Mérida Yucatán to Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico   December 11, 2023

I slept in until 6! and after checkout and one more picture of the hallway in the hotel-

walked to Paseo Montejo which is a wide boulevarded street with a few nice big colonial homes-

An interesting restaurant along the street-

I do not believe in coincidences- there are no such things because everything happens for a reason.  Anyway I was just thinking about Starbucks and wondering if my coffee would last 9 days.  I didn’t think so but Playa del Carmen will be the next place there’s a Starbucks when, guess what!  There was a Starbucks right beside me!  Ask and you will receive!  It’s like magic!

They aren’t pulling any of their statues down-

I walked back to the Santa Rosa to get my backpack and then headed to Parque San Juan for brunch.  I had a couple tacos then went to wait in the bus depot for  my 12 p.m. trip to Valladolid-

The bus depot is very modern and to prevent the public from using the bathroom for fro or charging anywhere from 5-7 pesos (30 to 55 cents) to use the toilet, only passengers can use it for free except you have to Pat for toilet paper, out of a dispenser-

This time I chose a van instead of a bus and I got the front seat.  My neighbor was from Barcelona, Spain so we had a good time visiting.  Spaniards put their tongue between their teeth and it sounds like they have a lisp.  He was hard to understand for a while but I caught on quick enough.  I was mesmerized watching him constantly stick his tongue out.  We stopped at Chichen Itza to drop some people off and OMG you wouldn’t believe the luggage this American couple had.  I asked them if they were moving to Mexico - she didn’t appreciate that but he did.  He said this was about half of what they usually travel with!  Their problem was they needed to get a cab to their hotel as they thought the bus would drop them off at the entrance but they didn’t verify that with the driver and unfortunately they don’t speak Spanish.  I wished them luck and we were on our way.

My Air BNB is steps from the bus depot on a very busy street-

The main entrance-

I sat on the balcony for a while this evening.  There’s a circular staircase to get to the apartment that wasn’t easy for me to come up with my backpack.  I don’t know how someone with a large suitcase could do it-

My room is nice-

The bathroom is weird-

Tomorrow is La Virgen de Guadalupe Day so teams were arriving all afternoon.  Some have a runner carrying a torch lit on fire, others have just runners and others have bicycles.  They are followed by a pilot car that has sirens going and the rest of the team riding in the back.  The vehicles are also decorated.  My pictures aren’t very good-

The lead runner and 2 bikers-

The torch runner is in the front and he’s followed by 4 or 5 motorcycles-

I bought a few groceries, had lupper and am now enjoying my room.  I’m not sure if I’ll go to Chichen Itza tomorrow or take the day off.  Time will tell.

P.S.