While meandering may mean – to wander aimlessly taking a roundabout course, our Torta vacation wasn’t entirely aimless. We left the coastal town of Rio Lagartos and passed one of many old monasteries sprinkled throughout the Yucatan. This one had a small museum inside and a gatekeeper. I think it was more of an opportunity to ask for donations.
Give Lisa an old building to explore and she’s in heaven.
Colonial ruins may not be as old as ancient pyramids but they’re pretty cool.
The old bell is still used to call the faithful to mass.
Next stop, to explore a taller or workshop we came to along the highway and talk to the women who make and sell hammocks for a government cooperative. This is when speaking Spanish really comes in handy. The materials are sent from Merida. The women do the work and make almost nothing for their many hours sitting at a loom (by U.S. standards). There are no minimum wage laws in Mexico. We bought some baskets that will be featured in the Show and Tell blog at the end of the trip.
I would have loved spending the day learning the process.
We arrived in Valladolid and immediately headed out on bicycles to visit a cenote (natural sink hole) that’s situated in the center of town. We were hungry and had been told that the restaurant nearby was a good choice.
There are different kind of cenotes, pronounced sen O tay. Some are above ground, like Cenote Azul in Bacalar. Others have the roof partially caved in and some are completely underground. While in Valladolid, we saw them all, one more breathtaking than the next.
Air conditioned on a hot day.
Roots from the trees above reaching for the water.
We love Valladolid and spent four days visiting the mercado, artisan museum, and cenotes.
Paper mâché.
This painting of a church in IzamaL, the yellow city, put it on our must see list.
The thing that has surprised the most about adventure is having our minds stretched as to what is beautiful, amazing and possible. Around every corner our eyes grow big and we are in awe. The fun had just begun.
the adventures of dos tortas 
What a lovely post! My friend and I went to Valladolid and didn’t have time for the cenotes – bummer! as it was over 100 degrees that day. Also missed the mercado..must go back! Happy you both enjoyed it. Love to you…L
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The heat hit us hard too. We are back in Bacalar enjoying the lake breezes. I though we were being so clever traveling the Yucatan before summer, not realizing that April and May are the hottest months. We had a great time and there is plenty more to report.
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I was very surprised to see how many things there were to do along this trip and the people were great. We thought we would go meandering down side roads to get lost. Thank goodness Alex speaks Spanish. I had no clue. No signs to direct us and we just had to pick a way. So many more things to see and do.
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