Editor’s Note: On our three websites (Yucatan Living, Yucatan YES and YoListo), there probably isn’t a day that goes by where someone doesn’t ask us about the safety of driving through Mexico. Many Americans and Canadians want to drive to the Yucatan when they come to visit for longish periods of time, or when they move here to live. Often, they are driving their vehicles full of their belongings and carrying valued family pets as well.

Always cognizant of the media’s reports of violence in Mexico, everyone wants to be as safe as possible. By now they know they will be safe when they get to the Yucatan Peninsula, but how will they travel through Mexico with the same sense of safety? Dr. Stephen Fry has gathered statistics and experiences to help you map the ideal route through Mexico in the following article.

As always, we are not pretending that this is the definitive solution, but merely a good "serving suggestion" based on knowledge, investigation and experience. We welcome your helpful comments!

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Traveling With Safety In Mind

There are a group of questions that pop-up regularly from Americans and Canadians who are thinking about visiting Mexico or moving to Mexico. With increasing highway violence on some routes, and the Drug War claiming over 40,000 lives in the past four years, safety has become a prime concern for many travelers and visitors to Mexico.

Fortunately, there is little or no evidence of Canadians or Americans being targeted for violence as they travel around Mexico or if they live there. Nevertheless, the reality is that some Mexican states have less-than-desireable violent crime rates on their roadways and in the cities. Some states have rates of violence that rival Detroit, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Just as we tend to avoid dangerous neighborhoods in most cities in the USA or Canada or elsewhere in the world, we also want to avoid the dangerous neighborhoods of Mexico by choosing our travel routes wisely. We are not interested in going into gory details of violence here. Instead, we want to use some of the available tools that go beyond personal stories of uneventful trips or horror stories of hijackings, and try to approach the issue with a modicum of scientific procedure.

Realities and Risks

If safety and easy smooth travel are significant concerns, then check out this website that shows Murder Numbers and Murder Rates for Mexican Municipalities. This gives you a map of the past and recent crime rates for Mexico by state, by county and by city. You can click on either the murder “Rate” button or the “Absolute” button for numbers of murders. Putting the cursor on a particular municipality pulls up the last 20 years of data.

Based on the information in this site, you can pick a route based on a statistical level of risk based on the past five years. (Of course, as anyone who has ever invested money knows, past performance is no indication of future performance… but it’s the best thing we’ve got.)

Border Crossing Choices

Your first choice for your route through Mexico to the Yucatan boils down to which border crossing you choose, since the city of your border crossing determines which state and what highways you use while traveling south. By checking the statistics and the map, Piedras Negras/Eagle Pass appears to be the safest and shortest route for travelers coming from east of the Rocky Mountains, but it will take Midwestern and Eastern drivers a bit futher west than the most direct (but statistically more hazardous) coastal route.

Another safe border crossing choice is Laredo/Nuevo Laredo, going on to Monterrey and Saltillo. There are higher risk zones in Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey, but if you cross early and stay on the main highways, with no forays into town, the statistics are also favorable. Based on the numbers, this route is statistically safer than driving through Dallas, and you can check out the statistics for the state of Nuevo Leon (Monterrey’s state) to reassure yourself.

Let’s say you choose the Piedras Negras crossing. The low murder rates and low numbers of murder rates for Piedras Negras confirms why many Norteños on other Mexican travel web forums advise using the Eagle Pass border crossing (see links to this map at end of article). Piedras Negras has an annual murder rate of just 5.11 persons per 100,000, which compares very favorably with Miami (15.4 per 100,000) and Dallas (11.3), and is even less than San Francisco (5.9). Would you think twice about driving through San Francisco? You might be afraid of having difficulty navigating your way through it, but we doubt you would avoid it based on fear of murder.

When you leave Piedras Negras, you cross areas of Mexico that have had zero homicides in 2010. By comparison, if you investigate the various counties (municipalities) on the crime map we have been using for reference, you will find that the coastal route goes through the state of Tamaulipas with 290 murders per 100,000 people, making Detroit’s 41 murders per 100,000 pale in comparison. It also ought to make you think twice about traveling along the coastal route south of Brownsville, which goes right through the state of Tamaulipas.

Here’s another statistical resource you can use to check if you have chosen the right route. The statistics published by the FBI say that the city of Piedras Negras and the state of Nuevo Leon have a combined lower murder rate than Texas’s 1,250 murders for 25 million residents.

If you choose the border crossing with the lowest violent crime rates, you’ll find that there are excellent interstate highways into San Antonio from various directions, followed by good roads from San Antonio over to Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras. The route south out of Piedras Negras on Highway 57 is a good road. It takes you to the interstate 57D toll road to Infonavit, and then back on Highway 57 through to Monclova and on south to Saltillo, and then on to Queretaro.

We know the route through Brownsville looks shorter on the map, but actually the route south out of Brownsville to Veracruz is surprisingly slow. The road is a two-lane highway with hundreds of pueblos with 15 mile-per-hour speed limits, thousands of topes, and a lot of unmarked road construction that has damaged the suspension on our vehicle and number of friend’s vehicles in the past. Yes, it is a picturesque route. But if you are looking for speed and safety, it isn’t your best bet.

Because of the better quality roads and many four-lane high-speed super highways, swinging over through San Antonio and using the Eagle Pass crossing may look further on a map, but your actual travel time will probably be less. The route increases safety and speed for only a modest added distance:

• Memphis to Piedras Negras = 875 miles
• Piedras Negras to Merida = 1587 miles
• Memphis to Brownsville = 928 miles
• Brownsville to Merida = 1271 miles
• Memphis – Piedras Negras – Merida:
  Total: 2,462 miles
• Memphis – Brownsville – Merida:
  Total: 2,200 miles
• Difference: 260 miles

• Memphis-Laredo-Villahermosa = 2040 miles
• Memphis-Brownsville-Villahermosa = 1860 miles
• Difference: 180 miles

Would you rather drive 180 to 260 extra miles on excellent US Interstate highways, good safe roads in Northern Mexico, and mostly high speed tollways with no topes through the rest of Mexico? Or would you prefer the coast road’s thousands of topes, some dangerous mountain driving, hundreds of small towns and the statistically higher risk of robbery or getting killed on the coast route? Your choice, of course. If you are coming from west of the Mississippi, it is an easy decision to choose a safer crossing like Laredo or Eagle Pass. When coming from east of the Mississippi, our experience has shown that the central route’s faster highways and the ability to pass by small towns and their topes easily made up for the extra 260 miles of going over to the safest crossing west of the Rocky Mountains.

