Yucatan Peninsula...

[Verjuice]

Are there places along the Mayan Riviera that I absolutely should not miss eating at? Particular dishes to keep a hungry eye out for?

And although it's off the topic, any strong recommendations for places to stay? I'm going to be on my own for a while before my sister joins me in Tulum later on, and she's into suitcases and resorts while I dig backpacks and nature. Have read great things about KaiLuumII , both here and elsewhere... and we are very flexible, location-wise, except Cancun is out of the question.

[tighe]

If you're interested in doing something higher end, Yaxche in Play del Carmen is really excellent. Expensive by local standards, but an good value by US standards.

Edited February 21, 2004 by tighe (log)

[Hest88]

Are you venturing west at all or just staying near the Caribbean? I had my dream soup, a Caldo Tlalpeno, at the restaurant in the Hotel El Meson del Marques in Valladolid. (The city is also the site of a great cenote.) If you continue along into Merida you'll be in a vibrant, colonial city with many authentic and higher-end restaurant choices.

[Jaymes]

I second Merida. Wonderful city. Drive over there for a couple of days. The roads are good. You can either stay at the exquisite Fiesta Americana, or at the charming and cheap Hotel Caribe.

[Verjuice]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

Tighe, I had already read your review of Yaxche and was already sold on the place! I've checked out their menu online and plan on eating there the evening I arrive, en route from Cancun to Tulum, where I think I shall be staying for at least the first few days.

I will probably check out Merida after all. Any more specific recommendations for great restaurants and hotels (high end resort type for my sis later on, rustic cabana type for myself) in PDC and Tulum)? I'm flying by the seat of my pants for the most part, but I do want to eat well.

Jaymes, does the Fiesta Americana in Merida feel like a chain hotel? If not, I shall certianly book a night or two there. I have read your posts and you seem to know a great deal about the area, so I find your input valuable .

edited for my idiodicy.

Edited February 23, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[Jaymes]

Jaymes, does the Fiesta Americana in Merida feel like a chain hotel? If not, I shall certianly book a night or two there. I have read your posts and you seem to know a great deal about the area, so I find your input valuable  .

That Fiesta Americana in Mérida is absolutely exquisite. It does not feel like a chain at all. (And don't make the mistake -- like most "norteamericanos" do -- of thinking that the "Americana" in the name has anything to do with the U.S. Throughout the rest of "America" - i.e., Central, South America, etc., you often see references to "las Americas," because they believe they have as much right to the name as we do.) The location of the Fiesta Americana is also superb, right on the boulevard Paseo Montejo, just perfect for you to join the others strolling along on their morning walks.

Mérida (MARE-ee-dah) is a very Mexican city. It is a beautiful example of colonial Mexico and contains the old cathedrals and other buildings that you expect. It's not on the beach and, although it draws a lot of visitors, there are not so many "tourists," as we have come to think of them. It has several nicknames, among them: "The White City"; "The City of Music"; "The Paris of Mexico."

"The White City": Back in the olden days, the government decided that one way to soak the rich was to levy a hefty tax on colored paint. Colored paint was already more expensive than the cheap whitewash the poor people used. The theory was that only the rich were vain and wealthy enough to be able to afford so superficial a luxury as painting their houses in a color. But it turned out that everyone, rich and poor alike, was unwilling to pay about twice the going rate for whitewash just in order to proclaim their wasteful vanity for all the world to see. As a result, almost all the houses were painted white.

"The City of Music": The people of Merida, more so than almost every other place I've been, really enjoy their city. They're out in it all the time. And they love music. Merida has many plazas and parks, and each provides a free, open-air concert on a different night of the week. And this isn't just the "folklorico" type of music, either, although they do have that. One night I heard a world-class tenor (and I've heard Pavorotti in concert, I might add), singing the most beautiful selections from various operas.

