We had the opportunity to revisit Celestun with Don & Michelle.
On our way, we stopped and had a walkabout in the small town of Kinchil.
Catholic Church on the squareA gazebo in the centre of the squareThe municipal building on the square.
From there, is was a straight (and I do mean straight… look on the map if you don’t believe me) run into Celestun.
It was another glorious day… sunny yet not too hot. This time we went directly to the rental location and off we went!
Again, I couldn’t possibly upload all of our pictures, so here’s the best!
Don & Michelle expectantly anxious to be on the way!First group contactIn flightIt’s a face-off flamingo styleKeeping an eye on us and each other!Angel our guide!
The Ria Celestun Biosphere Reserve is home to over 200 species of birds. Here’s a few that we saw…
CormorantIbisCormorant nestingWhite and Brown PelicansRoseate Spoonbill
Another surprising turn into a Mangrove channel…
Someone wasn’t expecting it!!! the Mangroves A very important and interesting bird whose name I’ve forgotten. Perhaps Jack could research this one?Fish in the CenoteBabe(s) in the Wood!Getting his feet wet in the Cenote.Angel our guide!
Once again, we stopped for lunch in the village of Celestun and had a walkabout.
View of La Palapa Restaurant from the pier.Silly folks taking a boat from here to see the flamingos…… sure hope they provide barf bags!!!Going to try the Casa Peon restaurant next time!Street scene with cool dude and man’s best friend.… and a cool dudette!the Mercado on the squareI think Don’s looking for the Churro* guy!!! *Churros are crunchy fried dough sprinkled with sugar (ask Don)!
Another great day and visit to see the marvelous flamingos in Celestun!
Watch this space for the next blog post on our return to Dzibilchaltun!
I’ve been very busy visiting with Tia Val & Tio George and Don & Michelle and Dave & Deb, so this blog is a mashup of many, many adventures!!!
Nana and Papa always take me along when someone gets their hair done at Gaby’s in Chicxulub! I like Gaby and she likes me!
Nana and me with Gaby!Tio George… he’s so funny!Hola! Gaby… are you in there?Michelle, me and Nana!
One day, we went for lunch on the Malecon in Progreso at La Casa del Malecon.
As usual… lots of appee’s to taste!The cruise ship is in today… too many ‘boat people’ around! 🙁Everyone liked the Ceviche, except’n Papa!Uno cervesa, por favor? Papa said no! 🙁
On the night of the Premiere of this season’s Survivor, Nana and Papa took me over to Dave and Diane’s casa to watch!
Me and my new Survivor buds!Dave has really good Tequilla… you guessed it, Papa said NO!!!
… I did lots of other stuff too…
Met Don and Michelle at the Merida AirportHelped Panchita and her daughter Fatima cook us a Yucatecan dinner!Visited a park in Merida with Nana and PapaShared Papa’s cappuccino at the Cafe Peon Contreras in Merida
One of my favourite outings was to Costco! What fun!
Yippee!!! Chicago Mix!!!Funny… don’t remember seeing this in Costco’s back home!!!
One day, Nana and Papa took Don & Michelle and me to the Mercado (market) in Progreso… it was very scary!
Mi amiga Anita at the spice store… she wasn’t scary!Oh No! Put those knives away! HelpMe! HelpMe!I am NOT a chicken!!! HelpMe! HelpMe!Gulp! HelpMe! HelpMe!Pow! Biff! Take that el Tiberon!!!
I was very glad to escape from the Mercado ‘carneria’ section… so was Michelle! She said it smelt funny there!
To make it up to me, and Michelle, we went for lunch at Henequene’s on the Malecon!
Nana had a biiiiiiig Margarita!
On Thursday night, Dave and Deb arrived…
That’s me holding Deb’s luggage for her!Nana had yummy fish for dinner!Dave had fajita’s… I think! Smelt good!
We had the bestest time at San Crisanto mangrove tour!
YeeHaw! Ride’m Cowboy!Hey! Where did Dave & Deb go! Wait for us!!!Can I come in? Please, please!Hey, wait a minute… what’s that in the water!!! HelpMe! HelpMe!Whew! I’m safe with Deb and Nana!Just chillin’ on the ride back!
