1,300 Miles Later

9 January 2014

I can’t believe that today is out last day in Central America. The adventure has been one of a lifetime and Andrew and I both cannot wait to come back.

We spent the morning in Merida, walking around the beautiful colonial streets and shopping in the local wet markets for the last time. In Mexico they make beautiful Taravera clay dishes that are influenced by the beautiful azulejo art of the Spanish. The talavera reflects the history of the Spanish as well as the Mayans, as the dishes depict different stories through bright colors and beautiful art. Talavera is very expensive, but both Andrew and I wanted to leave with a dish that we could use when we make Mexican food back home.

Since we both love to cook, food is always a highlight of everywhere we go. Last evening we found the best mole poblano and queso rellano in Merida, and this evening we had the best mole poblano in Cancun!

Mexican mole is a very interesting dish that actually comes in numerous different kinds. Mole originates in Puebla, the same place that Talavera originates. Andrew and I spent part of the evening in the lobby learning all about mole and three star michelin restaurants. Mole originated from a monastery that was visited by a famous archbishop. The nuns were poor and had nothing the cook for the archbishop. They gathered everything they had, which happened to be 18 different ingredients (including stale bread and tortillas, almonds, peppers, chocolate, etc…) and continued on to creat mole, one of the most popular Mexican dishes of all time.

The original seven types of mole all come from Puebla. Andrew and I already researched flights for when we will return and visit Puebla to learn all about how to make mole.

I cannot believe out trip is coming to an end. After traveling over 1,300 miles on 8 long haul bus rides and 2 boat rides we are back in cancun.

– Kylie

This is our last official day in Mexico/Central America! Crazy that the time has gone so fast and that life back in Provo will be starting very soon. We’ll be arriving tomorrow afternoon ~5pm in slc and that will be a weird experience. First cold cold night in a long while… Not looking forward to it.

All that said, the adventures here have made me excited for life in Provo. Funny how travels and being in different places names you appreciate the comforts you have each day (ie. hot water, clean drinking water, public restrooms with toilet paper, non-greasy food, English, good internet). It’s not the least that Kylie or I missed those things but that we took them for granted till we didn’t have them.

Early this morning Kylie and I got ready for our last outing in Merida. We swung through the local street markets where we got another 12 oranges for 10 pesos and 5 bananas for 5 pesos (a dollar total) before getting breakfast. I’m going to miss the street markets, they were very nostalgic for me and you can’t beat local prices!

Afterwards we decided to finish our last day in Merida with some tourist shopping. We got some ingredients for mole that we’ll attempt to bring across the border….for 5 pesos (a little experiment) and we got a cooking dish that’s pretty unique to the region. With all our stuff set and ready to go we hiked about a mike to the bus station with our bags, fruit and souvineers in hand.

The bus ride was pretty relaxing, despite the fact that it was mosquito infested… Literally when I sat on my seat 6 started flying circular patterns around me. Once the AC started going they retreated which was a relief.

We’ve arrived at the beautiful city if Cancun and it doesn’t feel like Mexico in the slightest. Maybe a Southern California city or something similar. The streets are clean, our hotel has A/C and there’s hardly any street vendors!

We fly tomorrow at 7 so early morning for the two of us!

– Andrew