Road trip...Chingon!

Carnival, Merida, pinata, ruins, colonial towns and bee stings!  Let me break it down, this may be a long one.  Team Chingones (me, Andrea and Beto) had one last night in Holbox so we ate dinner at Pablo's (of course) and hit the small carnival that was in town. We played a little foosball and went on the Mexican equivalent of the Tilt-a-Whirl, quite possibly the most dangerous thing I'll do during my travels.  There was supposed to be a live band on the beach that night but the sea was high and flooded the stage so it was cancelled, shame beacuse that was my last chance to ogle Pato the hot bartender (I'll post a pic for your viewing pleasure).  In the morning we took the ferry to Chiquila and hit the road.  On our way to Merida we made a quick stop in Tizimin and the very yellow town of Izamal (maybe it's what the Cold Play song is really about).  That night in Merida there was a small street fair with crafts, traditional music, dance and of course excellent food stalls...COMDIA!  We found a favorite stall with panuchos and empanadas all for a whopping 12-18 pesos for a meal (the exchange rate is 12 pesos to the dollar).  Then of course desert, a freshly made crepe with manchego cheese and nutella, muy bien.  We spent the next day in Merida exploring the city and bought a pinata that we filled with candy and hung in the garden at the hostel.  We gathered a bunch of people together, used Andrea's sleep mask as a blindfold, Beto found a big stick in the backyard and we stared swinging.  The blindfolded person was spun six times and then we began singing the pinata song...Dale, dale, dale.  No pierdas el tino.  Porque si lo pierdes.  Pierdes el camino! Beto was the designated spinner and we all took a swing at the pinata, finally Daniel busted it open and we all dove for candy.  In the morning we were on the road again headed for the Mayan ruin Uxmal which started with a little rain and ended with a big bee sting. We made a plan to meet at the main gate at 3:00 if we got separated and since I didn't have any rain gear I waited in a Mayan archway for the rain to stop which it soon did and then I explored the ruins.  It was time to meet at the gate when I spot Beto holding Andrea's hand, looking worried and heading for the on-site medic.  Let's just say Andrea is a little clumsy so my first thought was that she had fallen, nope, bee sting.  Andrea is allergic, I mean really allergic, epi pen, throat closing kind of allergic.  She took the medicine she travels with (seven pills) and we waited to see if her throat was going to close and if someone was going to have to stab her with the epi pen. The on-site nurse gave her a couple more pills and I took my shirt off and soaked it in cold water for a compress (tank top under, no nudity).  After a couple hours the redness, swelling and hives started to go away, she was breathing better (epi pen avoided) and we were back on the road and looking for a place to stay.  We found these great jungle bungalows in a small town called Santa Elena and checked in for the night.  The next morning we traveled the Ruta Puuc which is a small road dotted with Mayan ruins.  I had my fill of ruins at Uxmal so I opted for relaxing and reading in the car while Beto and Andrea explored the ruins and the Loltun cave.  We stopped in Oxkutzcab for delicious queso enchiladas verde and then pushed on towards Valladolid driving along narrow, dark, winding roads through little villages.  We stopped briefly to watch a Posada which is a procession of people singing Christmas songs from house to house representing Mary and Joseph's search for lodging. The procession goes from house to house where they are refused entry and then they finally arrive at the house that takes them in and have a big party and a pinata.  We arrived that night in Valladolid, now this is the quaint colonial town I'd been waiting for, I loved it.  We checked into a cute hostel, had a beer and hit the sack.  The next morning we spent a little time in town, Andrea finally got the Mexican leather sandals she had been searching for (I got a pair too) and we headed for la playa for one final day in the sun and sea before I headed back to NYC.  We went to Akumal, soaked it up and sadly went back to the hectic town of Playa del Carmen.  We got one big room to share, bought some beer at Wallmart (really? what were we thinking, hell on earth) and chilled on our balcony.  In the morning I took the 7:00 am bus to the airport and headed back to NYC for Christmas with my friends before heading to Morocco.  Thanks for the great time Andrea and Beto, I'll really miss you guys...Team Chingones Forever!  Merry Christmas everyone, more from Morocco.  Peace out...Jan