The Yucatan adventure continues in Valladolid, Yucatan.

After 1.5 months house sitting in the Port of Progreso and having a very relaxed time... too relaxed for me to be honest but, I  survived and realized that we're not ready to settle in a small town; this is why we like traveling around, exploring different places and hoping to find the one that eventually we can call home.  But again, we all have different taste and needs; some people like the solitude of a small village and, some others need the hectic city life. We are looking for a place that is right in between, where we can enjoy quite moments but, we can also have access to different activities... So we are on a journey and meanwhile we feel very blessed by having this opportunity in life.

We are now ready for more adventures and, since we have two weeks before our next house sit in the city of Merida, we decided to make a road trip and visit some amazing places within the Yucatan Peninsula.

We left Progreso around noon and, after a three  hours drive we made our first stop at the magic town of Valladolid, this charming city has been on my list for a very long time so the idea of getting here made me feel very excited!
Valladolid is right in between Merida and Cancun, it's only about 1.5 hours drive from each city, if you get the  cuota (toll road) so getting here is very easy. We decided to take the libre (free highway) and explore some of the little villages in between; that's what we like about driving our own car so we have more freedom to explore the surroundings.

The best way of getting here is flying into Cancun international airport, if you are adventurous take a bus outside of the airport (ADO) and go to the bus station where you would transfer to a bus that would take you to Valladolid. You can also rent a car and have the freedom to explore the Peninsula or the "safe" way is booking a trip with a tour company... whichever you're more comfortable with but, get out there and give yourself the opportunity of enriching your life with amazing experiences.

In 2012, Valladolid was named a Pueblo Magico (Magic Town); its architecture from 1500's, natural beauty and cultural riches make this place worth to visit. The city is known as the Sultaness of the East, the beautiful pastel colonial walls, quite streets and the proximity to Mayan ruins and cenotes make this place the perfect point where there's plenty to do, yet still feels small, quite and very affordable.

We stayed here for three days at Casa Quetzal, a small boutique hotel right next to Templo de San Bernandino & Convento de Sisal.

Casa Quetzal is located about a ten minutes walk from the main square in a very nice and quite area but, still close to all the amenities that this town has to offer. We had a great experience in this hacienda style hotel so we highly recommend it... There is a saying in Spanish that we use to qualify a good place: "Bueno, Bonito y Barato" (Good, nice and affordable).

It was funny to see the reaction from the front desk agent when she realized we were two guys and the room had only one bed... She said "There's only one bed in the room" and, I answered "I'm sure it's big enough for the two of us but, if he bothers me I will send him to the floor" then, she just smiled; understanding that we are a couple :O) 

A great place to visit while in town is the Templo de San Bernandino & Convento de Sisal; this was constructed in the 1500's to serve as a fortress and church. Now in days is open to public as a museum where you can get transported back in time by walking through out the corridors.

This is how we spent our first day in Valladolid and,  after having a delicious Yucatecan dinner; we went to rest because the following day we were visiting the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza... To be continued!
Safe travels my friends!