Do Not Drive Without Car Insurance in Mexico

Before you make your decision, we should also pass on that it has come to our attention that some car insurance companies are now denying insurance coverage if you drive between Brownsville-Matamoros and Veracruz, especially if you drive an SUV. While we’re on the subject, let us caution you about auto insurance in Mexico. Do NOT get caught driving without insurance in Mexico. Expats have reported being stuck in Mexican jails with no food and no phone for up to four days while the police sort things out. They are just doing their job within the law. In Mexico, if you drive without insurance and you are in some sort of accident, you must prove that you can pay for all possible damages and medical treatments before they allow you to leave the scene of an accident.

Day 1: Laredo / Nuevo Laredo Crossing

Let’s say you plan to cross at Nuevo Laredo. No matter where you cross, it is a good idea to cross the border first thing in the morning (7:00 AM – 8:00 AM) to avoid problems or to have time to solve them if you run into any. After the crossing, you will drive through Nuevo Laredo on an easy highway, with no stopping other than for Mexican Immigration (INM) and Mexican Customs (Aduana). Customs is at the border, but Aduana‘s internal checkpoint 25 km farther on, after you have crossed the border. If you take a high speed city bypass around Monterrey, we think you will be pleased with the combination of reasonable safety, excellent roads, and a shorter route than the further west Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras crossing.

By the way, there are actually three points where you can cross the border at Laredo/Nuevo Laredo. Most old-timers advise getting off I35, and going a few blocks NW to the second crossing. This downtown crossing is about four blocks upriver of I35, and the route has good signage. This is a secondary crossing and is usually less crowded than the primary, more obvious one.

US Border Control agents have advised against staying the night in the little towns south of Laredo, so we suggest you plan to stay the night in one of the many fine hotels on the north side of Laredo not far from I35. You should have no trouble finding a room at a Best Western, La Quinta, Holiday Inn or many other US chains that have set up shop there.

After making your morning border crossing, head straight through Nuevo Laredo. Do not stop or leave Highway 85 and the toll road 85D, except for the Aduana internal checkpoint that is 25 kilometers past the border.. Similarly, when you reach Monterrey, don’t stop or stay in Monterrey. For safety’s sake, take the bypass to Highway 40D, and continue on to Saltillo. At this point, your route connects to Highway 57 and 57D (toll road sections), and takes you to Saltillo and then on to San Louis Potosi and Queretaro. Experienced travelers over the past five years consistently say that the excellent road quality on this central Mexico route might take you a little out of your way to the west, but will allow you to avoid giant potholes, road construction, topes and other hazards that will slow you down and make your journey less pleasant.

It is a pleasant day’s drive between Laredo and Queretaro, but because there are few towns between Saltillo, San Luis Potosi and Queretaro, be sure to stop for gas and food when you see promising opportunities. Queretaro is a charming city with a beautiful Plaza Principal, central park and amazing architecture. There is a lot to see in Queretaro if you want to take the time. There are "auto hotels" (easy in, easy out, cheap, clean and very secure with secure parking), on both the northern and southern edges of Queretaro if you decide not to stop to sightsee. There are also some large hotels near Interstate 57 as you drive through town, and of course, charming and interesting hotels in the city center.

Day 2: Queretaro to Villahermosa

After you pass through or stay in Queretaro, go south out of Queretaro, continuing on 57 and 57D, following signs to Puebla. When you reach it, take the Arco Norte bypass route, which takes you around Mexico City. This is a new option and much preferable to braving the intricacies of the Mexico City streets if you have no plans on stopping and sightseeing. Follow the signs to Highway 150D, another high speed toll road, and drive on to Puebla. If you want to make great time, stay on the toll roads and take the city bypass, still 150D, around Puebla. Continue on 150D toll road and then Highway 150 over to Orizaba in the mountains, and down to Cordoba on the coast. Continue on Highway 150 east out of Cordoba, until you reach Highway 145D. Take Highway 145D south to Minatitlan. At Minatitlan, you continue east on Highway 180D, where you have now joined the folks who took the troublesome coast route from Brownsville through Veracruz and on to Minatitlan.

We are going to mention the problems of the coastal route one final time. If you have been paying attention, you may have read that Veracruz has recently had so many problems with corruption, highway robberies and killings that they just fired ALL of their police, and have rehired a totally new group of law enforcement “professionals”. We are not saying these new police are corrupt or ineffectual, but we are taking note that they are new and we think it might be wise to give them some time to work out the kinks in their new system.

On the Highway 180 and 180D route to Villahermosa, there are not a lot of places to buy gas or eat between Minatitlan and Villahermosa. We suggest you refill all your gas tanks before leaving Minatitlan. Also, if you are a coffee fan, you’ll see people selling some fine highlands coffee from Los Altos de Veracruz along the route before you get to Minatitlan. Depending on the time of year, you might also see highway vendors selling pineapple juice. We can highly recommend stopping to stock up on both.

When you come to Villahermosa, you might also consider stopping and seeing a few of the Olmec basalt giant heads, various statuary and other attractions in the beautiful public park inside Villahermosa. There’s a broad selection of hotels in Villahermosa, ranging from Best Western and Holiday Inn to clean and modern local hotels for as little as $450 pesos per night. If you are traveling with dogs, the Hyatt just south of the city along the route to Merida accepts dogs in the room. Between the comfortable beds and room service meals, you’ll think you died and went to Mexican heaven.

