San Flippy Flop...Where the Password is Pescado

We had really wanted to visit Valladolid, but we also wanted to use it as a hub to travel north. You know - find saltwater. 
We woke up to the sound of the rooster, which we were really growing fond of, and had breakfast. We walked into Centro and bought bus tickets to head north. A little after noon, we would be on our way to Tizimin and somewhere beyond.
 I didn't have my camera but we spent the morning exploring the Candelaria plaza area and the Convento de San Bernardino. Completed in 1560, it is worth the 30 pesos to visit. You can walk all through it at your own pace sans a guide or security of any type, view artifacts recovered from the cenote, and you can even visit the cenote and surrounding structure on the grounds. The interior and exterior walls are about 3 ft. thick with huge rooms, winding stone stairways, lookouts, confessionals, and the Catholic church itself still holding masses today. Well worth a visit!

Image from Wikipedia.org

After saying hasta luego to our hotel staff, we trekked to the bus station, and were on our way to Tizimin in hopes of being able to get to the coast to enjoy a sunset over the water. Since the buses get older and less luxurious as you travel further out, it was time to limit our water intake and act like camels. Leaving Tizimin, we passed the auction barn on the edge of town on auction day along with ranchero after beautiful ranchero as we headed north. 


NOTE: If arriving on the edge of civilization where you are the only Gringo within the whole village doesn't appeal to you, you can quit reading this now.   

As luck would have it, we were able to hop a bus that eventually got us to..."San Flippy Flop". Leaving Tizimin, we passed the auction barn on the edge of town on auction day along with ranchero after beautiful ranchero as we headed north.

 If you twirled around and opened your eyes not knowing where you were you would think you were in a little fishing village in the Carribean. The houses are brightly-painted wooden structures with tin roofs.

Colorful Wooden Houses lining the streets

The village is clean and surrounded by mangroves and a well-protected harbor. The password here is pescado. I guess it depends on how you define success, but this village is not filled with despair. It is filled with successful fishermen with nice pangas, lots of Yamaha engines, who have pesos to buy new beds from the truck that comes through town loaded down with plastic chairs, mattresses, beds, and toys. 

San Flippy Flop is protected from the open Gulf of Mexico by a nice long island about a half mile away from the shore. In addition to protection, it also provides a tree-shaded white sand, desolate beach. 
We had drinks on our mirador literally over the water, watched the sunset literally over the water, followed by a most excellent dinner of the freshest ceviche and freshest fried fish fillets ever. 
We slept with our windows open even though we had a/c. 

View from Our 3rd Floor Mirador

We spent the next day searching for early morning coffee, walking around town, walking through the mangroves, pondering life on the mirador while watching the fishermen go about their daily lives and doing what we do best - doing nothing. 

Standing in front of the malecon looking down the main street south

Sunset...ahhhhh

Very long and treacherous walkway thru the mangroves

The protective island and beach with the Gulf beyond

This is where we would live if I ever write that book. We would live right next door to the little Mayan lady that had the beginning signs of dementia but was born here, lived here her whole life and can only tell you about the mar bonito and the arena blanca y limpia...over and over again. The lady that wore a necklace with the state of Texas charm dangling around her neck. She didn't know it was Texas nor did she care. We couldn't help but wonder what the story behind it all was. But, we hugged and kissed her on our way out of town. 

Going About Living

Stairs leading to 3rd Floor Mirador...like walking the plank

Traveling back was much easier than we had anticipated. From Tizimin, we traveled second-class ejectivo...didn't really know what that was but we made no stops and arrived in about 2 1/2 hours. Walked from Noreste to the house and began talking about going back to San Flippy Floppy for a longer stay, some fly fishing, and beach time on el mar bonito con la arena blanca y limpia.