MEXICO - Valladolid

January 14, 2018

We arrived in Cancun early in the morning after a red-eye flight from Vancouver, and immediately arranged a shuttle to the bus station to catch the next bus west to Valladolid, an attractive colonial city not too far from the famous Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza.
Our hotel, El Meson de Marquéz, was one of the colonial buildings.

 Although I found our ground-floor room rather too dark, the public spaces were bathed in sunshine and had a lot of charm, especially the courtyard that housed the open-air restaurant.

Among its attractions was a large table showcasing an array of tequilas.

 When we set out to explore the town, we happened on a procession moving slowly down the street, led by a group in colourful local costumes.

While most of the crowd were on foot, there were lots of other options.

The main plaza, is dominated by San Servacio, an imposing cathedral built with stone from the Mayan city formerly on the site. Coloured plastic flags fluttering in the breeze brightened up its stark facade

  
At night, warm golden lighting softens it harsh outlines.

It was in the plaza here that we saw a free performance of  the ancient Mayan game called pok-ta-pok. In the following days we saw, both at Chichen Itza and Uxmal, the vast grassy courts on which this game was played.