After we left Kabah, we continued onto Merida where we had some laundry done then went to Chadraui, this is a supermarket chain in Mexico. We stocked up on groceries, which included a Turkey for Christmas day.
We had previously talked with Dave who runs an Air-B&B in Progreso but also has room for a couple of rigs within the property. We had arranged to be there on December 23rd, as it was only the 22nd we had to find place for the night. As it would turn out we ran into some Canadians (James & Moya) who where renting a house in Chicxulub which was only 9 km/5.5 miles further east from Progreso. They invited us to stay in the yard of the house they were renting on the beach, we graciously accepted there offer.
After breakfast next morning we drove back to Progreso to find Dave’s place, Dave was originally from British Columbia, Canada. As it turns out the information provided to us by iOverlander for his location within Progreso was about 3km/2miles out. After phoning him he gave us the correct address with simple instruction on how to get there. Once there we setup for the next few days.
We met fellow Overlanders Eric & Ariana from Germany, they were staying in the Air-B&B. Eric & Arian had shipped their rig from Germany to Uruguay but had stopped in Mexico for a few weeks while it was being shipped. There was also another Canadian friend of Dave’s staying there, Bertram who lives near Red Deer, Alberta.
When we first spoke to Dave we had asked if he had anything planned for Christmas dinner, and had not planned anything when we talked. We all agreed that we would should have a traditional Canadian Christmas dinner of Turkey, stuffing and the usual trimmings.
The first night was the usual getting to know the others people staying there. We all cooked our own meals but dined together. This is when we found out Eric & Ariana had never had Turkey. In Germany, they would normally have roast Duck. They had planned on leaving for Merida on Christmas day around noon, but we insisted that they stay for dinner and then leave.
We cooked the Turkey on our BBQ and most of the side dishes of Stuffing, Rustic Mash Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots and Gravy on our outdoor stove. Dinner was an outstanding success with both Eric & Arian having four servings each, I think they liked it!!!
We stayed at Dave’s until the 29th where we would continue east along the coast. Before leaving town, we went to a local doctor to see if we could arrange Rabies vaccination’s as we had not had them before leaving Canada. He was not there when we left but would be in the office around 3pm.
We continued east along the Everglades until we came to a spot which had flamingos, some of the ponds here were orange. They apparently turn colour due to the salt content.
From here we travelled to Telchac Puerto. We parked in the town square and went for a walk out to the beach and along the local pier. While walking back we noticed a small restaurant on the beach so stopped in for a cold beer. They were also selling fresh cerviche and fried fish, it looked good so we place an order for Camaron (shrimp) Ceviche and a fried fish. All I will say it hit the spot wonderfully. They also told us we could spend the night right next to their restaurant.
When we pulled the rig into position their three children wanted to see inside, Catherine gave them the tour. The little boy was really impressed we had a Banos (toilet).
While we were here, we called the doctor back in Progreso, whom agreed to see us at 12pm next day.
Next morning, we went for a nice long walk along the beach before setting off back to Progreso to see the doctor.
As we were leaving Telchac Puerto we drove through a cloud of very large grasshoppers, this reminded us of the Egyptian plague of Locust’s from the bible.
The doctor told us he may be able to get the vaccine but he would not know until after the New Year. We ended up calling in at Dave’s and decided we would just stay to celebrate New Years Eve, we had intended to come back and celebrate Eric’s birthday on the 11th of January as Eric & Ariana would be coming back after a few days in Merida sight seeing.
We ended up staying in Progreso until January 12th. We spent the time walking along the beach, strolling into the town center for lunches and having communal dinners with Dave, Eric & Ariana and some other Overlanders that happened by.
We also all had our teeth cleaned at a dentist in Merida, Catherine also had to have a crown installed on one of her molars as a large chip had broken off.
One day we cycled into Chicxulub with Eric & Ariana, we went out onto the local jetty and watched some of the local’s fish.
From here we went and had some lunch of ceviche and fresh fish.
We had a great birthday celebration at Grey’s (one of Dave’s friends from the USA) house for Eric on January 11th, on the January 12th we all said our ‘See You Later’s” before all going our separate ways. Eric & Ariana were heading off to Tulum for a couple of days before catching a fight to Lima, then onto Montevideo where they would pick up the rig to travel South America. We hope to see them again on the road somewhere.
We continued east along the coast to visit with an old co-worker of Stewart’s, Stephen and his wife Elaine were staying at another mutual friend Janet’s house in Chabihau, this is still located in the Everglades of the north coast of the Yucatan.
We thought we would stay for a couple nights for a quick visit but ended up staying for five. While here we enjoyed each other company, made dinners together, went for walks and did some shopping in Merida.
While walking in the town of Chabihau we noticed they used motor tricycles for all kinds of things, from transport to commercial deliveries.
While in Merida shopping, we visited Costco, they have a small Cenote right in the middle of the carpark.
Cenote (English: /sɪˈnoʊti/ or /sɛˈnoʊteɪ/; American Spanish: [seˈnote]) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. Especially associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, cenotes were sometimes used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings.
The term derives from a word used by the low-land Yucatec Maya—ts’onot—to refer to any location with accessible groundwater. Cenotes are common geological forms in low latitude regions, particularly on islands, coastlines, and platforms with young post-Paleozoic limestones that have little soil development. (Wikipedia)
Next to Costco is the Museum of the Maya, so once we had completed our shopping, we visited the museum, there are four floors to visit, we spent two hours there and only completed the first floor before it closed.
While staying at Janet’s place we had a local visitor, we were just sat outside of our rig on some chairs when a Grey Fox paid us a visit, this fox was not shy.
Then it was time to keep moving towards our date in Cancun.
We said our bye for now to Stephen and Elaine, then continued east along the coast.
Next: East Along the North Coast