"The Paris of Mexico": Merida was once one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas. They grew what they called "Green Gold." It was the sisal plant. Sisal was used to make the rope for the world. There were huge plantations of it. For example, all of the rope that the US Navy used in WWII was made with the sisal of the Yucatán. These wealthy landowners lived in Merida. They were sophisticated and well-traveled. In an attempt to recreate the Champs-Élysées, they put a broad boulevard (Paseo de Montejo) with wide sidewalks down the middle of Merida. All of the "best" people built mansions along the boulevard, importing architectural features from France, marble from Spain, etc. But then, someone invented nylon and the party was over. Many of these mansions fell into disrepair. Some were demolished, and offices were put in their place. But many remain.

The Fiesta Americana, which I so adore, either still has a facade of one of these mansions or recreated one (I'm not sure which). You don't notice it when you arrive at the main front door, but when you stroll along the avenue, you can see it. It's just lovely.

Another reason to stay in Merida is the opportunity for wonderful daytrips.

For Mayan ruins, you are close to Chichen Itza, about which I'm sure I need say nothing. But you are also close to Uxmal, which many people prefer.

And you are nearby Celestún, which is a flamingo preserve on the Gulf coast. It's very undeveloped, or at least was the last time I was there. I'm sure the hotel concierge desk can arrange an excursion there, or you can do what I do, which is to rent a car and drive over (about 50 miles west). Go to the Restaurant Celestún, which is open-air, right on the beach, easy to find. There will be boatmen hanging about. You can negotiate with one of them (Alberto Rodriguez has the best reputation) and they will take you on a tour. You will see egrets, sandpipers, cormorants, herons and many more. You will tour the mangrove "islands" where high in the trees, the flamingos nest; and down in the water, hungry crocodiles lie in wait for the unluckiest of the fledglings to fall. Also, there's a "cenote" (the sinkholes that riddle the pennisula) nearby which is popular for swiming (and diving, if you're into watery cave diving), so wear your bathing suit under your clothes. The Restaurant Celestún has delicious food featuring fish just pulled from the Gulf. It's a great spot for lunch. The little town of Celestun is quite small and "basic," so be sure to take cash. Other payment options (CC, check, etc.) are not feasible here.

I have linked you here to a site that explores many of the delights of Mérida, including a description of the concerts at the different plazas each evening.

Merida information

PS -- In Playa, the two "high-end resort-type" hotels (that your sister likes) that I recommend are the Gran Porto Real, and the Iberostar Quetzal. Not only are these very good hotels, but they are within walking distance of the main square in Playa, which is, to me, very desirable unless you have a rental car. Many of the other hotels do offer shuttles into Playa, but they frequently only go once or twice in the morning (say, 9 & 10 am), and then back to the hotel once or twice in the afternoon. Otherwise, you are expected to take a cab, which can easily run $10 each way. Also, the hotel shuttles are usually small vans, and can fill up. Much nicer to be within walking distance, I think.

Edited February 23, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[Verjuice]

Jaymes,

Thank you so much.

I leave the day after tomorrow. My plan is to fly into Cancun, spend the night in Isla Mujeres, catch a flight to Merida the next day, stay at the Fiestamericana and Hacienda Xcanatun... return to Cancun to meet my sister, drive down to Playa Del Carmen(KaiLuumII, then Blue Parrot), then on to Tulum for a few days, then back to Playa (Royal Hideaway this time). We would have liked to stay at Iberostar Quetzal but after struggling with numerous bounced e-mails and a few botched attempts to reach someone at reservations, we threw in the towel and began looking for rooms elsewhere.

Anyway, I'm very excited and a little nervous. I don't speak Spanish! I hope that this won't be too much of a problem, seeing as how I am so personable

I will probably pass for a local down there anyway. I'm Middle Eastern; dark skin and eyes etc.

Thanks again for the wonderful suggestions.

Edited February 29, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[Jaymes]

What a great trip! I cannot possibly tell you how jealous I am.

Be SURE to get back and let us know how everything went.

[zora]

You've probably already left, but I have to add: KaiLuum II is _fantastic_! It's like the resort for anti-resort people. Fabulous staff, very cool assortment of guests, and (rare for an all-inclusive place) really tasty food--not fancy, just good. And they serve Mexican hot chocolate all the time.

