Right across the street from the apartment where I stay when I am in Mexico City, there is a restaurant called "La Bodega". In spite of its proximity, I had never eaten there until last November. The day after Election Day, I was like a zombie, and I did not want to go far for supper. So Alejandro and I crossed the street to "La Bodega". It turned out to be a very good restaurant, and I smothered my sorrows in excellent Mexican food.
Last night, Alejandro and I went back there, and we had another great meal.
Alejandro started with "sopa campesina", a soup with a chicken stock base, squash blossoms, tortilla strips, cream, and poblano peppers.
I had "fideo seco", a type of noodle similar to vermicelli. It was served with cream and a tasty chipotle sauce, and garnished with avocado and cilantro.
As a main course, Alejandro had salmon served with a honey sauce.
I had the chicken breast covered with an excellent "mole poblano".
We shared a decadently rich chocolate mousse dessert. We got a chuckle over the fact that the menu listed it as "mouse de chocolate".
It was a great meal. The bill for the two of us, including two glasses of "sangrIa", was around $35 U.S.
Yesterday afternoon I had a flight on Interjet Airlines from Mérida to Mexico City. It seemed that the departure was going to be late, because the plane did not arrive at the gate until 12:55, the time that we were supposed to begin boarding. Nevertheless, they got everyone on board and we pulled away from the gate on time.
This was the third time that I have flown on Interjet from Mérida to Mexico City, and it has always been a pleasant, comfortable flight. Interjet does not try to squeeze passengers into the planes like cattle; all of the seats have ample leg room! Also you may check luggage weighing up to 55 pounds free of charge.
After the one hour, forty minute flight, the plane arrived at Mexico City International Airport. My time in the airport seemed longer and was definitely less pleasant than my time in the air. I had to walk the entire length of the terminal to get to the baggage claim. Then I had to wait and wait for my suitcase. The luggage from the Mérida flight was already being unloaded onto the carousel, but there was no sign of my big, blue bag. After about twenty minutes I was starting to get worried. Almost everyone from the flight had retrieved their luggage; there were only a few of us still waiting. Finally, another luggage cart pulled up, and my suitcase appeared.
My friend Alejandro was supposed to meet me and drive me to the apartment that I had rented. However there was no sign of him when I came out of the baggage claim. Perhaps he had been delayed in Mexico City's infamous traffic. On a previous trip Alejandro had given me an inexpensive cell phone that I could use if I needed to call him whenever I was in Mexico. I tried calling him again and again to find out where he was, but for some reason the call would not go through. There was no sense in taking a taxi to the apartment because Alejandro had picked up the keys from the owner for me. There was nothing to do but wait. Finally, the cellphone rang. It was Alejandro. He was in the terminal and had been waiting for me, but at a different exit of baggage claim. So, in spite of some nervous moments, all was well.
Alejandro drove me to the vacation rental where I have stayed for the last couple years whenever I am in Mexico City.
It's a very comfortable place in an excellent part of the city.
Alejandro brought some fruit that he had bought at his neighborhood "tianguis" (outdoor market). So this morning for breakfast I prepared a fruit plate.
In the upper left are slices of guava, then, moving clockwise, sliced banana, and, at the bottom of the plate, the flesh that I scooped out of a "mamey", a tropical fruit not available back home. In the center are "tejocotes", another fruit that is unknown in Ohio. They are a major ingredient in the traditional "ponche de frutas" (fruit punch) that is served at Christmas. Alejandro's mom had some leftover after making the holiday punch, so she preserved them in a heavy syrup.
Today I am taking care of mundane chores... taking dirty clothes to the laundry and going to the grocery store. Alejandro also brought me some avocados. They are ripe and need to be used. So I think I will finish this post and go make some guacamole.
My bags are packed, and I am ready to leave on my afternoon flight on Interjet Airlines to Mexico City. It has been, as always, a wonderful stay in one of my favorite cities in the world. I hope to return soon. Perhaps next winter another friend or relative will want to experience Mérida with me.
¡Hasta luego, Mérida!
I noticed that there is a brand new restaurant right across the street from the Plaza de Santa Lucía. The name of the place is "Peruano", and, obviously, it specializes in the cuisine of Peru. A couple nights ago I decided to give it a try.
For an appetizer I had potatoes covered with a sauce made from cream and cheese. It was rather bland.
For my main course I had breaded beef cutlets served with egg, fried banana, and something called "tacu tacu". I really liked the "tacu tacu". It's a mixture of beans, rice, tomato and chile peppers.
It was an interesting meal, but I really don't think that I will return to "Peruano".
Today was my last day in Mérida. í took the bus to the port city of Progreso to visit my friends Joyce and Dave. For the past fourteen years they have spent the winter at a beachfront condo outside of Progreso.
This morning I walked to the station to catch the bus. Progreso is located 25 miles north of Mérida on the Gulf of Mexico. The bus ride takes around an hour... about half of that time is spent leaving the urban area of Mérida. Joyce and Dave were at the Progreso bus station waiting for me.
Because the limestone shelf of the Yucatán Peninsula descends very gradually into the gulf, Progreso's dock stretches four miles into the water to accommodate ocean-going ships.
