About three weeks ago, when we discovered that this town existed and sounded interesting we have never been able to pronounce its name. It is called Vallolodid ( vay ol o did) and we christened in Piles. Go with it. You had to be here. Little did we know that we were foretelling such sore bottoms!! We hired bicycles with the worlds hardest seats and tonight sitting down is sore!! But more of that later…….
Vallalodid is a pretty little city, about two hours inland from Cancun. Sadly we are beginning to see evidence of the trash tourists who pass through here on their coaches to Chichen Itza. We read that the passing through is called a panoramic pass-by! And the suckers fall for it. They poke their cameras up against the coach windows and snap wildly. They must think that we are such exotic and wild creatures in our dirty clothes drinking wine in the shade of a tree, without an ‘all inclusive’ wrist band to our names! The sad thing is Gill realised she had done exactly this – many moons ago she had a great holiday with Ken and Ann, hiring a car to take us from Playa del Carmen to see Chichen Itza – looking at the map this time she thought she may have passed through Valladolid. As we arrived at the square last night (for a wine naturally) she realised this is exactly the spot she remembered – low yellow arches around the square.
It is built in the typical way of all Mexican towns, a central park square surrounded by shops in cloisters, the cathedral and low rise houses branching off from the square in bright colours. Piles is especially well groomed as there appears to be a massive inner city regeneration programme going on. Many of the local women wear traditional dress, which is a white tunic, with a lace underskirt and colourful embroidered tops.
We stayed six blocks north of the square at the Ecotel Qunita Regina.. It was not out first choice but is fine - Gill loving having hot water in a clean bathroom!!
Another lazy afternoon around the pool yesterday (no change there, I hear you cry), but today we get our mojo back. We went to the bike hire shop - Antonio ‘Negro’ Aguilar – a cantankerous old man identified in the Lonely Planet in his dusty old bike shed. We chose the “best” two bikes – a macho green jobbie for Ant and a rather fetching pink one for Gill (it reminded her of the one she had when she was about eight – the Pink Witch!). We wobbled off through the streets of Vallalodid and made our way to the cenotes – some 7kms from town. It was all rather civilised – when we hit the main Merida - Cancun highway, there was a bike track. Good to keep you away from the coaches thundering along – but the surface was very uneven – potholes everywhere, and on the knife sharp bike seats, the pain began!. But arriving at the cenotes (sadly in our childish moments of which we have many, our Spanish has morphed “cenotes' into “snotty’s” – you can imagine all the childish humour connecting snotty’s and piles……. ) Now for the geology lesson – cenotes are circular underground sink holes created by the dissolving of the limestone by rainwater. The ones we visited, Cenote Dzitmup and Cenote Samula, were about 30m in diameter and the roof of the cave was all stalactites and bats…. yet another fear Gill has conquered. Sunlight poured in through a large hole in the rock ceiling, and tree roots stretched down to drink. Ant was very brave and went for a swim in one amongst the blind catfish who live there. The water wasn’t as cold as he had expected and so was able to enter the water without too much drama.
Talking of drama – Gill’s bum!! OMG , the oohs and aaahs we had as we cycled back, you could swear she had just completed the tour de France, but we al now know that she doesn’t have buns of steel!!
A miracle cure was at hand, tucked in next to San Bernardino’s convent , we discovered a little gem of a garden restaurant ‘Taberna de Las Frailes’. Recuperative Margarita’s and salads soon took her mind off her bum.
We are now sitting on cushioned seats in a local restaurant, practising our Spanish with the waiters – and doing very well. Must go, we now need to conjugate some verbs….. Nos gusta Piles!
