With my mom and younger sister I’m visiting the Yucatan Peninsula for the first time. My wife Z is joining us partway through the trip.

Monday 12/15/2025 – Vancouver → Cancun

  • 9:30am flight YVR → CUN
  • listened to albums in Deepcuts Best of 2025
  • wrote a bunch for my upcoming 2025 retrospective piece
  • late dinner w/ maternal family that is from Cancun

Tuesday 12/16/2025 – Cancun → Bacalar

  • breakfast buffet @ hotel
  • cab to Tren Maya station, ride train to Bacalar
  • cab to hotel, Rancho Encantado; check in; eat lunch
  • take private boat tour of the lagoon, stopping at cenotes & channel to swim
  • go in hot tub with my mom and drink a beer
  • rest in room; shower; do digital chores

I’m impressed by the Tren Maya. Not by how well it works but by the mere fact it exists. It’s not the kind of thing I would expect to see in Mexico. Admittedly, it’s no bullet train. From Cancun to Tulum it takes an hour forty, the same travel time by car. And it only runs a few times per day. But it only opened last year and it connects the Mexican southeast. We’ve mentioned it to servers, cab drivers, desk clerks, but no one we’ve spoken to has taken it. On this one today there are a few dozen passengers but what strikes me is the number of workers.

To enter the platform, we show our printed tickets and identification before progressing to automated gates where a lady instructs us to scan our QR code in the typical place at the front of the gate. It beeps and opens to let us through. A step past it on the other side another lady motions us forward toward the metal detector a few feet away and tells us to line up on the right side. Four or five uniformed officers stand at the one metal detector, feeding in bags and baskets into it on the conveyor belt on one side and taking them off on the other side. Once seated on the train a man comes down the aisle asking for tickets but when I mutter I don’t know where I put it he just confirms our destination before continuing down the aisle. At each station we pass uniformed officers of the Guardia Nacional stand and traipse around while several cleaning ladies sweep and mop already tidylooking floors.

Wednesday 12/17/2025 – Bacalar

  • sleep in; eat a late breakfast; relax in room
  • lounge in hammock on covered dock looking out on the lagoon
  • read Tinkers & write criticism of it while my mom & sister went kayaking
  • drink a beer sitting at water’s edge; solo paddleboard in lagoon along the shore
  • join my mom & sister on dock to have a drink & take a dip in the lagoon
  • go to Balacar town center; visit old Spanish fort & read about Bacalar’s colonial history
  • walk through Zocalo & settle in Chanok for late lunch
  • cab back to hotel; go in shared hot tub & then our private hot tub with my mom

Thursday 12/18/2025 – Bacalar → Calakmul

  • wake @ 7am, get ready, pack, eat breakfast, take cab to train station
  • ride Tren Maya to Calakmul then get picked up by our guide & taken to Hotel Puerta Calakmul to check in & leave bags in room
  • get driven +60km to Calakmul Archeological site
  • spot lots of jungle animals along the way including a falcon, two tarantulas, a snake, turkeys(?), & owls(?)
  • climb four Mayan structures, two of which rose up above the tree canopy line
  • see lots of spider monkeys, a vulture, & a few howling monkeys
  • speed out of the Calakmul Archeological site to see 3 million bats exit their cave before returning to hotel
  • shower & eat supper before going to bed at 8pm

This morning when we came out onto the train platform a worker greeted us and queried about our assigned train car. We told him and he led us to a particular spot on the platform marked with yellow and black tape to which our car would align when the train arrived. Already I thought this was unnecessary information but then to my surprise he explained a few more things. Please stay behind the yellow line, when the train arrives let passengers get off before boarding, and please bear in mind while doing so that there will be a gap between the station and the train, and if you happen to drop a belonging into it do no try to retrieve it – be it a cellphone, a bag, a pair of sunglasses – do no try to retrieve it, that’s what we are here for, we will retrieve it for you.