We stopped for lunch in Telchac Puerto at the La Picuda restaurant near the pier. Some people had yummy garlic shrimp… Papa had a plate of french fries!
We liked La Picuda!… and Papa shared a Coke with me!
That’s all for now… Salut! from Uaymitun!
I hope you enjoyed HelpMe! HelpMe!’s latest adventures… everyone at the Mercado in Progreso really liked having her visit!
It’s been a busy week since my last blog… Don & Michelle had come in, Val & George left and now Dave & Deb have arrived. So I have some catching up to do!
Don and Michelle were given the grand tour of Merida and Progreso.
The first day started with a visit to Gaby in Chicxulub for Michelle to get a haircut.
At Gaby’s in Chicxulub!Tada!
Then we drove into Merida to Sam’s Club where we parked and took the city bus into the Plaza Grande.
On the bus downtown
Here are some shots from Merida…
The Governor’s Palace…… with the Cathedral in the backgroundMerida CathedralDancing in the Plaza Grande on Sunday!in a downtown park!
We walked up Calle 60 to Calle 55 from the Plaza Grande and visited the chocolate shop… then had lunch in the Chaya Maya! Yum!
Afterwards we walked past our favourite short-stay hotel in Merida, the Luz en Yucatan.
We then had a bit of a rest enjoying a Cappuccino at the Cafe Peon Contreras beside Merida Teatro while Don & Michelle had a walkabout in the Plaza Grande.
After a short walk we entered the south end of the Paseo de Montejo, often referred to as Mérida’s “Champs Elysees”. We strolled along the tree lined street past many, many colonial day mansions until we reached the Fiesta Americana hotel.
After a snoop through the ritzy Fiesta Americana… rooms start at $300USD… we took an extremely quick and breathtaking cab ride back to Sam’s Club where we had left our car.
Our final leg took us to a Merida landmark… Costco… where we enjoyed walking through a very familiar landscape and picked up a few items we couldn’t get at the Bodega Aurrera in Progreso.
The next morning, we took Don & Michelle to explore Progreso. We went to the HSBC bank to get some more pesos out and then visited the Progreso main square, the San Francisco grocery store, the Mercado and enjoyed lunch on the Malecon by the beach… oh, and Michelle shopped for shoes!
Michelle really enjoyed the interesting sights and smells from the Mercado!!!
Anita’s spice shopThe carneria… keep an eye out for HelpMe! HelpMe!’s next blog post!Lunch at Henequene’s on the MaleconOn the Malecon…… with the Progreso pier in the backgroundMichelle’s best friends looking for handouts on the beach!
That evening, we had a great dinner at Elio al Mare on the beach between Progreso and Chicxulub. Gnocchi with gorgonzola, ravioli in mushroom sauce and carbonara were our mains with tiramisu and chocolate lava cake for dessert! Yumm!!
Elio al Mare in Progreso
That’s it for our exploring of Merida and Progreso!
Watch for the next blog posts where we revisit Celestun and Dzibilchaltun with Don & Michelle.
Another HelpMe! HelpMe! blog post! She’s getting pretty good at this now!
Nana & Papa, Tia Val & Tio George, Don & Michelle and I went to the Technotel Hotel for Valentine’s Dinner! They tell me the food was excellent!
Our table… we were inside cuz it was very windy!Every table had a special menu for the night!Here you go Nana!Papa had the Beef Carpacchio appee… he said yumm!Nana had the Goat Cheese Tower… also yumm!Delicious buns too!Please, please… just a sip of your Margarita? Papa said “No”! 🙁
For their main course, Nana had the camarones (shrimp-yuck) but Papa had a nice steak! They were too busy eating to take a picture!
Tiramisu for dessert! Yippee!Everyone got a rose… except for me! 🙁Nana and Papa let me visit some friends… Ray and Pam, Charles and Shirley and their kinfolk.Charles likes me!Dave and Diane and their friends too!We had a Mariachi Band too! What fun!Me and my bud’s in the band!Antonio was a great waiter!
The next HelpMe! HelpMe! blog post will be a mashup of a lot of little adventures… like going to see Gaby for hair styling and even going to Costco!