Day 3: Villahermosa to Champoton, Campeche and (finally!) Merida

As you leave Villahermosa, you have a choice: to head up to the very pretty coastal route (Highway 180) to Ciudad del Carmen (the slower choice) or to go the faster Highway 186 inland route to Escarcega (and possibly on over to Calakmul or Chetumal if Playa Del Carmen or Cancun is your ultimate goal). The coastal route (Highway 180) is more direct and the shorter distance, but there are sections between Villahermosa and Ciudad del Carmen where there are 20 – 50 pueblos, with 15 miles-per-hour traffic, and a whole bunch of topes. In contrast, the southern route road between Villahermosa and Escarcega is mostly high-speed driving, with some sections of road construction where they are building a four-lane divided highway. Even with the construction sections, the Escarcega route is about one hour faster.

If you choose the scenic route, Ciudad del Carmen is a delightful place to stop and eat, and Highway 180 has opportunities for excellent fast driving after you navigate through Ciudad del Carmen.

If you choose the Highway 186 Escarcega route, be sure to stop and eat in Escarcega. There are few opportunities on Highway 261 between Escarcega and Asseradero. The southern Escarcega route now rejoins the pretty coastal Highway 180 route to Campeche City, (Campeche Ciudad in Spanish, to differentiate it from the State of Campeche). As you continue north, it can be worth stopping in Champoton. Champoton is a picturesque fishing city, with great places to eat along the water and gas stations… a good place to stop if you do not want to detour into Ciudad Campeche later.

Leaving Champoton

Continue going north to Campeche City. Campeche also has exceptional seafood, but if you do not take the Highway 180 city bypass, count on roughly a half hour of city driving to get through Campeche City. When you leave Campeche Ciudad, stay on Highway 180 north to Merida.

Before you know it (about two hours… and we’ll be the first to say that they seem like very long hours because you are ALMOST there…), you will find yourself in one of the Northern Hemisphere’s most charming and historic cities: Merida. Lucky you!

Bienvenidos, and glad you made it safely!

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Piedras Negras – Eagle Pass Border Crossing Map

FBI Statistics on violence in Mexican States

Stanford’s Murder Numbers and Murder Rates for Mexican Municipalities

Getting Lucky in the Yucatan

The city of Valladolid is a special place that lucky tourists discover when crossing the Yucatán Peninsula. The city is a colonial jewel of Mexico, founded in 1543 and located just off the carretera (main highway) about halfway between Mérida and Cancun.  The citizens of Valladolid, referred to as Vallisoletanos, are warm, friendly, and welcoming.  There is a growing abundance of hotels, shops and restaurants in Valladolid, and a number of unique attractions such as Cenote Zaci, the San Bernadino Convent, John and Dorianne Venator’s Casa de los Venados, Coqui Coqui perfumery, the agave distillery and more (see links below).

San Roque Museum

In the category of “more” is  the San Roque Museum.  The museum is housed in one of the most interesting historical buildings in Valladolid, a building founded in 1575 by the Lord Mayor of Valladolid,  Don Diego Sarmiento Figueroa.  San Roque was founded originally as a church, one of five colonial churches in Valladolid that played a significant role in the city’s history.

In 1634, the church was converted to a hospital called, “The Holy Name of Jesus.”  Don Francisco Ruiz, a priest and vicar, funded and established the hospital to serve a growing need.  The hospital began serving the community with four beds and strong support from a local board of the City Council members of Valladolid.  By 1645, there were ten beds and San Roque was considered to be one of the best hospitals in the province.

Eventually, the hospital moved elsewhere and in the early 1900’s, the building sat empty. In 1947,  this same building was converted to the first electrical generation plant in Valladolid, a project spearheaded by Yucatán Governor at the time, José Iturralde Traconis.  The electric plant’s smokestack still towers above the old church as evidence of this unusual detour from religion to commerce.  Eventually, that function also was relocated. After sitting empty again for many years and being renovated again, the building opened as the San Roque Museum on May 28, 1998.

San Roque Museum Today

Today, the San Roque Museum can be found on the corner of Calle 41 and 38, about one block from the center of Valladolid. The beauty of the high-arched ceiling with wooden beams stuns most visitors entering the museum.  The director and staff of the museum have created a warm, cozy, atmosphere unlike the sterile and cold interiors of some museums.  The exhibits are professionally displayed and those who wish to better understand the history and culture of this region of the Yucatán will find them extremely interesting.

The Stone Cross

A stone cross displayed along the left wall of the museum dates from the early 17th century.  It originated in Veracruz, was moved to Campeche, and later Izamal, before finding its current home in Valladolid.  You might notice the cross on the wall, and then move on to other things… but a quick glance at the cross does not do it justice.  The design of this cross shows how it was used to help convert the indigenous people to Christianity.  Flowers carved on the surface of the cross were recognizable to the native population, though now found on a new artifact for the new religion.  The carvings on the face of the vertical stone pillar are the most unique aspect of the cross’s design. One is located in the center of the cross bar, and the other is near the bottom of the vertical pillar.  The upper carving depicts the face of Jesus and the other illustrates the faces of two indigenous people.  If visitors have any trouble finding the faces, museum staff will gladly assist them. With these markings, the cross was meant to appeal to the indigenous people of southern Mexico and perhaps indicates that it was indeed even carved by a local artisan.

Infant Burials

Infant burials in ceramic pots were very common in the northern Yucatán around 800 to 850 A.D.  In fact, during the construction of an airfield near Chichén Itzá in 1967, almost 100 individual infants were uncovered in a cavity below the surface.  The San Roque Museum has one of the best examples of this burial type, which was recovered from the Ek Balam ruins, which are just twenty minutes north of Valladolid.  The exhibit includes the burial pot, skeletal remains and several unique pieces of jade buried with the child.

The Honey Exhibit

The Maya were (and still are!) professionals at tending bees.  Honey, along with salt, made up two of the most import items that the Maya used in trade, and both items are exported from the Yucatan Peninsula to this day.  Many Maya peasants still have apiaries (a collection of bee hives) where they collect honey which is aggregated locally and exported, primarily to Germany.  The exhibit features an original Maya beehive.  The hive is constructed from a large wooden log, which has been hollowed out to create space for the bees to make and store their honey.  A rectangular hole in the top of the log allowed the bee’s access to the interior.  Each end of the log had a specially cut wooden plug that fit tightly in the ends of the log.  When the Maya needed to harvest the honey, they simply removed the plugs and took the honey.