Friday 12/19/2025 – Calakmul → Bacalar

  • wake early alone, make coffee, chat with hotel worker, & read Tinkers
  • eat breakfast in dining room of hotel
  • get driven to Bacalar
  • lunch @ hotel restaurant of Rancho Encantado
  • solo lounge in private hot tub on the deck of our cabin
  • 50min massage
  • lounge in private hot tub on the deck of our cabin

Saturday 12/20/2025 – Bacalar → Playa del Carmen

  • late breakfast
  • enjoy lazy river @ Los Rapidos
  • lounge in private hot tub on the deck of our cabin
  • shower, pack while watching Arsenal vs Everton, & check out
  • eat lunch at hotel restaurant
  • cab to station & take Tren Maya to Playa del Carmen then cab to Airbnb
  • walk on 5th Ave to meet Z at bus station
  • dinner @ Don Mario’s, good pizza & pasta
  • get ice cream @ Aldo’s on way back to Airbnb

Sunday 12/21/2025 – Playa del Carmen

  • eat breakfast @ Bistro Playa
  • walk on Playa Mamitas, which was hot, sunny, & very busy
  • stop @ tourist activity booth to book activity for Tuesday
  • solo swim on rooftop pool while Z, my mom, & my sister went shopping
  • shower & relax @ Airbnb
  • eat supper @ Los Chachalacos

Monday 12/22/2025 – Playa del Carmen

  • brunch w/ Z @ Fresco Hábito
  • get coffee frappés on the walk back to Airbnb
  • swim & drink in rooftop pool
  • eat dinner @ Cueva de los Changos

Tuesday 12/23/2025 – Playa del Carmen

  • wake early & walk to nearby meeting point for daytrip
  • visit small cenote then a large cenote (Cenote LabnaHa?) & swim far into the cavern
  • zipline in the jungle
  • eat lunch & participate in tiny Mayan ceremony
  • snorkel among giant turtles in Akumal
  • get driven back to Playa del Carmen; shower, relax, & get dressed
  • walk to Taqueria El Sabrosito Del Fogón w/ my mom & my sister but there was a long line
  • eat supper @ Don Sirloin
  • watch Wake Up Dead Man at the Airbnb all together

Wednesday 12/24/2025 – Playa del Carmen

  • make coffee & get dressed
  • solo take cab to minibus station to pick up my bag of clothes I left behind in Bacalar & had sent to Playa del Carmen
  • eat good brunch @ Chez Céline
  • solo relax in Airbnb; watch the recording of Arsenal vs Crystal Palace, drink a coffee, hang up laundry
  • lounge in rooftop pool; swim, read, chat, & work on this site
  • shower & get dressed
  • eat dinner @ Caruso Hostaria Pizzeria (very disappointing pizza, we sent it back)
  • tacos w/ my sister @ Los Chachalacos
  • watch finale of Pluribus season one all together

Thursday 12/25/2025 – Playa del Carmen

  • slow morning; drink coffee & write on the balcony
  • brunch @ Chez Celine
  • enjoy rooftop pool
  • dinner @ Romeo’s

Friday 12/26/2025 – Playa del Carmen & Cozumel

  • wake early & walk to pick up point to take van to ferry
  • take ferry to Cozumel
  • snorkel and see lots of fishes
  • eat small lunch on boat
  • swim, paddle, & play by boat for a couple hours
  • enjoy cocktails on boat while we cruised back to shore
  • walk around Cozumel & peruse shops
  • take ferry back to Playa del Carmen
  • eat lunch @ Taquería El Fogón
  • nap & shower @ Airbnb
  • eat dinner @ Don Mario

Saturday 12/27/2025 – Playa del Carmen → Merida

  • pack up & drink coffee
  • watch Arsenal vs Brighton
  • eat brunch @ Chez Céline then take cab to bus station
  • take ADO bus from Playa del Carmen to Merida
  • take cab to hotel & check in
  • chat & drink our complimentary beverages in the lobby which we were given because my and Z’s room wasn’t ready
  • walk south on Paseo Montejo to Calle 47, the “Gastronomic Corridor”
  • eat dinner @ Catrín then walk back to hotel up Paseo Montejo

