More Yucatan Cuisine: San Simon and Caballero Pobre

Last Saturday, we went to a birthday party for my suegro.

Jorge’s grandmother had traveled from Yucatan to celebrate, and a visit from Abuela Elsy wouldn’t be complete without some fabulous Yucatan cuisine.

First we had San Simon. This dish is basically turkey with broth, covered in lots of toppings. The toppings can vary depending on the recipe, but our San Simon was covered in fried plantains, onion and homemade french fries.

It sounds like the most random combination of ingredients ever… but it was DELICIOUS.

For dessert, I got to try Caballero Pobre (“Poor Gentleman”) for the first time. I feel like this dish is basically the “french toast” of the Yucatan. It’s a baguette soaked in egg, fried in a bit of oil, then covered in a syrupy-cinnamony sauce.

Jorge’s been going over to his parent’s house every day this week to get some more of Abuela Elsy’s food.

What dishes are popular in your area?

My First Alux Encounter

When I first moved to Mexico, I was fascinated by all the stories about run-ins with ghosts, hauntings and mythical creatures. Being the skeptical American that I am, I brushed it off as a cultural difference for several years.

But now… I’m starting to realize that Mexico is just filled with some crazy, crazy stuff.

Long-time readers may remember the stories about the mythical Yucatan alux (pronounced “ah-LOOSH”) that friends and family had told me. The stories made me start to think, “Maybe there’s some truth to this.”

And then on New Years Eve, I’m pretty sure I saw one.

Jorge and I were riding in a 15-person van from Cancun to Chabihau for his cousin’s wedding. During the 4-hour drive along the highway, we pass through mostly jungle with a few small villages along the way.

Around 7 pm, it was already dark. We were just leaving one small Yucatan village and entering the jungle again, going slowly because of the village’s speedbumps. Up near the driver, I saw the head of a black figure standing right by the van, in the middle of the road. From the height, the shape of the head and the way it moved, I immediately thought it was a child, except it was … blacker than black? As in I couldn’t even make out features or anything, just an outline filled in with entirely black. I was unsettled and wasn’t sure why.

As we passed the thing, I turned back and saw that the figure was actually hunched over and huge. It was shaped more like a dog than a child, but at the same time the street dogs in the Yucatan aren’t giant or black (at least none that I’ve seen!) Plus… dogs just don’t move like that.

I later told Jorge and his family that I’d seen an alux, and they didn’t seem the least bit surprised.

Tarantula Crossing (or “Why I Don’t Go Into the Jungle”)

So on our trip to La Ruta de los Cenotes this weekend, I mentioned that you can often see Yucatan animals crossing the road. On our way back from Cenote Lucero Verde, we stopped when we saw this bad boy crawling out of the jungle:

Posted in full size so you can take in every hairy detail

I asked my father-in-law if I could get out and take a picture because… well, because I’m a blogger and that’s what we do. I would have put my hand side-by-side for a size comparison, but I’m not suicidal. (Just trust me when I say it was roughly the size of my face.)

I’ve identified it as a Yucatan Rust Rump Tarantula.

Cenote Verde Lucero

This past weekend, my in-laws, Jorge and I decided to travel in search of adventure in La Ruta de Los Cenotes (The Cenote Route), located just south of the town of Puerto Morelos about half an hour from Cancun.

La Ruta de los Cenotes is a small highway that heads further and further inland from the coast, bordered on either side by dense jungle. Along the way, you’ll see rustic signs pointing toward dirt roads leading off the highway to take you out to adventure parks, eco hotels and beautiful cenotes. (If you’re lucky, you might see some unique Yucatan wildlife crossing the road! We saw a pisot and a tarantula.)

