

We had a great time exploring Mayapan, but as it was getting late in the day, we left the remainder of the Convent Route for next year!

Watch this space for our next blog post on a visit to Merida and Progreso with Deb and Dave.

Love to all,

-doug and elaine
-mom and dad
-nana and papa

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #15 “The Convent Route”

One of the well known tourist routes in the Yucatan is the “Convent Route”, which takes you south-east of Merida through a myriad of small towns and villages to visit the many churches and convent buildings from the colonial era.

Sprinkled along the route are some well known Mayan ruins as well.

Our tour started started in the small town of Acanceh, where we parked in the main square and headed to the church.

Across the street from the large church was a smaller chapel built to honour Guadalupe, the patroness saint of the Yucatan.

As with all Mexican towns the main square is always nice to explore.

Acanceh in Mayan means ‘moan of the deer’

Now for the most interesting part of our visit to Acanceh. Also right across from the church is several Mayan ruins. These are very famous for the well preserved stucco masks that were uncovered during reclamation of the site.

a Mayan ruin next to a modern building on the main street

The corner has been partly excavated to show what was overbuilt

a second pyramid that’s untouched with the church in the background

Our guide then led us on foot for several blocks to the “Palace of the Stuccos” which contains several elaborate friezes.

trees appearing to grow out of the base of the palace

the friezes were protected under a canopy…

… so we were able to see the many images…

our guide showed us a map of the whole stucco frieze

Next time we’ll think to where something other than flip flops to the pyramids!

On our way out of Acanceh, bound for Tekoh, we passed by the local bull fighting ring!

The road into Tekoh was lined with trees and rocks all whitewashed… very pretty.

On the square, in Tekoh, we parked and toured the quite large and ornate church.

the church grounds are built on the foundations of a Mayan pyramid

We left Tekoh and we, based upon the map in the “Yucatan Today” magazine, headed south out of town. After 10 minutes of driving we agreed that the map was wrong and that our destination restaurant was actually on the bypass around Tekoh. Oh well, it was worth the backtrack!

beautiful grounds of the restaurant and the hotel

my X’Catik soup and Papadzules (soup was fabulous)

Elaine’s X’Tabentun prawns (she wants to go back!)

After our wonderful lunch, we headed on to visit Mayapan, but in trying to manage the length of these blogs, that’ll have to wait ’til next time!

Watch this space for the next blog on Mayapan!

Love to all,

-doug and elaine
-mom and dad
-nana and papa

Uaymitun 2013-Blog Post #14 “Conkal”

Given the number of pictures we took on our Convent Route tour and in Mayapan, this will be a short post on our trip to Conkal only.

About 8 years ago, Davie came to the area as a guest of Raul who played baseball in the Mexican leagues. One of their frequent stops overnight was at a rented house in Conkal just outside of Merida.

“Siempre Listos” – always ready… think “Be Prepared” as in the Boy Scouts!

Dave feeling like a munchkin in the doorway!

very friendly owner and family with HelpMe! HelpMe!

After leaving Conkal, we took a trip back into Merida to the AltaBrisa Mall. You can see more of that on the HelpMe! HelpMe! visits two different worlds! blog.

Afterwards, we went for a walk on the Malecon in Progreso.