2001-08-30-izamal-yucatan-mexico.md (3488B)
1 +++ 2 title = "Izamal, Yucatán, México" 3 date = "2001-08-30T00:00:00Z" 4 slug = "izamal-yucatan-mexico" 5 tags = ["Mexico", "Travel"] 6 +++ 7 8 Took a trip a few towns to the east this morning, to Izamal. While Mérida is 9 known throughout México as the White City, Izamal is referred to as the Yellow 10 City due to the preponderance of yellow buildings. With a population of 15,000 11 or so, it’s much quieter than Mérida, and horse-drawn carriages are still used 12 as transportation by some of its residents. The two big tourist attractions 13 here are the ruins of Kinich-Kakmó, one of 12 Mayan temples that originally 14 stood at the site of this town, and the Franciscan Monastery, one of the first 15 in the New World, built from the stones of the largest Mayan temple in Izamal 16 after it was torn down by the Conquistadors. 17 18 The Convento de San Antonio de Padua sits on one side of the Plaza Principal, a 19 block from the city’s bus station. Climbing up the ramp in front brings you to 20 a large flat terrace and the entrance to the buildings themselves. From there, 21 you can enter the chapel, visit the arboreum or climb up to the top levels of 22 the monastery. If you look carefully, some of the stones in the walls and 23 arches have Mayan designs on them—these were part of the temple that originally 24 stood at this location. Facing away from the monastery, you can see 25 Kinich-Kakmó towering over the jungle six or seven blocks away. 26 27 Kinich-Kakmó, which is about 200 m x 180 m, was built between 300 and 600 A.D. 28 and was recently restored. From the top levels, the temple provides a great 29 view of the city. Following a narrow dirt path around the back affords a 30 spectacular view of the surrounding jungle and the vast, Saskatchewan-like 31 flatness of the Yucatán peninsula. All over the place, big, lazy iguanas 32 sunbathe on the rock walls of the temple. Just beside the entrance, at the base 33 of the front side of the pyramid, is a great-smelling tortillería. 34 35 We ate at the Kinich-Kakmó Restaurant, and it was delicious though a little 36 pricey. We each had a Montejo beer and lime soup, followed by Poc-Chuc¹ and 37 Rellenos Negros², along with some fresh handmade tortillas. As with many 38 restaurants, homemade tortilla chips and salsas are served with the meal. The 39 total came to about 160 pesos, which is enough to buy you several days worth of 40 groceries at Wal-Mart or San Francisco in Mérida. The main dining area is 41 outdoors under a thatched Mayan style roof (and yes, lots of people still live 42 in traditional Mayan huts—some have corrugated metal roofs these days, but just 43 as many use the traditional palm fronds). The waiters even offer bug-spray if 44 you need it. Fortunately, due to some creative engineering by the staff, you 45 don’t need it. Clear plastic bags of water dangle by threads from the roof and, 46 in the words of the waiter, 'when the bug sees his reflection as he gets 47 closer, he sees himself reflected so big and ugly that it scares him away.' It 48 seems to work—we didn’t see a single fly or mosquito during lunch, and there 49 were tons outside. Royal Thai in San Rafael, California does the same thing, so 50 there’s got to be something to it. 51 52 Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for the camera, so no 53 pictures, but it was well worth the trip. 54 55 ### Glossary 56 1. *Poc-Chuc:* A Yucatecan dish made with pork marinaded in orange juice. 57 1. *Rellenos Negros:* A spicy, black Yucatecan soup made from beans, with 58 pieces of chicken and a hard boiled egg bathing in it. 59