And Merida is a great city--and a nice antidote to beach-bum culture. There are some fantastic small hotels there--Media Mundo and Casa Mexilio are two of my favorites.

Keep in mind anywhere you go (except for Playa del Carmen): lunch is the big meal, so plan for that if you want to eat anything approaching "authentic" food. This is a big problem in Merida, unfortunately--pretty much all of the restaurants that are open at night are tourist-oriented and a little pricey, and the food is only enh. (Ki'bok, on C 60, is sort of a hipster cafe that's open late--that has good food.) For lunch the local favorite is El Marlin Azul, on the street heading north off the northwest corner of the plaza. At night about the only place you can get tasty inexpensive snacks (try to tell the difference between a panucho and a salbute!) is in the park/plaza about 10 blocks west of the center--spacing out the name just now.

[Verjuice]

Well, I went looking for my Edible Mexico. I wanted it all: deep-fried where applicable and served with a wedge of lime and prayer.

I didn’t want to miss Isla Mujeres. Cancun was wrought of sharp colors (bone, spearmint, saffron, coral) and franchise nightmares-on-ice, experienced at 100 kph before I was deposited at Playa Tortugas to wait for the water taxi.

I loved the island.

My early dinner was a whole fried fish (pescado frito entero). It was exactly what I wanted: salty, crispy, life-affirming. A few hours later I was hungry again, but I was already back at the Avalon Reef. I decided to take advantage of the dinner buffer (normally, I would run in the other direction, but I was very curious) and grab a small snack there (dinner had been paid for as part of my stay, besides). I headed straight for the grill and snatched up a skewer of shrimp and grouper, and a hunk of grilled red snapper smothered in a salsa verde that was surprisingly unctuous, perfectly seasoned and seriously garlicky. The fish was perfect. On my way out of the hotel the next morning, I walked through the dining room; I’m not a big breakfast eater (this was how I merited my disinclination to walk the third of a mile or so to town to find something that wasn’t designed specifically for the beached whales of tourists) and I had a ferry to catch, but I loaded up on green and red chilaquiles and fruit; papaya, mango, watermelon, cantaloupe,guavas, bananas the size of my index finger. I averted my eyes from the Tiki Lounge offerings; disturbingly sanguine mini cocktail sausage and pineapple skewered on maraschino cherry-capped toothpicks. Normally, I love plain yogurt for breakfast, but I found what the hotel had to offer to be quite runny. Even the little packages of the flavored stuff (I tried apple, out of curiosity) were very soupy. I tried some of the cream-laden hot cereal (fantastic with the addition of bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, but waaay too sweet), and found this to be very soupy as well. This didn’t bother me, mind you. It was just noticeable, and interesting from a cultural standpoint. I’m from the Middle East, and I don’t think my family would even recognize yogurt if a spoon couldn’t stand up in it. I was happy to notice that the fat content of the yogurt was up there with the best of them, though: around 4%, which is how I like it best.

By noon I was back at the airport in Cancun, where I had a love affair with the all-natural Nutrifibre bran cookies and another brand of galletas; scrumptious little oat pastries with platanos and datil and almendras. Beats granola any day.

After checking in at the Fiestamericana in Merida, I took a long walk down Paseo de Montejo. At a small but busy dulceria, I inhaled a guanabana paleta , not realizing that guanabana is cherimoya. It was good, but the mango and limon (lime) were better (what? I was hot and thirsty). I walked to Plaza Grande (El Centro); distinctly colonial architecture, really beautiful and impressive buildings. I visited the cathedral (the Lonely Planet quidebook describes it as “hulking” and “severe”) and the Palacio Municipal, Olimpo, the Museo de Arte Contemporanio Ateneo de Yucatan, finally ending up at Restaurante Portico del Peregrino where I had the pollo pibil (chicken with achiote sauce, wrapped in banana leaves and baked until tender).

