Chapter 35 - Yucatán Adventures: A Month in Mexico

 

Progreso was a great beach town close to Merida.

Welcome to Chapter 35 of Crabby & Chipper Travels!

From January 27 - February 27, 2025, we escaped the cold Minnesota winter and went on a month-long trip through the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

Puerto Morelos: Sun & Friends (Jan 27–31)

We kicked things off in Puerto Morelos at the Ocean Coral & Turquesa all-inclusive resort with eight friends from Minnesota. The days were filled with sunshine, laughter, and lots of poolside fun.

The boys enjoying the swim-up bar.

On January 29, we booked a catamaran trip to Isla Mujeres, an island about 45 minutes from Cancun. 

It was a bit too windy for snorkeling, so we skipped it and instead enjoyed lunch, beach time, cocktails on the water, and soaking in the view.

Our friend Ronnie's favorite drink in Mexico is a vodka cranberry.  One day he forgot to put sunscreen on the top of his feet and they sunburned really bad.  He got the new nickname "vodka toes".

Playa del Carmen: Cenotes & Dental Cleanings (Jan 31–Feb 5)

After saying goodbye to our friends in Puerto Morelos, we made our way to Playa del Carmen for a few days.  

On February 2, we headed to the beach for a beach day.  We didn't realize it was Constitution Day, which is a federal holiday in Mexico, so the beach was packed.  We rented beach chairs and an umbrella and soaked in all the different music surrounding us. Check out the videos below!

We couldn't resist buying these yummy salty snacks from a beach vendor.  

On February 4, we took a collectivo mini bus to visit Cenote Cristalino and the nearby Cenote Azul. The ride was just $2 per person, and entrance to each cenote was about $10-15 per person.  A cenote is a natural sinkhole resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. Found mostly in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, cenotes often feature crystal-clear freshwater and are popular for swimming, snorkeling, and diving.

Overall, Cenote Crisalino was our favorite although it was smaller.  Corp bravely jumped off the cliff multiple times. 

Here he is jumping off the cliff at Cenote Cristalino.

Corp playing around underwater.

Cenote Cristalino has a water cave we could explore too. 

Cenote Azul was larger, but its shallow depth meant we kept bumping our feet on the rocks—thankfully, we remembered to bring our water shoes.

The freshwater is such a beautiful blue color!

The little fishes loved nibbling my feet!  It was such a weird feeling.

The next day, we visited Coral Dental Care for cleanings and to have Corp’s sensitive tooth checked. Cleanings were a little rougher than previous visits in Mexico, but overall solid. Corp’s small chip didn’t require any work (yay!).  The total of both cleanings was $128. 

Afterward, we took a 4-hour bus ride to Mérida.

We boarded the bus in a bit of a scramble—
after buying our tickets at the last minute, we had only four minutes to get on!

Mérida: City of Culture (Feb 6–9)

We spent the next several days exploring Mérida, a bustling interior historic city with over a million people. 

We stayed at Hotel Boutique Santa Elena, located in Mérida’s historic center—a district known for its beautiful colonial-era architecture. At check-in, we learned that the building housing the hotel is over 300 years old.  We loved the large windowed door above the bed and the high 20-foot ceilings—they gave the room so much character. However, the shower’s low water pressure was a big downside; it was not strong enough to properly rinse out shampoo and conditioner.

The sidewalk outside the hotel was narrow. While this photo was taken at night with no traffic in sight, cars and buses sped by constantly during the day.

Our home base was in the center of Merida's historic district, so it was easy to wander through Plaza de la Independencia and see the Catedral de San Ildefonso, the Arco de San Juan, the Palcio de Gobien, and walk down Avenue of Montejo.   

​Plaza de la Independencia- built in 1542

San Juan Baptist Church in Parque San Juan

The Arco de San Juan in the background marks one of the historic entrances to Mérida’s city center.

The interior of the Palacio de Gobierno (Governor's Palace). A friendly local we met in the central plaza recommended we visit this and several other historic buildings nearby.

​The Casa de Montejo, constructed between 1542 and 1549, is often cited as the oldest remaining private residence built by Europeans in North America. It served as the Montejo family's home for nearly 300 years.  We explored the house, now a museum, on a self-guided tour that highlighted the area's colonial history.

Snapshot of the beautiful architecture in Merida.

Not that I support horse-drawn carriage rides, but it was pretty watching all the carriages come down Calle 60.

Couples dancing in traditional Yucatan attire to authentic local music.

Nighttime in Plaza Grande with the Catedral de San Ildefonso in the background.

We enjoyed our first street tacos were during lunch at the Parque de San Juan—simple and delicious.

Sample of architecture on the Avenue of Montejo.

There was a very large monument in the center of a roundabout on Avenue of Montejo.

Progreso:  Storm Damaged Beach Town (Feb 9–17)

On February 9, we took a bus to Progreso, a beach town with a huge malecón (beachfront boardwalk).

Awesome view from our balcony.

