Valladolid: Gateway To Wonders But So Much More
We leave the lovely little beach town of Puerto Morelos with a real sense of disappointment, an unshakable feeling that we really missed out here. Not so much that the seaweed invasion spoilt both the beach and the sea – though that was disappointment enough – but more the fact that I couldn’t shake off the bout of “travel tummy” enough to enjoy the town’s splendid bars and restaurants. Being a beach town, this is probably the best collection we’ve seen in Mexico, but regrettably I just wasn’t up to making the most of it.
As we walk home on our last night here – a Friday – after eating only salad and drinking only water (yep, I’m even off the beer) while Michaela enjoys a succulent chicken souvlaki for a change of flavours, those bars look even more inviting and sound even more convivial than usual. Just to rub salt in the wound, the live band in one bar is even playing a Midnight Oil track as we pass, meaning the music would have been right up my boulevard.
Yes, we definitely feel we missed out here.
Fortunately the pills kick in early enough for us to enjoy the bus ride to our next destination at Valladolid, and we do mean “enjoy”. Anyone reading this wondering how best to travel around Mexico should definitely not be afraid to do it by ADO bus: they are comfortable, punctual, safe and cheap, which is pretty much everything you want.
Valladolid greets us with a colossal thunderstorm and utterly torrential rain which has rivers running down the streets and half the population of the town, it seems, seeking shelter inside the bus station. It’s starting to feel like the rain/sun equation is just becoming borderline, we knew we were taking a risk coming to Mexico at this time of year but the anticipated short sharp showers are becoming just a bit too long to be called short and sharp.
By morning though the whole world is a better place, the sun is hot before breakfast, the streets have completely dried out and the sky above is clear and blue. Equally good is the fact that the bowl of pasta I dared to take on last night in the hope that it would complete the recovery, has absolutely done the trick and we are both fully back on form.
Like most visitors here we chose Valladolid because of its proximity to three outstanding opportunities for exploration and adventure – two magnificent ancient sites and the remarkable cenotes – but then we read that it would be a mistake to just visit those and miss what Valladolid itself has to offer. Even after one afternoon we are glad we opted to make it a longer stay. Valladolid is an absolutely charming city with a personality which is more a quiet elegance than the pizzazz of our previous stops.
Look out at eye level and you will see the oh so attractive low rise houses in a multitude of colours so typical of provincial Mexican pueblas; look up and you will see decorative artwork, fancy balustrades and ornate porticos giving each building real character; look down as you pass or enter hotels, lodgings and houses and you will spy sumptuous floor tiles of every pattern, design and colour.
The relatively plain cathedral stands proudly over the leafy square, other smaller plazas appear out of nowhere as we wander the back streets, colourful artisan shops and comidas with tempting smells compete for our time, gorgeous old buildings are made only more attractive by their peeling paint and battered rendering. Calzada de los Frailes (effectively Friars Street) ambles prettily down to the handsome Convento de Sisal, built originally in the 16th century but substantially restored in more recent times.
This convent, often the epicentre of Valladolid’s embattled history, hence the need for restoration, provides the backdrop for another brilliant sound and light show each night, this time with an English commentary version straight after the Spanish one. Here at Valladolid we are in the state of Yucatan and on the peninsula of the same name, major stronghold of the Maya people before the Spanish brought their metaphorical bulldozers and razed, among others, the city of Zaci, and built Valladolid in its place. The light show tells its illustrious story in style. These shows are so very informative and are brilliantly conceived, a place where rock gig concepts meet lessons in history. Every city should have one.
Traditional dress here is again in a different form, the multi coloured patterns of the ladies’ dresses now set on a white background, though once again the traditional styles of dress are a common sight around the streets. Customs die hard here, these robes are worn out of normality, not for a tourist sideshow.
Unlike the coffee scent of San Cristobal, every corner of Valladolid smells of damp earth: this is a tropical climate city in the midst of its rainy season, its flowing deep green foliage which climbs and rambles everywhere again putting us in mind of Costa Rica and giving the city an exotic, enriched flavour. It’s a living tropical garden. Even the convolvulus looks fantastic.
After a few hours exploring the city we are drenched, not by rain this time, but by perspiration, today’s temperature is around 34C/93F but according to websites the outdoor humidity is 100% and likely to remain there all week. Somewhere around 5pm with clouds darkening and thunder starting to vibrate like a funk rock bass line, we know what’s coming and dive in to a bar, from where within minutes we are watching the streets once again become rivers. Hot sultry day followed by a cracking storm which clears in time for evening? Yeah that’s more like what we expected: we can live with that.
And that’s just how the days unfold. By day 4 here the mercury has topped 38C/100F and if it was mathematically possible then we’d be convinced that the humidity has increased from that 100% measurement.