Los Chicleros

“Remember the Alamo!”  How is General Santa Anna, who won the Battle of the Alamo near San Antonio, Texas,  connected with the Yucatán?  In 1869, General Santa Anna was living in New York trying to raise money for an army to regain control of Mexico.  He had contacted Thomas Adams, a United States inventor, in hopes of selling him on the idea of chicle (pronounced CHEE-klay).  Chicle is produced from the sap of the Sapodilla (known locally as zapote) tree, and is very pliable.  Santa Anna proposed to Adams that the inventor could use the lower cost chicle as a substitute for the more expensive sap from the rubber plant to manufacture a rubber-like product.  Adams purchased one ton of chicle but failed in his attempt to make a rubber substitute.  In an interesting twist of fate, Adam’s son used the chicle to produce chewing gum, which was commercially introduced in the United States in 1871, bringing a lot of business to the Yucatan Peninsula’s generation of chicle farmers. 

The demand for chicle exploded with the growing popularity of chewing gum in the United States and the tapping of sapodilla trees spread from Veracruz to the tropical jungles of the Yucatán. In the first half of the twentieth century, harvesting, processing, and shipping chicle pumped large amounts of money into the Yucatán economy.  Today, if you visit with local residents from Valladolid down to the Mayan Riviera coast, you can often find that you are speaking with the children or grandchildren of the men who tapped the trees and harvested chicle for a living. The chicleros left for the jungle harvesting sites by 4:00 AM, wearing gas lanterns to find their way.  They frequently worked 14 to 16 hour days, primarily from June to December, and earned significant wages.  The industry is very small today because the trees were overexploited and most of the chicle trees are gone. In the museum, you can see a statue wearing the dress and accoutrements of a typical chicle harvester. You can even buy small packages of locally-produced chicle gum in some of the stores in Valladolid.

Additional Exhibits

At the San Roque Museum, you will also find excellent displays of Maya tools, stone carvings, maps depicting the Caste War (which began in Valladolid),  examples of Day of the Dead Altars, and the history of coastal pirates in the Yucatan.  And, if you do visit the museum, you would be remiss if you did not walk through the side door of the museum to the Heroes Park for a stroll through another one of Valladolid’s most historical sites.

History Comes Alive

The History Channel can say all they want about making history come alive, but let’s face it… they are making history come alive in a small box in your living room. Where it really comes to life is in a place like Valladolid, where you can walk the streets and enter the buildings built by men hundreds of years ago, or chew a piece of chicle, a substance that turns out to be the connection between the tropical forest of the Yucatan and a thriving industry born in New York. In Valladolid, you can walk cobbled streets, pass under arches of centuries-old monasteries and see local residents whose faces look just like the carvings on the crumbling ruins just outside of town. In Yucatan, history is alive and well!

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Valladolid’s Heroes Park

John and Dorianne Venator’s Casa de Los Venados

Valladolid’s Agave (Tequila?) Distillery

Candelaria Fiesta in Valladolid

Editor’s Note: Sometimes, you just want to get away, right? It might be the heat that gets to you, or maybe you are just looking for a change of scenery. Living in the Yucatan means that it is easy to travel to and explore other parts of Mexico. And there is SO much to see in the rest of Mexico! You could spend a lifetime exploring this country.

In service to the travel urge of our readers who are Yucatan residents, we present the first of what we hope is a series of articles about other places to visit in Mexico. Our focus in this website is still and will always be the Yucatan, but we all like to get out and see the world. That’s how we got to Merida in the first place! So we chose Oaxaca, a place we, the Working Gringos, have STILL not visited, as the subject of our first “outside of the Yucatan” article. As soon as we can make the time, we plan to print this article out and take it with us on our first visit there.

Oaxaca: We’ll Make It Easy For You

Oaxaca is one of the most culturally rich destinations in the Western Hemisphere; and it’s only two short flights from either Cancun or Merida. To do Oaxaca justice you should visit the city and central valley sights over the course of several days. However many people simply don’t have the time or inclination to spend a whole week. Accordingly I’ll map out how to get the most out of three full days in Oaxaca. Of course if you have more time, email and I’ll gladly plan out a longer, more relaxing visit for you.

The state capital and its central valleys boast quaint craft villages producing rugs, pottery, brilliantly painted mystical wooden figures and much more. There are vibrant rural marketplaces, ecotourism, pre-Hispanic ruins, downtown Oaxaca art galleries, museums, colonial churches, and restaurants featuring internationally renowned chefs.

Leave Saturday Morning… Drinks and Dinner in Oaxaca

Your Saturday morning flights (via Mexico City) land you in Oaxaca about noon. Take a short cab ride from the airport directly to the majestic ruin of Monte Albán. Upon arrival, we suggest you hire a guide to explain the ruin and Oaxaca’s pre-history. The ruin has its own cafeteria, so grab lunch either before you head off for your tour of the ruin, or afterwards (or if you aren’t hungry, wait until you’re downtown so you’ll have a broad selection of quaint cafés and restaurants from which to choose).

After checking into your hotel or B&B, spend the balance of the afternoon visiting art galleries and craft shops, the Cathedral and Santa Domingo church. Stop for drinks at the most colorful zócalo in the country. Relax and freshen up at your lodging before dinner at one of Oaxaca’s acclaimed restaurants.

Wake Up Early on Sunday… Shopping!

Your lodging should gladly recommend a guide or driver to chauffeur you around to the sights in the central valleys for two of the next three days, but if stuck or want a recommendation, let me know. (You will find the author’s contact information at the end of this article.) Hourly rates for taxis in Oaxaca are about $200 pesos, and guides or drivers costa about $25 USD per hour, depending on their facility with English, their qualifications, experience and reputation.

After Sunday breakfast, start out by visiting the 2,000 year old Tule, the tree with the broadest girth in the world. Then continue on to Teotitlán del Valle, where residents using pine looms have been producing wool rugs colored with natural dyes since the 1500′s. You will be able to see a demonstration of carding, spinning, dyeing and weaving. Consider buying a rug, purse or wall hanging with either traditional or modern design.

