Valladolid - Pueblos Mágicos of Yucatán

Valladolid was our first stop during our recent trip to the Yucatán Peninsula, and it turned out to be one of the biggest surprises. Valladolid’s beauty and cultural heritage earned it the status of one of Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos, the Magical Towns. Introduced in 2001 by Mexico’s tourism industry, the Pueblos Mágicos program aims to promote the tourism industry and civil awareness for historical preservation and regional uniqueness. There are fewer than 135 Pueblos Mágicos in Mexico, and the designation is a real source of pride among the local residents. For foreign visitors like ourselves, the program is a wonderfully convenient tool for our trip planning.

Having just dealt with an unpleasant situation with a rental car agency back at the Cancun International Airport, we were eager to leave the negativity of Cancun behind. Luckily, Valladolid is conveniently located two and a half hours away on a modern toll road that is largely traffic-free. One interesting thing was the sudden changes from the State of Quintana Roo to the State of Yucatán. Interestingly, this shift in time zone back in 2015 was entirely pushed by the tourism industry along the Mayan Riviera and a drive to provide an extra hour of daylight for American tourists.

So… How do you say “Valladolid”?

One of the most challenging things for me is pronouncing “Valladolid.” As a non-Spanish speaker, I thoroughly struggled with the correct pronunciation of this town. Officially pronounced vai·uh·dow·leed, the town’s name seems to shift from person to person. To complicate the matter more, another Valladolid in Spain seems to have a slightly different pronunciation from that of Mexico. I am also happy to hear that there are plenty of YouTube videos and clips online on proper pronunciation. I am not the only one who struggles with it. The name "Valladolid” stuck in my head for the next week, and I am glad to say that I have finally mastered the correct pronunciation.

Temozón - The City of Smoked Meat

Exiting the toll road, we turned north toward Temozón, a small town of six thousand. It was our first experience with small-town Yucatán, and I got my first taste of those sneaky speed bumps in Mexico. By all accounts, Temozón is a lovely town with a beautiful church and a grand plaza. But the real reason for our visit was Temozón’s famous smoked meat. The origin of the town’s smoked meat industry is a bit of a mystery. However, it is widely believed to be related to the local wood furniture industry. All the excess scraped wood from furniture production is just the right ingredient for smoked meat.

Due to the pandemic, the town’s most lauded smoked meat restaurant, Carnes Concepción, was closed. Fortunately, there were plenty of other places to pick from, and we eventually decided to have our first meal in Yucatán at El Negrito Ahumado Don Juanito. Outside of the restaurant is a display stance of all the smoked meat products and a highly politically incorrect statue of a man in blackface. The staff offered us some product samples, but we were unsure how to order. This was our first time communicating in Spanish in Mexico. Although Brian knows limited Spanish, it has been quite a while since we have been immersed in Spanish-speaking culture. With no menu available, it took us five minutes and plenty of smiles and gesturing to order our lunch. Eventually, we ordered a shared platter of assorted meat and a couple of Dos Equis.

The vibrancy of color is one of the greatest joy in any visit to Mexico.

Although it is tempting to equate smoked meat with American-style BBQ, the meat at Temozón is quite different in flavor and texture. You did not get the expected texture; they were served just above room temperature. Our platter comprises smoked sausages, short ribs, and pork loin. The meat is accompanied by fresh tortillas, pickled onion, tomato salsa, and two bowls of bean soup. The meat was delicious, but the combination with all the side dishes made it a real culinary delight. It was not until later during the trip that we realized that the sausage here, Longaniza de Valladolid, is famous in the region and among the most popular ingredients. The sausage was spiced with seeds of the achiote tree, which gave its characteristic red color.

After lunch, we were itching to get to Valladolid. However, I did manage to make a quick stop at Temozón’s town center. Even though we only spent a grand total of ten minutes in central Temozón, we could appreciate the tranquil conviviality of the town. Aside from the main square is a colonial-era church, an elegant municipal hall, and one of the colorful signage gracing nearly every town in Yucatán.