All ship cargo arriving in or leaving from Yucatán passes through Progreso. In recent years the city has also become a port-of-call for cruise ships. Many passengers take tours to Mérida or Mayan archaeological sites. Progreso itself has little to offer the visitors other than the beach, the seaside restaurants and bars and shopping for (mostly tacky) souvenirs from the vendors who descend upon the city on cruise ship days.
Progreso's beach is popular with the residents of Mérida during the summer months. Well-to-do Mérida families own houses or condos along the shore. However, they consider the winter months to be too cold for trips to the beach. So they rent their condos to snowbirds from Canada and the United States.
 |
| (photo taken by Joyce) |
Here I am posing by the beach. (I bought the Yucatán baseball shirt at a hole-in-the-wall sporting goods shop when I was visiting some of Mérida's less touristy neighborhoods.)
We went out for lunch at a new restaurant called "Crabster" which is located along Progreso's waterfront.
I don't care for shellfish, but I found on the menu one of my favorite Yucatecan specialties, "pan de cazón". (That's my dish in the foreground.) "Pan de cazón" consists of layers of tortillas and dogfish in a tomato sauce. You might say that it is Yucatán's seafood version of lasagna. It was garnished with avocado, pickled red onion and cilantro. It was delicious... maybe even better than what I have had in the city of Campeche where the dish originated! Thank you, Joyce and Dave for a great dining experience!
I am now back in Mérida, and it is time for me to pack my bags. Tomorrow afternoon I leave for Mexico City.
The main street in the historic center of Mérida is Calle 60 (60th Street). However, it continues northward far beyond the old city. Today I took a long walk along that street.
I started at the little Plaza de Santa Lucía just a few steps away from my hotel.
Every Thursday night since 1965, this plaza has been the scene of a "Serenata Yucateca" (Yucatecan Serenade), a performance of traditional music and dance. A few years ago the plaza underwent a complete renovation, and beneath the "portales" (archways) there are now a variety of fine restaurants and shops.
Heading north from the plaza, interspersed among more modern commercial buildings, there are many lovely 19th century structures. Some of them are beautifully restored.
Others are sadly neglected or completely abandoned.
But along this street, as throughout the city center, work progresses to bring the historic buildings back to their former elegance.
After a few blocks you have entered the neighborhood of Santa Ana which is centered around the colonial church of the same name. It was built in 1730.
In recent years Santa Ana has gained a reputation as Mérida's "artsy" neighborhood. There are numerous art galleries along Calle 60.
Three pretty, pink houses all in a row and all beautifully maintained.
A few days ago I wrote about Paseo Montejo, the boulevard along which millionaires built their homes in the late 19th century and early 20th century. This stretch of Calle 60 runs parallel to Paseo Montejo and it would appear that an overflow of sumptuous homes spilled over onto this street.
This mansion is now a boutique hotel called "Casa Azul" (Blue House).
This mansion comes as a complete surprise. Perhaps the original owner was inspired by his Gilded Age contemporaries in the United States. The house appears to still be privately owned.
From here Calle 60 runs past the so-called Hotel Zone. Of course there are hotels throughout the city, but the big, high-rise chains such as Hyatt and Fiesta Americana are clustered here.
Beyond the hotel zone the street is a mixture of commercial and residential properties. The United States Consulate is located here. Signs make it clear that photos are not allowed, and guards and police are posted on either side of the street.
The houses here appear to be of more recent vintage. Many are built in neo-colonial style.
This house is being renovated and is for sale.
Or would you like to rent this mansion? Just be sure to get the landlord to mow the lawn which hasn't been cut for months!
Finally, there is this palatial house. (The photo shows only a portion of it!) There is no sign to indicate that it is a business or a government office. I thought that it might be the governor's mansion, but if that were the case I would expect to see guards at the entry. If it is indeed a private residence, whoever owns it must be one of the richest people in Yucatán!
Calle 60 continues on, but by this point I had walked about two miles. I decided that it was time to make the trek back to the hotel.
Years ago, when I first started traveling to Mérida on a regular basis, my favorite restaurant was a place called "Ki'bok". It was there that I first tried some of the specialties of Yucatecan cuisine such as "queso relleno" (stuffed cheese) and cream of "chaya" soup.
Unfortunately, by my third trip down here, "Ki'bok" had closed its doors. However I read that the chef of the restaurant had opened his own place, a "cocina económica" (a small restaurant with low prices that only serves a set menu in the afternoon). The place was called "El Templo". I went there and had a lunch of absolutely superb chicken with "mole" at a ridiculously low price. After that, whenever I would pass the place, the doors were shut. I thought that it too had gone out of business.
Yesterday, after taking my long walk around Mérida, I saw that "El Templo" was open.
I asked the waitress if the place was still owned by the former chef of "Ki'bok". When she said "yes", I had to eat there, even though I wasn't hungry.
As you enter the restaurant there is a mildly blasphemous mural painting on the wall. It's of the Last Supper, but Jesus and the disciples are all wearing the masks of "lucha libre" wrestlers!
I ordered from the set menu. I had "sopa de lima" (chicken soup flavored with lime), "tortilla española" (Spain's version of a frittata) and rice.
It was good but not spectacular. I think perhaps the chef has discovered that he can't serve gourmet food at "cocina económica" prices. My meal, including beverage, was a whopping 55 pesos (that's less than $3 US)! While I can't recommend it as a fine dining option, I certainly recommend "El Templo" for anyone who is traveling on a budget.