The ruin at Mitla is very different from Monte Albán, so it is worthwhile to visit them both. In addition, Mitla has one of the largest craft marketplaces in the region, with unbeatable prices for handmade cotton clothing and jewelry. However for color, pageantry and diversity you won’t encounter anything more interesting than the Sunday Tlacolula marketplace. While the market includes handicrafts, it’s predominantly a center where residents of the surrounding towns and villages come to purchase their meat, produce, furniture and all other worldly needs. Do not miss Tlacolula!

A Bit About Prices

In general, prices are cheaper in the individual workshops (see later in the story) than in the downtown shops in Oaxaca. But not always. Occasionally, you will find real bargains in the streets and downtown markets, but you need to know what you are looking for. For example, everyone will say their rugs are ‘handwoven’ and that the yarn is dyed with natural colors, but that is not always the case. If you get a trusted guide with a good reputation, and that guide takes you to a workshop where the artisan says the rugs are all handwoven with natural dyes, you can pretty much depend on the truth of that statement. Similary, most good guides have built up relationships with the various craftsmen. When they take a client to a workshop, the artisan knows that the guide demands a fair price for their clients. Also, if you are buying several expensive items from a workshop, you will find that there is some leeway in the price, up to about 15%. That is about the only time when bargaining in that environment is acceptable.

By contrast, on the streets and in the markets, feel free to bargain as you wish. But remember, if the price seems fair to you, why bargain? No matter how much you knock off of the price, it is not going to make a difference in your lifestyle. But that thirty or one hundred pesos you save may make a difference in what that vendor can afford to buy for her children… a pair of new shoes, extra protein in their next meal, etc. In general, Oaxaca is not a place to drive a hard bargain. With the slowdown in tourism as a result of the news about violence in other parts of Mexico, many vendors have already reduced their prices in order to make a sale. The money you spend in Oaxaca is much appreciated.

Don’t Like to Shop?

If you aren’t a shopper, you might consider instead a visit to a mezcal factory to witness the centuries old production technique for making the state’s famed spirit. The mezcal manufacturers use an in-ground oven to bake the agave plant, a horse to then mash its fiber, pine vats to ferment, and finally the clay and brick encased alambique to distill. Learn flavor nuances at a private tasting.

If you would prefer to spend some time communing with Mother Nature, we suggest you continue driving up the mountainside, to about 6,200 feet above sea level. Here you can experience the wondrous Hierve el Agua, petrified “waterfalls.” While the falls are actually hardened mineral deposits, there are two bubbling springs (hence the name “the water bubbles”) feeding pools of water, safe and suitable for swimming. Hierve el Agua is in a spectacular setting deep in the rural countryside. For those a bit adventurous there are several hiking paths leading down to the base of the falls, and up to its crest.

A visit to the 16th century Dominican Church at Tlacochahuaya provides a fitting time to tranquilly reflect and unwind after a busy day. Even those not particularly interested in churches will marvel at the unique painting style and the 17th century German organ accessed by a steep, winding staircase. A visit takes you back centuries and provides a feeling of what it was like to worship in colonial times.

Spend the Evening and the Next Day in Oaxaca Downtown

Back in town at the close of the day you’ll have time to relax before taking a stroll down Oaxaca’s main pedestrian walkway, Macedonio Alcalá, filled with street vendors, restaurants, galleries and retail shops.

We suggest spending Monday in the city, so there’s no rush to awaken early. There are several options, one of which is to spend the entire time visiting downtown sights. Alternatively you can spend the first half of the day taking a cooking class, followed by late afternoon sightseeing; or the whole day just exploring and enjoying Oaxaca’s centro histórico. You can get virtually anywhere in downtown Oaxaca either walking, or with a $40 peso cab ride.

Cooking Classes? Good idea!!

For cooking classes, we suggest Chef Pilar Cabrera’s Casa de los Sabores. Mondays she offers private classes, and Tuesdays group lessons, so depending on your preference you can switch around your itinerary for these two days. Chef Pilar has represented Oaxacan gastronomy at national events as well as in the USA, and in Canada at the request of the government of Mexico. Mexican food icon Rick Bayless wrote this about Chef Pilar: “I would strongly urge anyone with an interest in Mexican food to take advantage of any opportunity to learn from and experience the Oaxacan cuisine of Pilar Cabrera. She is one of the greats!”

So Much To See In Downtown Oaxaca

Your city options include the Santa Domingo Cultural Center (one of the most impressive museums in the country), the textile museum, the small but excellent Rufino Tamayo museum of pre–Hispanic art, the impressive Teatro Macedonio Alcalá with its strong French influence, the ethno–botanical gardens, and perhaps a couple of other noteworthy churches with heavy baroque architecture. Noteworthy among these is San Felipe Neri, where Benito Juárez, the first indigenous president of Mexico, was married.

Sometime during the day, we highly recommend a stop by Oaxaca’s famous Jardín Socrates to enjoy a dish of nieve, the sorbet-like ice cream. You´ll find several stands each set up with tables and chairs, and upwards of 40 flavors including many made with fresh tropical fruits.

Leave Tuesday Morning… but Before You Do…

Check out of your accommodations on Tuesday morning and put your luggage in your driver’s vehicle. At the end of the day he’ll drop you at the airport. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Your first stop today should be Santa María Coyotepec, home of Tlapanochestli, the research and educational center which teaches visitors all about cochineal (cochinilla), the tiny insect which has been used for millennia to dye clothing and foodstuffs bright red or orange. Learn its fascinating history and how the Oaxacan insect came to be the third most valuable commodity in the world. Cochineal is still used today as a colorant for Campbell and Knorr soups, Campari, Danone yoghurt, as well as for make–up and lipstick.

Next is San Bartolo Coyotepec, the black pottery village. Here you can witness one of the grandchildren of famed potter Doña Rosa demonstrating this ancient craft without using a wheel or modern tools. Take some time to browse the showroom and select from both modern and traditional barro negro (black clay) designs. Then visit the humble yet extremely impressive jewelry workshop of Armando Lozano, only a minute down the road from Doña Rosa’s.