The next morning, I walked back to El Centro (fortunately, I enjoy walking almost as much as I love food) and bought a bag of postres and baked goods from Panificadora Montejo, at a corner off the plaza. I would be in Chichen Itza all day, and the prospect of the inclusive tour package with its “Yucatecan-style” buffet lunch catering to hundreds of tourists was harrowing, so I wanted to be prepared. Back at the hotel, I polished off a huge plate of fruit (that impeccable papaya!) at the buffet, and sampled the chilaquiles (verde only, this time) and platanos frios. I also used a small bowl of housemade muesli as a vehicle for several giant dollops of cajeta. So good.

Though they are on every breakfast menu, the huevos revueltos looked, well, revolting; I guess I can’t deal with the combination of rubbery pink ham and canned peas in scrambled eggs, nevermind all the other stuff that gets added to the dish.

After Chichen Itza, I found the buffet at Hacienda Xaybe’h every bit as awful as I feared it would be. My pastries, however, were delish; pan dulces filled with custard or raisins (shudder) or pineapple or lemon, soft rolls that had been delicately iced with vanilla sugar, cinnamon rolls etc.

As soon as I returned to Merida, I moved on to Hacienda Xcanatun; absolutely stunning grounds, food, service, attention to detail. My first dinner there was a restorative sopa de lima, followed by pan-seared esmedregal with Hoja Santa ratatouille. I could have made a meal out of the warm, housemade bread (I’ a sucker for warm bread and all the baked goods are made on the premises) and two whipped cheese-infused butters (one with chives, the other with roquefort).

Breakfast the next morning was the platter of fruit and pastries that were brought to the table with my coffee.

Lunch was a delicata chaya mousse with pear salsa and more of that wonderful sopa de lima, and for dinner I had the cream of poblano soup and Xcatic chiles filled with cochinita pibil (“hole-roasted” pork with annato adobo, usually made by marinating the meat in a recado of lime, garlic, spices and chiles, then wrapping it in plantain leaves with onions and either steaming or roasting it. Typically served with delightfully pungen cebolla en escabeche). My early lunch before heading out the next day was salbutes. I could probably snack on these every morning for the rest of my life and never tire of them.

By the end of my first day at Xcanatun, I realized that the only real drawback to travelling alone was not being able to sample more dishes. There were so many dishes on the menu I had wanted to taste: sauteed chicken breast in ancho chile and sour orange sauce, Xtabentun and orange-glazed duck, black-bean stuffed plantian croquette, double pork chop with guava reduction and carrot-chipotle puree, poc-chuc, beef tenderloin stuffed with pulled pork in an orange-annato sauce with grilled red onions, roasted red pepper guajillo sauced lentils with prosciutto, Longaniza sausage, achiote marinated quails, Argentinian strip steak with chimichurri sauce, salads of jicama, mango, beets and tamarind. The queso relleno (edam stuffed with a mixture of beef, tomatoes, raisins and olives sered in a red and white sauce) sounded intriguing, as well.

Back in Cancun, I met up with my eighteen year old sister who had just flown in from Boston. We spent one night at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun so that she could get some rest before heading farther south the next day. I had anticipated her being exhausted after having just finishing a slew of midterms (she’s a freshman in college), and I was prepared for her finicky dietary habits. Although she laughs at the absurdity of it (she insists that this is purely coincidental), she will only eat foods which are yellow in color: eggs, cheese, potatoes, refined bread products, bananas, pineapple, chicken, macaroni, corn, buttered toast, buttered rice. She loves caramel, and her favorite desserts are cheesecake and crème brulee. She also adores sugar cookies and lemon sorbet and any lemon desserts for that matter- especially lemon meringue pie- but other citrus fruits don’t interest her. She guzzles copious amounts of chamomile tea. Go figure.

This meant that we would be compromising on restaurant venues, although it didn’t turn out to be nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. She was able to sweet talk chefs at hole-in-the-wall joints to whip her up cheese omelettes, and whenever her imagination was challenged, she would just order queso fundido or quesadillas or roast chicken.