Dzibilchaltún is the “place where there is writing on the stones,” referring to the many memorial stones found at the site which is located about 15 Km north of Merida and about 40 Km southwest of Uaymitun.
Wonderful flowering trees at the entrance to DzibilchaltunDzibilchalrun Zona ArqueologicaEntrance path to the siteEnglish version of the multi-lingual signage
Once we had entered the site, we picked up an English speaking guide to show us around the site. On the way to the museum, there are a number of statues outside and many, many artifacts and illustrated tablets inside.
After a brief tour of a reconstructed Mayan village, which would have been what peasant life would have been like outside of the city, we entered the partly restored site.
The most famous structure is the Temple Of The Seven Dolls, so named because of seven small effigies found at the site when the temple was discovered under the ruins of a later temple pyramid by archaeologists in the 1950s. On the Spring equinox, the sun rises so that it shines directly through one window of the temple and out the other.
First glimpse of the Temple of the Seven DollsThe pillar structure is aligned astronomically with the temple
The temple is connected to the rest of the site by a sacbe, or “white road,” so-called because they were originally coated with white limestone, built over stone-and-rubble fill.
The sacbes also link the various cities over many, many kilometres Interesting flora The not over-imaginatively named “Yellow Tree”No known name, so we named them “Purple Plant”
At the southern end of the site were a number of other structures including a large courtyard with incredible acoustics. A Spanish church was also built on top of and from the rubble of the Mayan buildings.
The view back up the sacbe
The other major feature of Dzibilchaltún is its cenote, Cenote Xlakah, located around the center of the city’s ruins.
After the long walk along the sacbe in the 92F heat and sun, we were very glad to reach the cenote!
A most unusual and unique pool guard! What an inviting sight! Crystal clear, cool water The deep end of the pool!George feeding the fishesGeorge dives… judges say 7.0!Doug’s dive… 9.0 with minimal splash!Acknowledging the crowds explosive applause!
On our way back to the parking lot, we passed some more wildlife!
The grounds were very beautiful!
Happy visitors!
I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of Dzibilchaltun!
Keep your eyes peeled for the next blog post!
Don & Michelle arrived safely in Merida on Wednesday night!
Sorry for the delay, but here’s the long awaited blog:
“Steppin’ out at the Hotel Yakunah!”
On the outskirts of Progreso, there’s a old colonial home that’s been around for many, many years! More recently, it’s been given a second life as a B&B and watering hole by the large number of Canadian ex-Pats and Snow Birds in the area!
Hotel Yakunah, ProgresoThe grounds are very nice!Lots of flowering shrubs!
Wednesday afternoons, it’s music and dancing…
George and Val on the dancefloor!Wednesday Afternoon Dancing!The music was a mix of Jazz and 60’s Rock & RollWe met up with Matt and Terry from Keswick (neighbours next to Chu Huc Ha)We were tripping the light fantastic too!So this is retirement?Mellow!Sis and Bro!Nice moves!Nice try but it won’t fit in the overhead compartment on the plane!
The Hotel Yakunah is usually packed Saturday nights too for dinner and dancing!
We had a great time and will be sure to bring Don & Michelle and Dave & Deb here when they’re down!
Hopefully, in the next few days, I’ll be able to show you our trip to the Mayan ruins at Dzibilchatun!
We’ve been on several outings and trips since my last blog, so here’s the highlights:
Nana and Papa took me to the City Center Mall in Merida!I’m the Queen of the Temple!Somebody please put some pesos in!!!My favourites!Papa’s sharing his Pizza and Beer (urp!)
We’ve also done some trips into Chicxulub…
The senoras at the lavanderia!Ron at the Casa de Faro shared his Tequila!HelpMe! HelpMe! … just kidding!Nana and Tia Val at the Faro on Chicxulub Pier
They took me with them on the trip to Celestun too!
I wanted to go for a boat ride, but Papa said later!We had lunch on the beach at CelestunHelpMe! HelpMe! Heh, heh!Finally, we’re going to see the flamingos!Nana helped me see!So many flamingos! You need to check out Papa’s other blog to see more, though!Lookit the Ibis, lookit the Ibis!
Yesterday, we went to see Dzibilchaltun, the ruins of a large Mayan city, about a 1/2 hour drive from Uaymitun.
