Our final stop on our little backpacking jaunt around the Yucatan was the Yellow City of Izamal, the only place on our three-week trip that Lori and I have been before.
Izamal was our favorite stop on a road trip we did 11 years ago, so we figured it was worth a second visit to this Pueblo Magico with the boys.
The town isn’t on the main highway, which meant no fancy ADO bus (and no movie) this time. The boys didn’t seem to mind too much.
Our Mexico-USA RV Journey 2024-25
Back in Izamal. We opted to stay in a hotel just outside of the city center this time. Hotel Green River was about a 15-minute walk from the bus station, though we never quite figured out the name as it was most certainly not near a river and was written in English.
We did learn, however, that the Green River is rumored to be haunted, though we didn’t experience anything out of the ordinary. Guess the ghosts had other things going on.
But that’s not to say our stay went perfectly smooth, either. But we’ll get to that.
After settling in to our room, we made the trek into the Centro.
This is the San Antonio de Padua convent that the entire city radiates from. You can’t miss it.
And that’s the old hotel we stayed in with Lori’s parents 11 years ago during an inconceivably hot few days in February.
We’re here in late-January this time around and the weather feels just about perfect. Though, there’s quite a bit of rain in the forecast, which we didn’t have on our first visit.
That little corner shop was a fairly rough little liquor store last time we were here. We walked out with a couple of bottles of Izamal’s finest tequila, which we milked for years after our visit.
Now, it’s a higher-end shop peddling some sort of expensive hooch that we had never heard of and that they wouldn’t let us sample. No regional tequila this time.
I can’t help but wonder how many liters of paint it takes per year to keep the yellow so yellow. This ain’t no wimpy canary yellow either. It borders on school-bus.
Noe finally got his Marquesita, a Yucatan street dessert. Basically, a handmade waffle cone stuffed with shredded Edam (cheese), often topped with Nutella and other ingredients. Tasty.
Izamal’s got three or four pre-Columbian pyramid ruins scattered about town in odd places. The largest one is free to climb.
Lots of fresh produce in the Yucatan, but peanut butter is scarce in these parts.
They seem to put eggs in everything around here. This is a very tasty (and unique) local dish—Relleno Negro—roasted shredded chicken in a black Mayan pepper sauce. We had this one at Restaurante de Kinchin.
After dinner, we started the long walk back to the hotel when the skies opened up and started dumping buckets. Looks like a taxi night, boys.
When we got back to the hotel, there was a sizable stream of water running through our room. Where was the water coming from, you ask? From behind the electrical wall outlets, of course.
When we told the lady on duty, she came to the room to take a look, then disappeared without saying a word. A few minutes later, she returned with another set of keys.
Her reaction (or lack there-of) didn’t surprise me—not after living in Mexico for the past four years.
She moved us to a dry, albeit it smaller, room next to where the Frito-Lay delivery truck drivers come idle their engines and rest for the night. Oh well, at least our chances of electrocution will be somewhat diminished tonight.
We survived the night (if it wasn’t obvious, already), and had breakfast at a place called Healthy Breakfast. I wouldn’t say the menu was any healthier than any other place in town, but the chilaquiles were massive and delicious.
As part of the boys’ road school today, we’re visiting a handful of museums. First up, it’s back to San Antonio de Padua convent for a look inside.
There’s not a lot open to the public, but it’s still worth a look.
Next up, it’s off to Kinich Kak Moo pyramid, the largest in town and a short walk north from the main plaza.
This is actually the second highest pyramid in Mexico after the one in Cholula (or Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Sun, depending on who you ask).
More explorations around town. Izamal is a great place to wander around for a bit and poke your head into bodegas and down alleyways.
The pool looked inviting when we arrived, but today, the weather hasn’t exactly been swimming weather. That didn’t stop the boys from taking a dip, even if they only lasted a couple of minutes.
We had good memories from a little restaurant called Restaurant Muul right on the plaza, so we thought we’d head back.
It’s always nice to return to a town a decade later and find many of your favorite places haven’t changed a single bit.
We were pretty sure the offerings at Muul hadn’t changed. Heck, they may have even had the same menus.
But we also got to try new places as well, like GPM the next morning. The boys enjoyed splitting their signature Waffle, bacon, and egg sandwich, which seems to be a thing around here.
Izamal has one of the tidiest fresh meat markets I’ve seen in Mexico.
Nearly every evening we were in Izamal, it rained. That meant a few hours every day stuck in our hotel room when we would have rather been out and about exploring.
That didn’t seem to phase the boys too much. They still seemed to find creative ways to have fun.