My sister pronounced her chicken quesadillas at the El Caribe grill the most delectable she had ever tasted. I had a bite, and ended up ordering a couple for myself (minus the chicken); one with zucchini blossoms (good) and the other with huitlacoche (better). We made reservations at La Habichuela for later in the evening. I had initially planned on ordering their house specialty, La Cocobichuela, which is shrimp and lobster tossed in a curry sauce and served in a coconut shell, but when I saw the photo of it in the menu underneath the shrieking banner, “over 320,000 served!!” and considered the “garnish of tropical fruit”, I went instead for the Veracruz-style grouper. The sauce had an unpleasant viscosity to it, as though cornstarch or something had been used as a thickener. It reminded me of phlegm, actually (sorry, guys), and I had to move on to the rice and beans after a few bites of fish. My sister had asked for the chicken enchiladas, and was horrified to find that the salsa verde that smothered her enchiladas was brimming with fresh cilantro; she had never known before what it was, only that she has always despised it (I adore cilantro). She ordered dessert (crepes), while I stifled my growing impatience with another margarita.

What followed was the only digestive upset I experienced while in Mexico. The sharp pains began about ten minutes after our plates were cleared, and the ride back to our hotel was sheer agony.

The next day we headed for Playa del Carmen. Our plans didn’t work out; our room at the Blue Parrot was completely filthy, really, and after calling twenty or so different hotels in the area – everything was booked solid for the night- we were defeated into booking a couple of nights at the degrading and pitiful Bahia Principe, an all-inclusive Disneyesque-escapade spectre with several thousand rooms, buffet dining, crappy free alcohol and so on. When we walked into the lobby, my sister was ready to do cartwheels, and I wanted to burst into tears. A brief but illustrative example: When I left the room the next morning, there was an iguana outside my door, and about eighteen octogenarians in Hawaiian print shirts taking pictures of it. I won’t go into detail about this ridiculous place; suffice to say that there was a lot of yellow food to keep my sister happy, and I managed to keep myself nourished with the 24 hour guacamole and salsa bar, the taco station in the dining hall, and the unlimited self-serve soft-serve ice cream (sad, but true). One night, after too many glasses of crappy bourbon, I found myself alone in the empty dining hall with muddled thinking and a good book; I ate pizza and soggy cold fries with abandon, and was brutally reminded of college days I never wish to revisit. Things got even weirder when I wandered back out to the bar and spotted an academic dean of mine from college, ordering drinks across the bar (I went to school in Connecticut).

In short, a creepy place with bad food.

My sister, on the other hand, had a culinary epiphany at the churro station in that dining hall, and couldn’t get enough of the lukewarm, rubbery cheese empanadas.

We arrived in Tulum, where we had planned on spending the bulk of the trip. We had hoped to sup at Charlie's in Tulum, but we took the fact that it was empty as a bad sign and went to Don Cafeto instead. La Nave and Paris de Noche were other possibilities, but the five or six locals we asked steered us towards Don Cafeto. The menu boasts about their espresso drinks, as well, and I ordered a coffee only because I was so excited to see a French press after ten days of avoiding coffee all together (instant coffee is standard). For dinner, I had ceviche mixto camarones y pescado (which I did not eat; one whiff was enough to tell me that it wasn't fresh), xochitl soup, and rice with fried bananas.

We spent the entire next day on the beach around the cabanas; breakfast was fruit; gosh I couldn't get enough fruit in Mexico. Lunch: quesedillas, guacamole, salsa roja, chips on the beach. I have completely fallen in love with those thick, larded-up and deep-fried tortilla chips. Mmm. We stayed in and dined at the Ana y Jose restuarant (we stayed at the Ana y Jose cabanas). I had a very pleasant filete de pescado (red snapper) that had been steamed in a plantain leaf with chaya and mustard. Killer margaritas.