A Day In Valladolid Without Purpose

Although Valladolid may be the third-largest city in Yucatán, the city has a decidedly small-town ambiance that is difficult to describe. Like most colonial cities, the city is organized in a grid pattern around an impressive central square: Plaza e Parque Francisco Canton. Around the square are all the most important institutions in the town: the municipal market, cathedral, municipal hall, and a post office. Around all hours, the residents of Valladolid use the central plaza as their outdoor sitting room. Despite the pandemic, people still hang out outdoors, albeit all masked and obeying the socially distant recommendations.

Our visit coincided with Christmas Eve, and the plaza was decked out with a characteristic Mexican-style Christmas tree and manger scene. As a devotedly Catholic country, Mexico certainly takes Christian holidays seriously. This was why it surprised me just how bustling the town was on Christmas Eve. Almost every shop was open well past sunset, from electronic stores to fabric shops. It was as if everyone had left their holiday shopping and meal preparation until the very last minute.

One thing that jumped out to us in our first few hours in Valladolid was the massive presence of police. While Mexico has long had a reputation for violence fueled by drug cartels and petty crime, the State of Yucatán enjoys the reputation as the safest region in the whole country. But like in the rest of Mexico, police forces here in Valladolid are heavily militarized. It seems like just about every police vehicle here was an armored pickup truck with police with semiautomatic weapons loaded and ready to go. That said, we felt safe walking around the city at all hours, and that initial anxiety quickly subsided.

Though not undiscovered by foreign visitors, Valladolid has not been inundated by tourism. For good reason, Valladolid is often overshadowed by the stardom of Chichén Itzá for those making a day trip from the Mayan Riviera. During our visit, foreign visitors were few and far between. There were relatively few tourist-centric businesses selling tasteless trinkets. But venture just a bit deeper; you see many boutique shops and artisanal gelato stores dotted around the town center.

Sparse interior of Church of San Servacio.

After our week around Yucatán, we could confidently say that Valladolid was a wonderful introduction to Yucatán. The town seems to have everything a traveler looks for. Paradoxically, Valladolid’s strength is the lack of a particular must-see sight. But don’t get me wrong; I am a self-professed obsessive planner when it comes to travel and certainly tag a dozen or so points of interest just within the historic center. Because of the pandemic, many of the most popular sights were closed, including Casa de los Venados (Mayan folk art house museum) and Museo San Roque (local history museum).

The best way to experience Valladolid is to wander the back streets. Blocks after block are rows of beautiful colonial-era facades decorated with interesting architectural details and dreamy pastel colors. Beyond these facades, the architecture behind them is varied. From historic mansions to vacant lots, peeking beyond these beautiful walls was just part of the fun. Our very favorite was the occasion ruins that were completely taken over by nature. It was an urban treasure hunt and a testament to Valladolid’s authenticity.

Convent of San Bernardino de Siena

If there is one must-see attraction in Valladolid, it must be the Convent Church of San Bernardino de Siena. The convent was founded by the Franciscan order in the mid-16th century and remains the second-largest convent in Yucatán. The convent is located away from the central square but is impossible to miss as the road leading between the two sights is one of the few streets that broke the checkerboard grid. The surrounding neighborhood, Sisal, is today one of the most desirable residential areas in the city.

The convent church has a graciously appointed arcade and faces a spacious field. At the center of the convent is an impressive church dominated by an ornate three-tier wooden altarpiece. The splendid artistry of the altar stood in sharp contrast with the simple whitewash wall and Gothic groin vault of the nave. During our visit, several baptism ceremonies were accompanied by Mexican guitar bands. We could hardly ask for a better way to experience the space.

Just around the corner from the church is the convent museum, one of the most recommended museums in the city. The small museum focuses on the history and archaeological finds of the convent. The most interesting part of the museum is the cenote (sinkhole) that once supplied the monastery's kitchen and bathing facilities. The cenote is located just steps away and concealed under a superstructure. A small exhibit displayed photographs of the artifacts during the most recent archaeological dive at the cenote. The finds range from animal skeletons to 19th-century rifles.

The exterior of the cenote that once supplied water to the monastery.

