Friday, March 4, 2022

Tried to book a rental car this morning and all of them are fully booked. Ultimately decided to push the trip a day and book a car for tomorrow, but those are also booked. Frustrated. Maybe we’ll just take the bus to Uxmal tomorrow. The buses have been very reliable. Instead, Deb and I walked around town and she could see several of the small parks and shops in the Centro district. We grabbed lunch at my favorite, Taqueria la Lupita, so that she could try the tacos. I think they got a passing grade.

Then we browsed the market and picked up a little produce before heading back up to the Paseo de Monteo. Once there I grabbed a horchata at what some say is the best place to get one, Cafeteria Impala. I’ve never had horchata before but it was pretty good. It’s a cinnamon/vanilla milky drink. Glad I tried out a new Mexican delicacy.

Chocolate

Deb and I continued to stop in storefronts along the way not purchasing anything except chocolate bars from the cacao museum. The attendant gave us a short tour explaining how chocolate originated in Spain then was provided to the Mayans as a gift. The Mayans see chocolate as a gift from the gods. I can get on board with that. We sampled many flavors of Mexican/Mayan-style chocolate while we were there. Their chocolate has much more texture because of less processing. Their minimal approach leaves more of the nutritional value in the cocoa. I picked up a chile bar, and Deb chose a salted piece.

We made a pit stop in Walmart to pick up some basic necessities like floss and sunscreen and left a little heavier than anticipated. We picked up some cans of V8 since we’ve had a hard time getting trustworthy vegetables here. Maybe we’re just too risk-averse regarding the produce. We walked one more block north to the Monument a la Patria before heading back.

Plans Made

We spent another hour trying to book a car for the weekend. Deb successfully booked a car on Turo only to have it canceled by the owner a few minutes later. I felt defeated. Finally, after many, many attempts, we were able to book a car for Sunday. I’m half afraid of getting my hopes up with how it’s gone so far. Hopefully this one holds. I invited Jess who I met at lunch a couple of days ago to join us. Finally feels like I can explore something other than Merida and Progreso for a change. I am ready for adventure!

Daily Expenses

Amounts in Mexican Pesos