Valladolid, A Mayan Colonial Town

The Main Church in Valladolid

I spent this New Years in the town of Valladolid, about 2.5 hours inland from here, not far from the ruins of Chichen Itza.  The town is a classic old colonial Mexican town, with beautiful sites to see like old churches and convents.  The town square is also very picturesque.

While central Mexico has a much larger number of charming towns to visit, Valladolid is unique in the fact that it's not only colonial but also Mayan - not Mayan as in having dancers wearing large bird and animal masks and pretending to carry out long dead rituals for American tourists, but Mayan as in Mayan people actually live there.  While Yucatec Spanish (distinct from "normal" Mexican Spanish from the central area) is the most common language, you can also hear Mayan spoken in the streets and homes if you walk around a little.  It's rather un-romantic and quite contrary to the image of "Mayans" given for tourists as some sort of ancient mystics, since these are just common people living in run down colonial homes (small, one-story buildings with ornate facades that haven't been kept up in years - at least out side of the central tourist area), half-built concrete homes or even huts built out of wooden poles. I like both sides of Valladolid.

A older home, in the residential part of town

There's a restaurant in town that serves traditional food for the area, and is located right next to a "cenote" which is a large, natural pool of water at the entrance to the underground cave and water network.  It's beautiful because you can have a view of the cave and water while you eat, and then go for a dip in the water - it's very refreshing.

I also like going to Valladolid because there I can get hand-made sandals with car-tire soles for about $12.  People sell them right out of their workshops, which look similar to the old home pictured in this post.  They last me about 2 years - a good bit longer than most footwear.

This was my second trip to Valladolid, and I plan to go back. It's a nice, relaxing place to visit.

A picturesque colonial street in the town centre

My 2 sons and I walking down into the cenote (baby in my arms)

A view over the water of the cenote

Baby and wife

Our son playing in the pool at the hotel