Another highlight of the museum is the lovely courtyard convent. Painted in a lovely pastel pink color, this is one of the great selfie spots in Valladolid. The courtyard walls are adorned with lovely painted floral motifs. There are also numerous photographs and placards explaining the history and design of the altarpiece in the adjoining church. The choir level to the main church is just around the corner on the upper level. Luckily, it gave us a private platform to observe the rest of the baptism ceremonies.

The official signage for Valladolid, just out of the convent.

Outside the church and across from the convent is the Yucatán sign Valladolid, in the same style as the one we saw in Temozón a few days earlier. It is just the one proof the convent is the most picturesque spot in town. Just behind the sign are a series of high-tech projection systems that will put on the light show. At nine o’clock every evening, there is an elaborate light show on the facade of the convent, and it is not to be missed.

The Mayan Culinary Delight

Although Valladolid was founded by the Spanish colonists, Mayan culture and heritage are still striving in the 21st century. One of the best ways to celebrate Mayan culture is to appreciate its culinary tradition. Our first dinner on this trip was IX CAT IK Tradicional Cocina Maya. It is among the most tourist-oriented places we tried, but it was still one of our best dining experiences. For starters, the restaurant had Mayan locals dressed in traditional dress and offered to perform the ‘Mayan purification ceremony”. It was perhaps the ultimate cliche that we sought to avoid. However, the food was amazing, and is just one of the numerous establishments passionate about the education and preservation of Mayan cuisine.

The Mayan “purification ceremony” at IX CAT IK Tradicional Cocina Maya.

Mayan food is distinct from the national Mexican cuisine that most Americans are aware of. Instead of guacamole or burrito, Yucatecan restaurants serve up hearty dishes of Relleno negro or a bowl of Sopa de lima. Speaking as somebody generally not enthralled with Mexican food, I find Yucatecan cuisine bright and tasty. I have not found a dish I disliked during our week in Yucatán. And Valladolid made several important culinary contributions to the region. Most important among them are the famous red-color sausage that I mentioned earlier (Longaniza de Valladolid) and local tomato pork stew (Lomitos de Valladolid).

Our next dinner was at Yakunaj Cocina Mexicana, a Yucatecan-Asian fusion restaurant. Besides a handful of Yucatecan staples, the restaurant serves unusual dishes such as chipotle cream Fettuccine and squishy tangerine cheesecake. On my first trip to Mexico nearly a decade ago, I had Italian food often and was also amused by the Mexican-style Italian food. The food at Yakunaj Cocina Mexicana certainly did not disappoint. Dishes were beautifully presented in sharp contrast with the otherwise drab interior. But without a doubt, the highlight of the meal was their drink Tanuk' uul, a Mayan-inspired cold chocolate latte drink that is among the best non-alcoholic drinks I have ever had.

Colonté Hotel Origen

As silly as it sounds, one of the highlights of our visit to Valladolid was the beautiful hotel we stayed at, Colonté Hotel Origen. This small boutique hotel is located two blocks from the square and buried within a typical residential area. Beyond the Mayan-inspired entry pavilion, we entered an oasis of lush greenery. We felt immediately transported to the jungle of Yucatán, albeit quite a catered and manicured one. As we often prefer a more vintage modern type of accommodation, Colonté Hotel Origen was a perfect find.

This 10-room hotel is perhaps one of the most beautiful small hotels I have ever stayed at. Everything from the greeting card, towel, and room keys was beautifully branded. Each room is named after a local flora (ours was Xombak) planted in the room. All the guest rooms on the ground floor feature a private courtyard. In the typical Yucatecan style, each room has a hammock far superior to any seating arrangement.

A moment of relaxation at the in-room hammock.

Aside from a lovely small pool, the hotel’s standard amenities include a complimentary breakfast. The offering was lovely, and I even think it is superior to the five-star resort that we stayed at in Cancún. I was so impressed by the design and ambiance of the hotel that I started to wonder whether this was a branded boutique franchise. I wouldn’t mind staying in seeing a Colonté Hotel in every town.

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