Valladolid: A Rustic but Charming Gateway to Chichén Itzá and Magical Cenotes

Valladolid sounds like buy-a-duh-leed

Mexico is so vast (you can fit most of Europe into it) and it has 4 time zones. We knew this, but forgot it the instant we stepped on the bus from Valladolid. The times suggested the journey was 1 hour 15 minutes but the new time zone means it is 2 hours 15 minutes. Useful to remember if you’re heading back to Cancun for a flight. Fortunately, the Romanian Ginger Capsules I’d decided to use on a short journey saw me through. It was a very straightforward A-type road, which runs alongside the new track of the Mayan train, surrounded by endless trees and shrubbery as far as the eye could see.

Valladolid is a typical Central/South American town – it grows on you. When you first arrive, you only notice the rough edges and worn facades. As you explore more you see that it is a hotchpotch of beautiful boutiques, broken pavements, incredible bar interiors, run-down exteriors, homes and small local shops. Most business leave their exteriors rough and ready, unless they are on the specified ‘beautiful’ street: La Calzada de los Frailes. Some have gorgeous interiors that extend out into lovely patios or gardens behind which you only notice if you slow down and cheekily poke your head into them. My favourite was the church in the square – I don’t usually like church buildings but this one had a touch of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet about it (add to things I found out today: Luhrmann’s R&J was filmed in Mexico).

Our hostel Casa Xtakay was great! Jonathan and his team were so friendly and the breakfasts were fab. They have a staple of fruit every morning like melon, pawpaw and watermelon, but then something hot served with it everytime. I’m still not sure what all of the different names for the different taco types we had were, but I did recognise our cheese and ham quesadillas; and salbutes (deep fried taco) topped with egg and avocado. Most of the taco types were served with egg and topped with tasty red or verde sauces, with a drizzle of crema. Delicious!

We decided to blow our arbitrary budget of £100 a day (including accommodation, food, tickets, travel) and to take a tour to Chichén Itzá and the Cenotes, through the hostel. The cost of doing it ourselves – the collectivo, entry ticket, guide, cenote costs was about £30 different but with no food built in and arriving before the crowds wasn’t guaranteed. Plus there was an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Cenote included! Paying in cash gave us a 10% reduction; we googled the ATMs with the least charges: nomadicbackpacker.com gave us accurate information.

It was a fantastic day – timed to perfection. We had 2.5 hours at Chichén Itzá; the last half an hour was ours to wander but the rest was guided. Stewart would have like another 2 hours to explore but I was done and thankful for a deadline! We then had a 50 minute ride out to Cenote Chukum. The picture above is me – the cenote to myself! You change and put your clothes in lockers – they give you a life vest and then you’re free to swim, jump in from various heights and also use the zip wire in. The less said about the zip wire the better – I misjudged the slippy handle and bombed into the water soon after leaving the ledge! Stewart was videoing it too – nice!

And that was Valladolid! Ironically the thing that I miss is Burrito Amor – they did gluten free tortillas made with coconut. So soft and doughy. I could eat there everyday!