The storms roll in each day, always during the afternoon, the only variants being the precise timing and the size of the storm. We could be here for weeks and still be amused by the depth to which the streets flood, and the speed at which it all clears and dries up. If floods like this hit a town in Surrey just once it would be on the BBC news: here it’s an everyday occurrence and people just get on with it.
During our original planning we really thought Valladolid would be no more than our gateway to those three major excursions, but it’s proved itself to be a delightful and rewarding place. That’s not however to play down just how fabulous those other places are too.
One of the ancient sites is one of the “new” seven wonders of the world, the other a thrilling monument to ancient peoples. And then there’s the remarkable geographical features of the cenotes. If, like us until a short time ago, you don’t know that word, then stick around for our next post…
21 Comments
Lookoom
I like the colours and the colonial architecture. I have a feeling that we will soon be in Chichén-Itzá.
Phil & Michaela
You’re quite right, stay tuned!
Gilda Baxter
Beautiful city and your photos are gorgeous. The 100% humidity is hard going, but you guys just take it all in your stride. Great post.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Gilda, yes it’s pretty extreme but it’s what we expected. We’ve been delighted with Valladolid.
WanderingCanadians
Sorry to hear about your tummy troubles and not being able to enjoy the food. At least it didn’t prevent you from taking a day-trip to Valladolid. I love how colourful and vibrant the buildings look, during the day and at night.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you – not a day-trip though, we’ve lingered in Valladolid quite a while
wetanddustyroads
I’m glad the tummies are better – one can only drink water and eat salad for so long! Villadolid looks like a great place to visit – love the photos of the streets (oh, and the light show is such a wonderful initiative)! I will wait for your post to explain “cenotes” …
Phil & Michaela
Thanks guys….it really is a lovely little city, Valladolid
Heyjude
Looks like a charming and colourful place, but so quiet! Where are all the people? And tbh Phil that salad looks rather scrumptious. I recall having Delhi belly many moons ago when all I could tolerate for a very long time was plain boiled rice! As for 100% humidity, it’s felt a lot like that here recently.
BTW I had issues commenting – just get an error message telling me to please fill the required fields! And a back arrow.
Phil & Michaela
Yep, that’s what’s happening all over, I get the same message when trying to comment on other blog sites. Someone somewhere has made an almighty cock up!
grandmisadventures
that light show on the convent looks amazing. what a beautiful city to discover with you…ps, I got the error message too asking for required fields and then the back arrow. Seems wordpress is having issues on a number of blogs lately
Phil & Michaela
Yes it’s definitely gone haywire at WP this week. Valladolid has been a real delight and very much a pleasant surprise.
Alison
Another lovely colourful city and the light show looked fantastic. All that humidity is very tiring, you must be feeling quite drained.
Phil & Michaela
Drained yes, definitely. Looking forward to having some dry clothes too.
leightontravels
Having a dodgy stomach on the road is always a downer. Looking back over the last 20 years, I think it’s amazing how little of that kind of thing I’ve experienced. Just a case of Delhi Belly in the early days and beyond that… can’t think of a single time. Missing out on the best of the food scene must’ve been rough, but god that salad still looks pretty good. So… Valladollid, another wonderful chapter of your cross-country travels. Yet more beautiful, colourful architecture, crumbly churches abound and a fine sunset for your expanding collection. I also like the damp, earthy vibe that you describe, it sounds like the perfect antidote to these dry burning hot days we’ve experienced here in Georgia thus far. Anyhow, the more we read about you adventures the more we feel Mexico creeps ever higher to the top of our list for post-Georgia. Not sure how long we’re going to be here, let’s see.
Phil & Michaela
Yeah, luckily neither of us suffer much, despite being fairly adventurous with eating and drinking on our travels. I didn’t know you were in Georgia – I presume you mean the country, not the state – I was picturing you still being in Staffordshire! How long have you been there?
leightontravels
Ha ha we do get around. We did four months in England, two in Scotland, two back in Serbia and now we’ve been in Georgia for about five days. Will be based in Batumi for at least two months and will take it from there.
Phil & Michaela
Enjoy! Georgia was on the route of our Trip 2 (after SEAsia) on our original retirement plan. Maybe one day.
Annie Berger
Very impressed with how colorful and beautiful Valladolid looks as I’d never heard of it before. Glad your bus service has been so positive from Puerto Morelos and your tummy troubles have finally abated.
Dave Ply
Travel tummy isn’t fun, I made a point of getting an antibiotics prescription before going to Mexico just in case the usual treatments didn’t work. Nice you recovered relatively quickly. Looks like a charming little town, although I could do without the killer heat and humidity.
Phil & Michaela
Great little town, Dave