Day 15: Valladolid to Piste

December 27, 2023

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We set off south west through the streets of Valladolid, and remarked how the town looked very nice to us. It does show how perceptions can change, because compared to say Cochem, Germany or even our goofy town in B.C., it is not exactly a work of art.

Even at that, there were some purely nice houses, like this one:

Excitement on the bird spotting front started early, as we potted a dove that we had not yet photo'd this year.

But then, yes!, the coveted Motmot, with its special tail:

and Wow, a woodpecker that did not get away.

This was followed by a Social Flycatcher and a Montezuma Oropendola, and all before we had actually gone very far.

Our route took us past a part of town we had not touched yet on this visit, so we got a peek at the San Bernardino monastery. This is also where the town chose to put its required (for a Mexican town) giant lettered town name.

San Bernardino de Siena convent. "One of the most important Franciscan edifices in the New World. The Convent of San Bernardino de Siena is a silent sentinel to the history of the early days of the Spanish conquest and the Christianization of the Maya region"

We took to the road, Highway 180, which is a fairly main route to Chichen Itza - the premier Mayan site in Yucatan. Lots of huge tour busses use this way, as opposed to the 180-D toll road further north. They didn't perturb us, however, because we had a perfect shoulder all the way.

For some reason this road features a lot of hat vendors, setting up daily on roadside racks. I am specially interested in this now, because I need a straw hat for out in the garden, and have already spent some months failing to find one - at shops at home, on Amazon, and even in Spain. There is, however, a huge selection here. I'll wait until the return leg to actually pick one up. Meanwhile, I have found that a normal asking price is 600 pesos ($48!) but that the real price is 200 pesos, maybe less. Even 200 pesos is not exactly cheap for a basic straw hat, but at least it will be a genuine made in Mexico.

One of the landmarks along this stretch is the prison. Uniquely, it has a program of craft production and a sales outlet nearby. We were assured last time that the prisoners actually made the lovely stuff on display. It was closed at the early hour we passed by this time.

Another spot featured large Mayan themed carvings, many of them set out in the yard:

And here is a cemetery. I wonder what a nice place here costs? They seem like they could be livable (though you might not want to sign up for eternity).

In the middle of nowhere (to us, but obviously not by car) was a nice looking hotel - the Royal Mayan. It has nice landscaping and a buffet restaurant, but on bike we would feel trapped out here.

A better choice is the Doralba Inn, where we have stayed before. It is directly across from the super cenote Ik Kil.

There are a few very small towns along the way, and of course they are offering crafts and souvenirs. Crafts and souvenirs are really everywhere.

A traditional, now falling apart, house.

Some more birds caught our attention as well. Dodie is always wanting to look Grackles in the eye, because if it's yellow then its a very common Grackle, but if brown, it could be a Melodious Blackbird.

We stopped in at the Ik Kil cenote, which has one of the most beautiful sites of any.

The Traveller's Palm is always great to see.

Dodie's phone camera again supplies us with a low res Iguana shot.

Ik Kil is a giant open hole, with vines hanging down.

There is a package price to include the buffet at the Ik Kil restaurant. Sitting out with the beautiful flowers and foliage is so nice. And the food turned out to be the highest quality we have encountered in Yucatan so far. The photo looks a little weak, but we truly loved it.

From Ik Kil to Chichen Itza is only a couple of kilometers. The closer to Chichen Itza, the more Mayan designs one sees. Like the ones below at a store front.

Soon Chechen Itza resolves into a giant parking scene. Dodie, however can see the site overview on her GPS.

Anybody with a patch of roadside land can open a parking business.

We have seen Chichen Itza before, so this time we bypassed this truly great site, and headed on in to the nearby small town of Piste. Since we see ourselves as hardened travelers, we booked a truly local "hotel" in the heart of the place. It's called Hostal y Temazcal Guemez. Looking the listing, it seems ok, but of course listings are written to downplay any shortcomings. In truth the place was on a dusty street under construction, and the room was basically a prison cell, with two hard cots and no furniture. Most importantly, no A/C. Dodie is sitting on her cot in front of me just now, suffering the heat. We are plotting to leave here as early tomorrow as feasible. We also realized to our horror that we have a no longer cancellable booking for here again, in about two weeks. Dodie just cancelled it anyway. By the way, we think Temazcal means sweat lodge. Right!

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 495 km (307 miles)

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