We loved the laid-back vibe and spent several days relaxing on the beach. 

We thought Progreso was a chill place until we discovered there are no beer sales after 5 p.m. on Sundays in stores, bars, or restaurants—but you can buy cocktails?  We did find a bar that broke the no beer on Sunday rule so we enjoyed a few beers and shots of tequila with some locals during the Super Bored (or Super Bowl).

Corp fed the seagulls and instantly became their best friend.

Progreso is home to the Museum of the Meteorite, easily recognizable thanks to the T. rex out front.

We also explored El Playón on February 12, where we saw a lot of damage from Hurricane Milton (Oct 2024). 

It was sad to see the broken merry-go-round.  It looks like they are restoring it, so hopefully it will be up and running again someday.

 

I can never resist snapping a photo with destination signs.

El Playon had lots of fun photo opportunities.

Back to Playa & More Friends (Feb 17–21)

We returned to Playa del Carmen on February 17—a 7-hour travel day via bus and $40 USD per person. Long and tiring, but we made it.  We were happy to snag the last two bus tickets—until we realized our seats were right at the very back, on top of the engines. The ride back to Playa was a hot one.

Upon arriving at our AirBnb, we met the two resident dogs; a chihuahua (Au Chocolate) and a chocolate lab (Pele).  Whenever we would have the front door open they would come in, snoop around, and say hi.  

She was a honey, but a bit tricky to catch if she didn't want to sit on your lap.

The doggies playing with each other.

On February 19, we took a colectivo down to Tulum. We’d heard people rave about it, so we figured it was worth a visit. But honestly, we didn't care for it.  The downtown and the beach are about two miles apart, and there was a ton of construction activity.  We didn’t even make it to the beach—we weren’t that interested.  

We did get this funny photo outside of a chicken restaurant.

The only other photo I took in Tulum....the two story pelican mural was very pretty.

On February 21, our friends Darsey and Pat from Minnesota, arrived to join us a day later than expected due to a flight cancellation.  Pat speaks fluent Spanish, which made communication so much smoother—especially when we were renting a car in Cozumel.  More about that later....

We were excited to take them to Cenote Cristalino.

Saying cheese before we jumped in the cenote.

Pat and I posing in the jungle on the edge of the cenote.

Corp and Darsey checking out the cave at the cenote.

 
Corp and Darsey playing in the water.

 

Corp and Darsey jumping off the cliff together.

On February 22, we enjoyed a beach day.  

Pat and I saying cheese!

Corp and I were dodging seagulls to get this photo.

On February 23, we took the ferry over to Cozumel.  Pat’s Spanish was so helpful when it came time to rent the car. 

 

I was so excited when we rented a lime-green Suzuki Jimny—it’s my favorite car in Mexico.  I probably really want one since they’re not available in the U.S. because it doesn't meet our emissions restrictions.

Our first stop was a little town called Cedral, where we strolled around and did some shopping. 

 

When we first arrived, we were greeted by a few wild pigs. After that, we checked out the small Mayan ruin and wandered through the town center—there wasn’t much to see.

 Next stop was a quick drink at the beachfront Reggae Bar.

 

It looked like a storm was brewing, but no rain.

 

Next, we headed to Coconuts, a lively cliffside bar with parrots and breathtaking views. We’d been there before and loved the atmosphere, so we had to share it with Pat and Darsey.

 

The end of a really fun day!

Video of a cute little parrot on the bar.

Video of big blue parrot.

Video of big white parrot. 
I think he was getting mad at me for filming him.

 

The day flew by, and we barely made it back to return the car on time. After that, we caught the last ferry back to Playa del Carmen. 

On February 24, we bought bus tickets, $12 USD per person, and took the ADO bus back to the Cancun Airport.

 

Bus ride went smoothly and was pretty comfortable.

Miscellaneous random cute/funny/interesting/weird pics/videos below…

These conversation-style chairs were commonly found throughout Mérida, especially in many public spaces.  The other person is suppose to sit in the other chair facing the other way, so you would be looking at each other when speaking.

Mérida had many artisan shops. In one of them, we came across a Mexican Tree of Life—colorful clay sculptures that depicted Mexican traditions. They came in various styles and sizes, and I found them quite interesting.

My favorite Mexican ice cream treat it Merida...mango and white chocolate...delicious!

Corp couldn't resist a photo with this sculpture.

One night, we visited a nightclub next to our hotel. We’re pretty sure we were the only Americans there—and wow, the locals could really dance!

These sun catchers spinning in the wind were really mesmerizing.

Check out this guy painting the outside of a building while people are walking by on this narrow sidewalk.

While visiting the Mercado San Benito we saw two people on stilts walking down the sidewalk.  Only in Mexico!

 

We were surprised a drum line was practicing on the malecon at 9 PM.

Well, that's all for Chapter 35...hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time, safe travels and happy exploring!

Corp and Tammy

 

Financials to note:

 

Our total hotel cost was $2,755 for 28 nights - $98.39 per night.