After checking out some eco cabins, artisan shops, local farms and winding dirt roads through the jungles of the Yucatan, we finally came across the stunning Cenote Verde Lucero (Green Star Cenote). We got there late, but decided to go in and explore anyway. The cenote had a zipline, a small cliff, bright green waters, several small caves and a beautiful canopy of trees. There were a few groups there already, and they were having so much fun I knew I had to come back soon and spend an entire day here… maybe bring some sandwiches and sodas and 20 of my closest friends.

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An entire day at this cenote is only $80 pesos per person (about $7 US dollars). We will definitely be back here with friends and family, although I can’t promise I’ll be doing any cliff jumping!

Disclosure:  I am being compensated for my work in creating and managing content as a Community Manager for the Mexico Today Program.  All stories, opinions and passion for all things Mexico shared here are completely my own.

Yucatan’s Fishing Villages Are Making Money

Set on the Gulf of Mexico, Yucatan’s northern coast is filled with small towns and fishing villages, each with their own charm and natural beauty. In this region, you’ll find brightly-colored salt lagoons, refreshing cenotes, palm tree forests, small Mayan ruins, tiny restaurants serving freshly caught seafood, relaxing beaches and even migrating herds of flamingos in the summertime. Several of Mexico’s most popular celebrities have even built luxurious homes in this secluded and tranquil area.

The local villages are home to hard-working fishermen as well as vacation homes owned mostly by tourists from the nearby colonial city of Merida. In the past couple of years, however, this breathtaking area has fallen under the eye of home buyers and tourists from other parts of Mexico and the world.

The town of San Crisanto has begun to take full advantage of its stunning natural attractions, opening a new tourist center where guests can explore the salt lagoon and purchase tickets for a fascinating mangrove and cenote tour.

San Crisanto's new tourist center

Dzonot Tzik cenote in San Crisanto

In the neighboring village of Chabihau, foreign travelers have begun to use local builders to construct immense vacation homes right by the beach, drawn to the area by the charming, friendly and quiet atmosphere. These homes also help to create permanent jobs, as most owners hire locals from Chabihau as caretakers for the property while they’re gone.

This beautiful compound-style home has been recently built, with several buildings set around a sand-filled courtyard.

A new beachside vacation home under construction

This multi-level beach home caught my eye, with several open-air terraces, palapas and pergolas.

As a frequent visitor to this area, I’m excited to see that others are finally beginning to discover it and help the economy grow. The Gulf coast of the state of Yucatan is filled with fascinating attractions that the locals are thrilled to share with anyone passing through.

Where would you build your dream vacation home?

Disclosure:  I am being compensated for my work in creating and managing content as a Community Manager for the Mexico Today Program.  All stories, opinions and passion for all things Mexico shared here are completely my own.

Our One Year Anniversary

Today is our one year wedding anniversary. We’ll be celebrating with a romantic dinner tonight! (I have no idea where, as it’s a surprise)

I’ve finally decided to catch up to technology and insert a slide show of our wedding day. Love you, Jorge!

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San Crisanto

We wanted to do something special to celebrate our civil wedding, so we decided to take a bunch of our Cancun friends to one of our favorite places … Chabihau. Set on the coast of the state of Yucatan (about 40 minutes north of Merida), this fishing village is where Jorge’s mom grew up and where a lot of his family still lives.

Here are some links to my previous posts on Chabihau:

Yucatan Seafood on New Years

Yucatan Seafood: Ceviche de Chivitas

Chabihau Beach at Sunset

Flamingo Photo Hunt

This time around we did more touristy stuff, with a cenote tour and some exploring. I’ve already posted about Chabihau tons of times here, so today I’ll focus on our trips to the neighboring village of San Crisanto.

San Crisanto has been focusing on tourism for the past few years. They have some interesting tours, beautiful salinas (salt lagoons) that change color with the season, dramatic beaches, addictive coconut pudding, and friendly locals.

This weekend the salina was bright orange

On Sunday we did a cenote tour in San Crisanto, but since that merits its own post, I’ll wait until later this week.

Just Thursday

Just Thursday again!