Continue on to Santo Tomás Jalieza. Women in the village create table runners, place mats, belts and purses, bedspreads and tablecloths using the primitive back-strap looms. The town of Ocotlán is ten minutes further along the highway. There you can visit the workshops of the Aguilar sisters, the famous crafters of painted clay figures with scenes representing marketplaces, religious iconography, comedic love imagery and colorful fiestas. If you have time, you can opt for a visit to their cousin’s hand–made knife and cutlery workshop. In 2009, Apolinar Aguilar was awarded the state citizens’ award for fine arts for his craftmanship in making knives. Witness him hand–forge his products using recycled metals with the aid of only his stone and mud hearth, a mallet and anvil. He can even engrave a cake serving set, hunting knife or letter opener for you to take home.

Your final stop ought to be San Martín Tilcajete where artisans carve and paint fanciful wooden figures known as alebrijes. If you are traveling with children, tell your hotel owner or the cab driver, and arrangements can be made for your children to paint their choice of animal. The workshop of Jacobo Angeles and María Mendoza has a reputation for producing the finest work in the entire state of Oaxaca.

After you have visited all these spots, you might find yourself with more than a few items to take home. If you are shipping delicate items such as pieces of black pottery or alebrijes, we recommend either carrying them home on the airplane or using a quality shipper in Oaxaca, such as Mailboxes, Etc. or Areem, which packs, insures and ships via Fedex or DHL. For rugs and textiles, Mexpost, the parcel division of the Mexican Post Office, is a good option. You must bring them the item already packed in a box, and show them what you are shipping. Then you can close up the box at the Mexpost location, and they will give you a tracking number. The cost of Mexpost is about half what the private shippers charge. We recommend that you always buy insurance when shipping those fragile items, by the way, no matter how excellent the packing seems.

Fly Home to Yucatan

At the conclusion of yet another full day, your driver will drop you off at Oaxaca’s international airport in time for your early evening return to the Yucatan. You might be exhausted and out of money by then, but you will have had a great time!

There are several other options available for both touring the central valleys of Oaxaca and soaking up all that its downtown core has to offer. And of course you may not be able to cover all of the stops set out in this article, depending on your touring and shopping personality. Regardless, you will inevitably leave Oaxaca with a better understanding of why the region has twice been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Information about the Tule tree and the ruins at Mitla from Wikipedia

The spectacular sight of Hierve del Agua

Casa de Los Sabores

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The author of this article, Alvin Starkman, operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (www.casamachaya.com). Alvin is a contributing writer for Mexico Today. He has written over 200 articles about life and cultural traditions in Oaxaca. Contact Alvin at oaxacadream [at] hotmail [dot] com for further information and Oaxaca touring advice.

Living in Merida, you will doubtless find yourself visiting a mall at some point. Yes, there are malls in Merida; more now than ever before. They are very popular in spite of some visitors comments that this is not the “real Merida” they were expecting. But if you think about it, isn’t this a little unfair? Do newcomers expect us locals to remain in the 18th century so they can enjoy their new colonial city without 21st century intrusions? Are we residents not able to aspire to having a Starbucks double decaf latte with low-fat soy or drive a Subaru or eat at Fridays?

Malls Fulfill A Traditional Function

In Merida and in Mexico in general, malls have come to provide the function that the plazas, or zocalos as they are known in other parts of the country, have provided for decades: a place to socialize. Where once upon a time Mexican families would dress up in the evenings and head to the nearest plaza to walk, sit, converse, eat helados (ice cream) and palomitas (popcorn) and watch the adolescents flirt, this custom has now shifted to the comfort of modern, air conditioned malls. Part of the problem is of course, that there are more people now than back in the “good old days” and city planners are no longer including zocalos in their urban developments.

Modern Mall Milieu

It is not uncommon these days to see parents dropping off kids as young as 10-12 years old at Merida’s malls. The kids use the malls as a place to meet friends and perhaps see a movie, walk around, try on clothes at Zara boutique and have a coffee at Starbucks, if they have the money. If they don’t have money, then they can at least afford some popcorn and a soda, and of course, window shopping is always free. Of course they might also be found to stuff paper down the toilets, chase each other screaming and generally cause havoc. Their parents have relinquished their control to the imaginary babysitter called the mall, trusting that the security people and the general public will somehow take care of them.

Altabrisa

The most popular mall at the time of this writing is the new Altabrisa mall, located on the outskirts of Merida on what was once an obscure avenue that led to the Cholul highway (known as such because it is the highway to Cholul). Now the area has become part of the city, struggling to find its identity somewhere between dirt poor and opulent. The Colonia Maya is across the street where you can still find cinderblock and tar paper-roofed huts, which contrast sharply with the Bosques de Altabrisa housing development across the main avenue. The Cholul highway has become an important multilane thoroughfare and all the major automotive companies have set up car dealerships there. In addition the neighborhood also includes two major hospitals, the IMSS regional government-run hospital, only partially open at this time, and the upscale Star Medica private hospital.

The ultra-sleek Altabrisa mall anchors this area and is a huge attraction for Meridanos from all over the city, as well as visiting Campechanos and Tabasqueños on weekends and holidays. Inside, you will find Starbucks, Häagen-Dazs, local, national and international clothing boutiques and a food court that resembles an airport waiting area more than an attractive place to have a meal. Just outside, there is also a Bostons Pizza and a Burger King drive through. Along with the flashy boutiques inside the mall, there are also entertainment venues, including a casino and a multiplex movie theater run by the biggest movie theater company in Mexico: Cinepolis. A seat in the Cinepolis VIP theater is a treat, with its Lazyboy-style recliners, icy air conditioning and waiters serving everything from sushi to sandwiches to wine and beer.

Gran Plaza

Prior to Altabrisa opening, the mall of choice was La Gran Plaza, the city’s first upscale mall which, when it opened, surpassed even its owners expectations and was packed each and every day as people marveled at its escalators, elevators, glass, columns and waterfalls. A masterwork by local architect Fernando Ancona, it was a study in pastel green and salmon with touches of white, gleaming brass and indirect lighting. There was of course a great selection of local and ‘imported’ stores. In fact, it was so successful that its owners bought the land (and the street) adjacent to it and added a sequel, doubling the retail space. With two multiplex cinemas (one on each end of the mall, a Sears and a Comercial Mexicana grocery store as anchors, this mall was your go-to option for shopping, entertainment and just strolling around with the kids.

