Said hasta luego to the house and took a 6:30am ADO bus out of Merida bound for Tulum. We weren't exactly sure what our plans were for Tulum to Mahahual. As luck had it, we pulled into Tulum around 10:45 and within an hour we were on a Mayab 2nd class bus for the 2 hour trip to Limones. In Limones, Terry got the taxi driver to reduce his price from $450 to $350 so we went for it. And, $50 went back to the driver as a tip. It was about an hour drive to Mahahual from Limones but a straight shot through the mangroves and thick jungle...the taxi driver was a helluva driver too. We made it to Mahahual and checked into our hotel before 3pm. Nice!
Now, we can start to re-hydrate after a day of bus travel.
Mmmmm....Mahahual -
No two beach towns are the same. Mahahual has a nice long malecon with beach chairs/tables/umbrellas and palm trees along the beach side and restaurants, small stores, and a few souvenir shops along the other side.
We ate some of the best ceviche mixto ever at Sulumar's. Seafood doesn't get any fresher than this. There were very few Americans in Mahahual. There are a few Europeans, but by far it was Mexican tourists that we saw. Same at our hotel.
Our hotelito-
Our white-washed hotel had probably 24 rooms or so scattered around with different sets of stairs leading to rooms, and covering three floors. There were lots of open-air outside seating areas with a restaurant/bar and swimming pool. The hotel manager was a world traveler that spoke several languages, fluently. He was quite interesting and had been pretty much any place we had ever visited plus many more. He had come to Mahahual by way of Merida then Belize. The hotel was clean, quiet and the staff was super. (Koox Matan Ka'an - $50usd/night)
Our Days in Mahahual -
With the Banco Chinchorro off the coast, there are quite a few people that come for the snorkeling and diving.
As for us - we just like beaches. We got up, drank coffee and put our walking shoes on. We walked north along the beach past the local that sat in his driftwood chair out over the water looking dejected. We surmised it was because yellow tape labeled 'Suspenda" had haulted the work on the house/building that was being erected directly over the road. There are a few condo projects out of town to the north. Nothing big.
We parked ourselves on two lounge chairs along the beach at Big Mama's, drank beer and margaritas, and chatted with the Mexican families that had come to the beach for the weekend, and ate nachos. Most families were at least 3 generations. They ate and they drank all day long. Big Mama's seemed to be the place of choice.
When the sun goes down, the beach bars/restaurants close for the day and the eating places one street over...the street leading south through town...comes to life. We found a small open air place and discovered some of the best prepared fish we have ever eaten...ever. It was go good we ate here two nights in a row.
We walked the south end of town one morning to about 3-4 km. out. Most of the hotels are small, quaint and have their own restaurants on site out here.
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| Happy Doing Cheap |
Instead of sitting in lounge chairs and drinking restaurant beer, we packed our own drinks and laid on our towels in a beautiful spot tucked in between the restaurants' areas...same beautiful beach but on the cheap. We did what the more local Mexicans do....a step below the Mexican tourists traveling from other towns. We even did this without ice. Who needs a cold beer when you have a beach like this?
We Should Have Eaten Over There -
We could have gotten the beer, the Coke, the tortillas, and the change...could've almost eaten for free. Let me explain -
Monday was quiet day in town after the busy weekend. Most of the Mexican weekend tourists were gone. Some of the restauarants and bars were closed, but not all. Monday evening we decided to eat at a small place that served grilled meats and tortas along the one street. Our two cooks, along with the older waiter, had all been sipping the day away on cervezas. When we ordered our drinks Terry asked what beers they carried, and he named off 5-6 Mexican beers. Terry ordered a Pacifico and I ordered a Coke Light. The waiter walked across the street to get the beer, but he brought a Modelo. Terry took it. Again, the waiter asked me if I wanted anything to drink so once again I ordered a Coke Light. He walked across the street to the little tienda once again and came back with a Coke Light. Later, he walked across the street to get some tortillas. Then, he walked across the street to make our change. We should have just eaten over there. We do think our meat was actually grilled by the two drunk cooks though.
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| We didn't eat the mondongo...tripas (ugh!)... |
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| The bus station |
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| Adios to Mexico in Chetumal, MX |
We had found the little tienda earlier that also served as the bus station for Caribe buses bound for Chetumal. The cashier had explained to us that if we tell the bus driver we want to ride all the way to his second stop in Chetumal, we should be able to just walk to the ferry terminal. We arrived at either a new ADO bus station or a different bus station than we were familiar with in Chetumal. And, the second station where we arrived was a different bus station as well. We pulled out the trusted Rough Guide and viewed the map of Chetumal. Once we got our bearings we realized we could in fact walk the 6-7 blocks to the water. We stopped along the way and bought a couple of ham/cheese tortas from a street vendor, found a shade tree and ate along the way.
Next stop - San Pedro, Belize for clearing customs then on the Caye Caulker!