We had reservations at KaiLuum II and the Royal Hideaway for Thursday through Saturday, but after an allergic reaction to an insect bite landed my sister in a hospital, we packed up and went back to Cancun. Back to the Ritz. I’m still in the process of trying to convince the Royal Hideaway to reimburse us at least partially, but I doubt they will. Medical scares can wreak havoc in lots of ways; it took my sister and I ages to save up the money for this trip.

At the risk of having my sister feel guilty about something that wasn’t her fault, I sucked it up (not a hard thing to do when you’ve got crisp linens) and we ended up having a great time in Cancun; the Ritz is really a gorgeous place and the beach there is just beautiful. The first night back, I had a light posole soup and Caribbean lobster spring rolls along with huge quantities of ceviche. I drank margaritas before dark, and mojitos after, and nibbled on bunuelos in the bar. I was blown away by the breakast pastries- really the best I’ve had in years, and I snacked on tamales, tuna empanadas, chilaquiles, smoked salmon and fruit. For dinner, I ate it all: chilled cucumber and avocado soup with tender coconut meat, papaya and mango salad with black sesame seeds and camarones, calamari and zucchini salad with roasted tomatoes and slivered avocado, whole red snapper in achiote, lobster and morel ragout, crab and jicama salad tossed in coconut-lime dressing and studded with cashews, sweet, spicy pan-seared scallops, caesar salad, and paella.

I guess the only things I avoided were the ubiquitous juices and shakes and licuados and horchatas and agua frescas of Mexico, which held no appeal for me; I dislike all juices and shakes with the exception of unpasteurized apple cider and freshly squeezed limeade or grapefruit juice once in a blue moon (that's right: no pina coladas for me).

Back in New Mexico now and dark like a glowing ember. Mexico, as a terrestrial ecosystem, is wildly beautiful and mysterious. I might have eaten more if I’d not been parasailing and swimming with sharks and so forth, but it was a great trip.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

By the way, I did notice that the refritos in the Yucatan were made with black bleans, while in Quintana Roo they were made exclusively with pinto beans- anyone know why?

Edited March 14, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[zora]

Thanks for the detailed report, Verjuice! It all sounds great. I definitely want to check out Hac. Xcanatun for food next time I go...

Funny, the Mexico/New Mexico route--I'm on the same trajectory, having grown up in NM, and now writing about there and Mexico both. (After, incidentally, spending a lot of time in the Mid East...and _loving_ the thick yogurt.)

[Jaymes]

Wow. Utterly remarkable report. And beautifully written. Reading it has given me a magical morning. Thank you.

[sequim]

It's so great to hear of an adventurous eater's travels, thank you

[tighe]

Thanks so much for reporting back on your experience. Do you remember the name of the place on Isla Mujeres you ate at? I went to a place called Velasquez that sounds similar.

Xtabentun and orange glazed duck?? COME ON!! That's not even fair! Now I'm going to have to figure out some way to make it myself since I don't see making it to Merida any time soon......

[glenn]

Wow, Verjuice, great report and very timely. We're staying at the Royal Hideaway in PDC next week. I see you cancelled your reservation there. Did you ever eat at Yaxche? I couldn't tell from your post. From what I hear, it's the #1 restaurant in PDC. I posted this on another thread -- there's an incredible site with an active forum on PDC over here. There's an in depth section on restaurants.

We're only staying 4 nights, which is way too brief. It'll mostly be a relaxing stay without much activity except diving and snorkeling. However, I do wanna at least spend one day sightseeing the Mayan ruins. I'm debating between Coba and Tulum. Chichen Itza is just too far. Any thoughts?

[Verjuice]

Sadly, the name of the place where I had the pescado frito entero escapes me; I was so jetlagged and ferrysick that I ended up eating at a small, typical open air restaurant on the main sreet there. I was actually searching for Alma Grande but I just got ravenous. Everything else I ate, though; the grilled fish later in the evening and breakfast, was at the hotel I stayed at: Avalon Reef.