Over the years however, the fine detail of architect Anconas’ original plan was painted over, clumsy renovations replaced fine details with more mundane and simple work and the color scheme changed from warm and welcoming to coldly minimalist. One of the theatres closed and some of the stores there now are less than exciting. Thus, when the new mall opened in Altabrisa (curiosamente the owner of the La Gran Plaza is also a partner of the Altabrisa mall) the baton of mall popularity quickly passed from La Gran Plaza, which has as yet not recovered. Though it is still a great place to shop for many things, it is in fact in a state of decline with many stores closing and maintenance issues involving spotty air conditioning and an ever-present odor emanating from its water treatment plant.

Older Malls

Of course these were not the first attempts at malls in Merida. Back in the day, sometime in the 1970′s and 80’s there was a tiny mall that still exists to this day called Plaza Oriente, located, as its name would imply, in the eastern part of the city (oriente = east) which featured only about eight stores on two levels. It was perhaps not the best location choice, as the city’s wealthy and up and coming were moving north, not east. Later, Plaza Fiesta and Plaza Dorada came online, the former much more conveniently located, and the latter appealing to the new arrivals from Mexico City. People from Mexico City had moved to Merida in droves since the 1985 earthquake to find cheap and safe alternatives to living in an expensive capital city where the ground could literally fall out from under you at any time. Despite their less than ideal locations, these two malls were also immediately adopted by Yucatecans eager to embrace modernity and have an air-conditioned place to pass the time.

Newer Malls

Modern Merida now boasts malls of all sizes, in all areas of the city. The reason there are no malls downtown is that excavation for underground parking and the installation of pipes for drainage, sewer and water would be outrageously expensive due to the amount of rock at surface level and the price of real estate there. At about the time the Altabrisa mall was being built, there were another four major constructions going on at the same time:

Plaza Galerias – Liverpool, the giant retailer based in Mexico City, built a store on the highway to Progreso, directly across from the Cordemex subdivision. Plans to use the store as an anchor for a mall eventually came to fruition and now include several very upscale shops, among them a Hugo Boss boutique. This mall boasts an ice-skating rink in its center, where you can watch either hockey practices or figure skating classes (yes, really!) while enjoying a frozen margarita at Chilis, depending on the time of day.

City Center – City Center is owned by a Mexican subsidiary of the same company that owns and runs the successful Galeria mall in Houston, Texas. This mall is an outdoor mall similar to the The Falls in Miami. All stores are accessed from the outside and there are plants and fountains throughout. The mall did not do well in its first few years of existence. The Walmart anchor only drew grocery shoppers who did not have time (or the inclination to be outside in the heat) to stroll among the very limited selection of stores open at the time. Within the last two years, and with the addition of an AutoZone store, a Peter Piper pizza restaurant for the kids, a Fridays restaurant and a Los Trompos mega-taqueria as well as several bars appealing to Meridas yuppies and a movie theater with outrageously low ticket prices (Cinemark), City Center has really taken off and is a popular place to be. Now City Center is hopping until the wee hours of the morning.

Plaza Sendero. A group from Monterrey who run several malls throughout the country (always with the same name) decided that there were not quite enough malls in Merida and that there was room for one more. They put their mall in Merida’s east, very close to the previously mentioned Plaza Oriente. Anchored – as are all their malls throughout the country – by a Chedraui grocery store, this mall is located on land that once housed the local brewery and bottling plant Cerveceria Montejo which, after going strong for 79 years, was bought in 1979 by Grupo Modelo (who owns Corona and others). You can still appreciate one of the original buildings in front of the mall, and it sort of looks like it could be a Cheesecake Factory restaurant one day.

Macro Plaza. Macro Plaza built a smaller shopping center which insists on calling itself a mall and does boast a multiplex cinema and an adjacent Walmart superstore. But it is surely the least ambitious of the malls in Merida.

Interestingly enough, many a visitor coming to Merida for the first time is shocked to find casinos in or near most malls. It turns out that at the end of the Fox administration, his second-in-command, Santiago Creel, gave a last-minute order authorizing the operation of casinos across Mexico. Now gambling has become an integral part of Mexico’s “entertainment” options. When you go to certain malls, you may find it strange to see the blinking lights and hear the melodic sounds of slot machines operated by Meridanos slouched in front, endlessly pushing the same button over and over while staring hopefully at a colorful, flashing screen. But there they are, and as far as we know, they are here to stay. The casinos in Merida do not allow alcohol, so the mood is a little bit different than you might find in casinos in the United States.

Malls or Mercados

It would seem that the malls are here to stay, like them or not. If you need that air-conditioned relief and a place you can use your credit cards, it is somewhat comforting to know that they are there. Of course, if you are one of those looking for the “real” Mexico, i.e. a cheap, colorful, dirty, relaxed, hot, cheerful and aromatic marketplace, Merida’s bustling centro historico will always be there.

Download a map of Merida’s Malls by clicking here (PDF format 1.45Mb). You can print it too, and take it with you and visit them all!

One of the great things about living in the Yucatan is the amount of things to do, not only in the city of Merida, but in the outlying areas and beyond. Many of these are not readily apparent or obvious, as they would be in more touristy places. There are no crashing waterfalls, no spectacular beaches and no (thankfully) theme parks.

There are, however, many magical places that hold a special charm of their own. Many of these have to be discovered with a little exploration and an adventuresome spirit. One of the more popular attractions in the Yucatan are the cenotes, some of them so magical and beautiful that they are sure to enchant even the most jaded tourist or bored teenager.

Cenotes We Have Known and Loved

You can read all about the creation, formation and theories behind the cenotes elsewhere (just follow the links at the end of this article!). In a nutshell, cenotes are underground water formations; some are open to the sky and resemble small sinkholes, some are completely hidden in darkness underground and still others are partially accessible through holes where the roof has caved in, exposing the crystalline blue water within. There are hundreds of cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula, but some are easier to visit than others. There is the famous open-air Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza, the swimmable cenote of Ik-kil near Valladolid (where the recent Red Bull Diving competitions were held… see link at end of this article), the not-so-secret cenote of Yokdzotnot and the Xlacah cenote (also open-air) at the ruins of Dzibilchaltun. But arguably the most famous cenotes are now the three cenotes of Cuzama.