Sunday 12/28/2025 – Merida

  • shower, get dressed, & repack luggage
  • move to new hotel room with working air conditioning
  • brunch @ Teya Viva w/ Z
  • meet my mom and sister back at the hotel to discuss plans
  • accompany my mom to hotel front desk & then nearby Avis branch to evaluate our options for daytrips for the week
  • hang out at the hotel pool w/ my mom
  • relax at the hotel for a few hours
  • dinner @ ASAI, the japanese restaurant in the hotel

Monday 12/29/2025 – Merida & Celestun

  • wake @ 7:30am, shower, get ready, eat breakfast
  • walk to Clandestino Café but they hadn’t opened yet bc of technical difficulties
  • drive to Celestún
  • take speedboat tour from Playa Norte: see pelicans, flamingos, and even a crocodile; swim in the Gulf of Mexico
  • eat lunch @ La Palapa
  • lounge on the beach then drive back to Merida
  • shower & rest in hotel
  • dinner @ María Raíz y Tierra

Tuesday 12/30/2025 – Merida & Uxmal & Mucuyché

  • wake @ 7:40am, get ready, eat breakfast
  • visit ancient Mayan city of Uxmal
  • spend afternoon @ Cenotes Hacienda Mucuyché: eat a quick lunch, take the tour, & swim in cenotes
  • swim in Cenote Yaal Utzil & leap into it a few times
  • drive back to Merida
  • try but fail to get into Museum of Yucateca Gastronomy for dinner
  • walk thru center of Merida
  • dinner @ Hacienda Teya

Wednesday 12/31/2025 – Merida

  • breakfast @ Clandestino Café w/ my mom
  • reconvene w/ Z and my sister, then take Uber to north of city
  • stroll around Galerías Mérida mall while Z and Dani had a meal @ Chili’s
  • visit Mayan World Museum of Mérida; felt very tired for some reason
  • visit outdoor exhibit about Felipe Carrillo Puerto, an activist & politician from Merida
  • dinner @ Sushi Roll; by the end, I knew I had caught whatever illness Z was recovering from
  • rest @ hotel

Thursday 01/01/2026 – Merida

  • woke up after a night of very poor, restless sleep
  • spend the whole day resting in bed due to body aches
  • order room service for meals

Friday 01/02/2026 – Merida

  • late breakfast w/ Z @ Clandestino Café
  • shop for gifts @ MATILDA Mérida
  • have a cold drink @ JUSTO Bread Studio on sidewalk patio & chat with young couple visiting from Boston on their honeymoon
  • visit Monumento a La Patria, then walk back to hotel to rest
  • my mom and my sister went on a day trip to Izamal and cenotes in that area
  • dinner @ Yerba Santa
  • relax back at the hotel

Saturday 01/03/2026 – Merida

  • breakfast @ Clandestino Café
  • shop for guayaberas @ Aldrin Ayuso Showroom then @ Abito
  • light lunch @ Querreke then return to hotel
  • pack & watch Sunderland ‘til I Die
  • meet my mom & sister @ ASAI where they were having supper to eat a sushi roll they recommended, then returned to my room
  • eat instant noodles with beef rib left over from Yerba Santa

Sunday 01/04/2026 – Merida

  • wake @ 6am, dress, & get an Uber to the airport
  • Marat’hon Merida 2026 happened to be that morning so getting out of the city was complicated
  • arrived @ airport @ ~7am, breeze through security, & eat breakfast at a restaurant near our gate
  • our flight was remarkably punctual

I was very amused by our Uber driver. His straightfaced, irreverent demeanor reminded me of one of my Dad’s best friends. They’ve been closing streets every Sunday he said. Anything to make traffic worse. We went in one direction and then another and then another, in search of a way out of the city. We came to an empty intersection where a policeman stood wearing a high visibility vest and holding a whistle in his mouth. I suggested we ask him for directions to the airport. Our driver said nothing to me but rolled down the window and asked the policeman, Y para el aeropuerto? The policeman had no idea. He muttered apologetically, maybe this way, maybe that way. As we drove away our driver remarked with no change in expression that we may as well have asked Cantinflas.