Hey, guys! Wait for me!I love the flowers here!Looks like I have a big Mayan cousin!!!One of the structures at DzibilchaltunMe at the Temple of the Seven Dolls!Ah… it’s cool and refreshing at the cenote!I took this picture of Papa’s perfect dive into the cenote!Here I am… minding my own business… yikes!HelpMe! HelpMe!… and not kidding this time!!!In the museum… HelpMe! HelpMe! … come on guys!In a cannon? Really? HelpMe! HelpMe!Ouch! Ouch! HelpMe! HelpMe!Not funny anymore! I wanna go home!!!!
Watch this space for more adventures of HelpMe! HelpMe!
You can find more on the trip to Celestun and soon the trip to Dzibilchaltun on the A Uaymitun Story blog!
Note to our nietos y nietas… no alcoholic beverages were actually consumed by HelpMe! HelpMe! during her stay in Uaymitun… otherwise, we’d be concerned she was turning into a lush!
It was a perfect day for a boat trip up the estuary to the Ria Celestun conservation area.
We paid $1250MXN for a 1-1/2 hour tour for the four of us, which converts to ~$25CDN per person… not bad at all!
Entrance to Ria CelestunDown to the jettyLooking forward to seeing the flamingos!Expectant boatersOn our way!Lots of other boats too!Ours wasn’t the fastest boat on the water! 🙂Many, many flocks of pelicans flew byFirst glimpse of the flamingos in the distance…… and in flightClose enough to touch… almost!
When we reached the main flocks, our boat slowed and stopped so as to not disturb them. The water was only 2-3′ deep there so they congregate to wade and feed on the baby shrimp that are there in the millions and millions. The flamingo’s distinctive pink colouring comes from a diet based on these shrimp.
The next pictures are just the best of the many, many pictures we took of this amazing sight!
Water ballet as they run across the surface during takeoffMany keeping a wary eye on us!The feathers under their wings are a wonderful black in contrast to the pink!Beep! Beep! Pink Roadrunner!In flight!Just chillin!Standing tallTaking offWhich way did he go?Last Flamingo Standing!
What an amazing sight that was!
On our way back, the first stop was at a favourite pelican roosting spot.
Then our pilot took us for a spin through the mangroves…
… to the nearby cenote, which is deep natural pit or cave in the limestone that’s filled with clear, sweet water and is very common across the Yucatan.
a beautiful white Ibison the boardwalkso clear you can see the fish and right through to the bottom of the cenotesome local holidayers enjoying a swima cormorant drying its wings in the hot sun
Back at the jetty, we thanked our great pilot for the trip!
It was a terrific day at Celestun! We enjoyed the town and its sites and really enjoyed the seeing the flamingos!
One last picture that really speaks volumes about life in rural Mexico. On our way in and on our way out, we noticed many, very unique and distinctive collections of odd things beside the road. These are personalized identifiers to allow those taking the bus to recognize where they want to get off! There are no ‘bus signs’ of course! Our favourite example…
Senor Bus Driver, please let me off at the khaki pants!
I hope you enjoyed Celestun! Keep an eye out for “Stepping out at the Hotel Yakunah!” in the coming days!
On Monday, we took a trip to see the flamingos at the conservation area at Celestun on the west side of the Yucatan peninsula… about a 2 hour drive for us. Here’s link to Celestun on Google Maps!
Our drive took us around Merida and through the town of Uman, which we will be sure to revisit and spend some time there, as Val and Elaine saw a couple of nice dress shops. The town square and church also look very inviting.
We did take a short break on our trip when we found an abandoned hacienda in the village of Oxholon.
After traversing the many, many topes (speed bumps) in the town of Kinchil, it was a very straight and long drive to the coast and Celestun.
The beach at CelestunCelestun PierWalking the beachOne of the boats you could take from the Beach to the Sanctuary (a longer trip)
We had some lunch at a beach side restaurant called “La Palapa”, which had a great selection of fishy stuff… not so much on the non-fishy side!
After lunch, we took a short walk around the town before heading back to the bridge. That’s the best place to catch the boats to see the flamingos.
Given the number of pictures we took on the boat ride… you’ll have to wait for my next blog to see them all… but here’s a teaser!