Outside my window.. 80 degrees and sunny! Beautiful 🙂 Hope this weather holds up over the weekend!

Today I feel.. tired because I stayed up until 2 am last night watching Survivor and Glee.

I am thinking.. about whether Boston Rob will finally win this time. His tribe is just so clueless…

I am thankful.. that I finally found dill pickles here in Mexico. God bless you, Walmart.

Tomorrow I am going.. to do laundry at my in-laws house. Exciting, right?

I am wearing.. my work uniform.

I wish.. that I didn’t have to work today. It feels like it should be the weekend already!

My schedule this week includes.. gym today, packing tonight then watching Amazing Race with Jorge, sending 2 of the dogs to the groomers tomorrow, then doing laundry tomorrow night.

I need to start.. dieting a little better. I’ve been going to the gym and eating a little better, but it’s very slow going. Still, in 1 and a half months my measurements have gone down!

Chest and back: 2.5 cm

Waist: 0.5 cm

Abs: 0 cm

Hips: 3 cm

Thigh: 3 cm

Arms: 3 cm

I am reading.. The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. A coworker found a 1960s edition of the book, IN SPANISH. Time to step up my vocabulary 🙂 Here’s a picture of the book… the fact that it’s old makes me feel smarter.

I am working on.. translations for work.

Yesterday I.. went to the gym, watched Dr. Phil, went to Walmart and Sams Club to buy our dispensa, then watched Survivor and Glee.

I am hoping.. to have a productive day at work today. I really need it!

I bet you didn’t know.. Ok, remember the post from last week about finances? Well, we had YET ANOTHER unexpected expense this month. Turns out now that I’m married I have to upgrade my visa to an FM2 status… which costs $280. Luckily this is something I knew I had to pay for in July… but I wasn’t expecting to pay it in March! Again, we’re lucky to have the money, but GRRRRR this is frustrating!

This weekend.. we’re taking a bunch of our friends to Chabihau to celebrate our civil wedding! A whole weekend of the beach, hammocks, the lagoon, the breeze and tons of fresh seafood. Can’t wait!

Yucatan Folklore Part 3

Another alux story from the town of Yobain!

To read my previous stories on Yucatan’s mystical pranksters, the aluxes, check out the following:

Yucatan Folklore Part 1

Yucatan Folklore Part 2

Uncle Mike told us another story about an alux encounter from when he was a kid. Mike was walking through Yobain at night with his older brother, Eduardo. Mike looked behind him, and suddenly saw two bright red eyes following them down the road. He told Eduardo, who replied “Don’t look at it, just keep walking.” They got home quickly, and once they were inside the house, Eduardo said “I can’t believe that thing was following me again.”

To answer some questions from previous posts, aluxes aren’t considered violent or evil. They love playing tricks on people, and if you deny their existence or mock them they will get even with you! (I actually have a pretty good story about aluxes getting even… ya’ll will read it next week!)

Yucatan Folklore Part 2

For those of you just joining in, this week I’m writing about aluxes, a mystical creature that haunts the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Many of Jorge’s family members live in a small town in the Yucatan called Yobain, and on New Years Eve they told me about some of their run-ins with the supernatural.

Last summer, my brothers-in-law (Darwin and Jair) were staying the night at Uncle Mike’s house in Yobain. They were hanging out one evening with cousin Isis  by the window.

Isis saw something moving on the neighbor’s roof. She pointed it out to Darwin and Jair. They climbed out onto the 2nd floor patio to get a better look. By then, it had crossed the street to a thatched roof home across from the house. Isis described this “alux” as being about 3 feet tall, sometimes moving on all fours and sometimes moving on two legs. It had “eyes that burned red like coals” and the only way she could describe it’s body was as a white, glowing shadow.

The three of them got so scared, that they went back inside and closed all the curtains.

Street in front of Uncle Mike's house (the yellow wall on the right is their house, and you can see the thatched roof home on the left) Sorry about the blurriness.