Mayan Circle Part 7

My original plan was to wake up at 9am, shower and be out exploring the town by 10am. I woke up at 12 noon. Crap. Oh well, at least I was well rested. There was a knock on my door, and before I could even get up to open it, the maid had already barged in. When she saw me all groggy and squinty eyed, she apologized and quickly shut the door.  I forced myself out of bed to get ready for a another day of exploration. 

Best part of all… no hangover… Yes!

I started the morning by walking up Guadeloupe street  and headed towards a church at the top of the hill. The church is called church of Guadeloupe and had excellent aerial views of the city .  In front of the church there were lots of streamers put up for the New Years and Christmas celebrations.  It was nice to see the festive decoration and get away from the crowds. I sat at the top of the steps for a bit to admire the view and take a breather. I was overwhelmed by the steps up the top. Steps always look easy until you start to climb them. After taking some photos, I sat at the top of the steps and admired the view.

There were other people taking photos or enjoying a book in the warm sunny weather.  My next destination was the Na Bolum Museum. Na Bolum is the old house of  European anthropologists that settled in  San Cristabol that has been converted into a museum. the house is a hacienda Spanish style that has many rooms and open courtyards.  There was a large dining hall, a well stocked  library , and an open air courtyard where you could enjoy a book or coffee or meal. After my coffee, I headed back to my hotel room for a little siesta before venturing back out into the streets. 

The great thing about San Cristabol is because there are only two main pedestrian streets, if you happen to sit at any of these outdoor cafes, you’re likely to run into people. We were enjoying some happy our drinks, when we ran into 2 other tour mates who joined our table. Across the bar was a nice looking Argentina steakhouse called El Argentina. They actually brought out raw slabs of beef for the customers to see and chose before cooking.  The happy hour group decided to have dinner there later that evening.  

During our little siesta before dinner, last minute cinema plans cropped up at the Kinoki Cinema, messed up the Steakhouse plans.

I went to have the best margaritas in town instead  Margarita at El Tapanco café bar with a tour mate.  I was gutted that we had missed out on happy hour by 20mins (we arrived at 7:20pm and it‘s from 5-7pm). I was gutted, but the guy gave us free tequila, so he‘s still on my good side. We also saw more of our tour mates walking, and invited them to join. The margaritas were great because they don’t skimp on the alcohol, it had a tangy taste rather than sweet, and is more of a slushy rather than just a drink.

It’s nice to get fresh air, good conversation and wonderful drinks.  You will get bothered by  the walking street vendors however. They  walk up  and down the main street holding their scarves, belts and hats hoping they can persuade people to purchase their tourist wares. Some vendors asked us more than once without realizing it. Other vendors  were surprisingly young children around the ages of 8-10. 

One girl tried to sell us some farm animals made of clay. Instead of purchasing things we obviously would not use,  we gave her our complementary corn chips from the bar.  She happily munched away and looked satisfied with our substitute. 

Tomorrow I was determined to be back for happy hour. 2 margaritas for 50pesos($4.80). Can’t beat that. 

Definitely I enjoyed exploring the city on my own.  Looking forward to some cultural sightseeing tomorrow of the local Mayan Villages.

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