We had reservations at Yaxche for the evening we were going to be staying at the RH (yep, two dinners), but (and I am so very bummed out about this) we ended up having to change our plans a couple days beforehand. The folks at the RH were so darned nice and apologetic about not being able to refund us our money, though. We should not have booked anything through Travelocity seeing as how they so difficult to work with once you leave the U.S.

God, how I wanted to eat at Yaxche. Tighe's report had me positively drooling! Even my sister was curious, after hearing about their desserts, and the cheese-smothered dish .

Glenn, I never made it to Coba, so I don't really know. Tulum is lovely, really lovely, but the town itself pretty much... well, it sucks. It's good that you're staying in PDC.

What else? Avoid the Blue Parrot, even for drinks My sister was genuinely worried that she might have caught scabies just by standing in the doorway of the bedroom they wanted to put us in (at $250 per night just for the crappy room!! We thought we had gotten a great deal until we saw the place. Boy, were we misinformed).

Thanks for the positive feedback, guys

I'm so very hungry right now. Since getting back to New Mexico, food just seems so overcooked and well-behaved. Wah!

[tighe]

Wow, Verjuice, great report and very timely. We're staying at the Royal Hideaway in PDC next week. I see you cancelled your reservation there. Did you ever eat at Yaxche? I couldn't tell from your post. From what I hear, it's the #1 restaurant in PDC. I posted this on another thread -- there's an incredible site with an active forum on PDC over here. There's an in depth section on restaurants.

We're only staying 4 nights, which is way too brief. It'll mostly be a relaxing stay without much activity except diving and snorkeling. However, I do wanna at least spend one day sightseeing the Mayan ruins. I'm debating between Coba and Tulum. Chichen Itza is just too far. Any thoughts?

If you're interested in my account of two dinners at Yaxche (and a few other notes), here it is.

I went to Coba during my trip, but not to Tulum. Here was my thinking on the choice....Coba is much older than Tulum and not nearly as overrun with tourists, however it's much less excavated as well. Lots of walking through the jungle between the areas that have been excavated. Coba also has the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan which you can climb at your own peril. The view from the top is amazing. All that being said, Coba doesn't have Tulum's beautiful beach-side location. If you go to Coba, having a guide that knows something about the place really brings it alive.

[glenn]

Great report on Yaxche, thanks. That'll be our 1 dinner out. The food at Royal Hideaway is supposed to be top notch and it's included in the price, so it's kind of a waste going out. This is my first time ever staying at an all-inclusive and though the RH has gotten rave reviews, I'm sort of sorry I went this route, especially in an area where there's so much to do and see. Next time though. Can't wait to go diving in the cenotes and Cozumel!

[Jaymes]

The food at Royal Hideaway is supposed to be top notch and it's included in the price, so it's kind of a waste going out. This is my first time ever staying at an all-inclusive and though the RH has gotten rave reviews, I'm sort of sorry I went this route, especially in an area where there's so much to do and see.

Here's the way it usually works. You get up in the morning. Breakfast is included. Plenty of fresh fruit, and coffee, which I find to be always wonderful in Mexico unless you want decaf, in which case, it's always powdered Sanka. You can either ask them to pack you a lunch if you want to head down the beach, or off into a jungle or some other remote spot where there are no meals to be had. Or, you take a "relax" day and just hang around the resort. You eat the lunch at the hotel. That night, you want to try a restaurant that you've heard about. You get prettied up, and go to the hotel bar for drinks. Then you go to the restaurant that you've heard about. You either hit the clubs and discos, or you can go back to the hotel for a late-night swim, or to lie on the beach, where you again enjoy the "free" drinks.

The next day, you again get up and enjoy breakfast at the hotel. You head for a small town, or set of ruins, or other sightseeing venue where you enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Then back to the hotel again for drinks before dinner.

The fact of the matter is that most people, when staying at an all-inclusive, eat about 50-75% of their meals there. On a given week, for example, they'll eat all of their breakfasts at the hotel, and about half of the other meals.

It's still a bargain. And it's nice to have it as your "fall back" option.