Cuzama Cenotes – A Brief History

The Cuzama cenotes, as they are known, are a small cluster of cenotes of which three have been fixed up to allow relatively easy access for visitors. Locals from the area and even from Merida have known about and enjoyed swimming in these cenotes for many years, but one day, an enterprising man from the village of Chunkanan formed a cooperative and created a tour of the three cenotes.

This tour included traveling to the cenotes on a horse-drawn “truck” , a small platform on rails once used to transport workers to and henequen leaves from the hacienda. At haciendas all around Yucatan, the leaves were processed into bales of fiber which in turn were then shipped to Merida for conversion into rope and the rest is well-known history. In the last few decades, many of these haciendas had stopped producing henequen, and much of this machinery had gone idle. So the idea to use this unique mode of transportation was an original idea that fit perfectly with many visitors’ desire to experience something ‘local’. It also fit the trend towards eco-tourism and over the last five years or so, this has become a very popular tour. Even visitors from the cruise ships that dock in Progreso each week inquire about this option as an alternative to the many Mayan ruins packages offered.

Details of the Cenote Tour

There are three cenotes on the present version of the tour: Chelentun (chay-len-TOON), Chacsinicche (chok-seen-EETCH-chay) and Bolonchojol (bow-lone-choh-HOLE). The first two are now easily accessible by concrete stairs that have replaced wooden ladders. These in turn replaced the original method of getting to the cenotes, which was shimmying down the roots of the trees that hang from the cenote roof, struggling to find water.

The last cenote, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful in the Yucatan, is accessible only by a vertical wooden ladder affixed to a round hole in the rock. While a little frightening at first, it is well worth overcoming ones fears and descending into this magical place!

Many folks worry about whether or not they will be able to climb down into the cenotes and once in the water, climb back out! This is really a matter of knowing your own personal limits, as we have seen visitors over seventy years old enjoy all three cenotes without too much difficulty.

There are life jackets available from your “truck” driver… just ask and be sure to leave a little tip at the end of your tour. Changing rooms and bathrooms are available at the first and last cenote to make it easier to be modest. Keep in mind that you can have your “truck” driver lash your cooler onto the little vehicle so that your water or other refreshments are handy for your entire trip. There are no stores or stands along the nine kilometer (about seven miles) tour to buy anything, so if you want something along, you’ll have to bring it. (We assume it goes without saying that you should take everything, including your trash, away with you as well.)

This situation changes slightly on weekends and holidays, when local ladies from Chunkanan set up shop at the first cenote and you can purchase things like handmade jewelry, small embroidered handkerchiefs and even peeled oranges, known locally as chinas and typically eaten with salt and chile powder. Yum!

The “trucks” are pulled by horses, some of which look quite healthy and cared for, while others look a little worse for wear. Don’t be cheap and try to fit all six of your party onto one little “truck”. Think of the horse! The horse will eat better if the driver has had a better day financially, and will appreciate a lighter load. If you have the time, pick up a few carrots or apples before leaving Merida so you have a treat you can feed ‘your’ horse… with the drivers permission, of course.

Local Gossip

Chunkanan is an abandoned hacienda located just five minutes after the town of Cuzama. Since the machinery at the Chunkanan hacienda was wiped out by Hurricane Isidore in 2002, the processing of henequen or sisal came to an end there and the cenote tour became the villages main economic activity.

Things were going swimmingly (pun intended) until, as luck would have it, the mayor of the town of Cuzama noticed with increasing concern that many tourists were passing through his neck of the woods without stopping. Instead, they were going straight to visit Chunkanan and its cenotes.

Noting that the cenotes were on ejido or public land, which belonged to the comisaria (municipality) of Cuzama as well as to Chunkanan, he realized that the good people of Chunkanan did not have any potential proprietary claims on the cenotes. So, he initiated his own project, creating an access point to the cenotes from the Cuzama end of the route. Once he had put in place a new cooperative with more “trucks” and drivers from Cuzama, he put his plan into operation.

At one point he even employed local police to stop tourists on the small road to Chunkanan to inform them that the Chunkanan option was ‘closed’ and the only access to the cenotes was through the new Cuzama entry point. While the police are now gone, there are still men with red flags waving down unsuspecting tourists on the previously-mentioned road to Chunkanan. Many visitors, unaware that there are two places from which to take this ever-more-popular tour, are led to believe that this is the “official” entrance and turn in here, leaving the folks in Chunkanan with nothing to do and no income from the cenotes.

Two Tours, Three Cenotes

Little by little, the two groups have overcome initial hostilities which in one case led to an all out fistfight between members of the competing groups. They have now come to an uneasy truce, grudgingly accepting the existence of each other. There is still some dispute regarding the subject of maintenance of the cenotes, particularly the removal of trash and the repairs to the wooden ladders and stairs. These are now showing signs of wear and tear, especially after periods of heavy use such as Easter and summer vacations when many Mexican families visit the Yucatan from other parts of the country.

At the time of this writing these disputes are ongoing and the maintenance issue is becoming particularly critical. In two of the cenotes, climbing out of the water after a refreshing swim requires some dexterity and strength as some of the wooden ladders and platforms have crumbled away.

How Do You Choose?

While we make no suggestions on which option is better (in terms of price and the tour itself, they are identical), we would suggest that if you visit the cenotes more than once, spread the wealth a little! The cost of the tour is $200 pesos per truck, with four people maximum. If you take advantage of the life jackets from the driver and he’s a personable sort of fellow, a $50 peso tip is certainly in order. We recommend taking the tour from both the Cuzama and Chunkanan end and meeting the good people from both towns. The cenotes are a unique and natural Yucatan attraction and a perfect outing on a hot summer day!

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Definition of ejido land in Mexico

All about Haciendas in Yucatan

Wikipedia’s page on cenotes

The "secret" cenote of Yokdzonot

The Red Bull Diving Competition at Ik-KilCenote

Special thanks to Tucker Shannon and Cathal Austin for the photos from their recent trip to the cenotes of Cuzama and Chunkanan.