I'm a market enthusiast, born gypsy, former professional taco & tequila slinger, and Mexico lover currently collecting recipes from a small village on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Mayabell with a pool…this was the original camp- a backpacker mecca in walking distance to the pyramids. Now it’s more grown up & used a lot by groups Whatsapp: 916 3416977
A Chol Maya community on the banks of Rio Usumacinta, Frontera Corozal is where you catch a boat to Yaxchilan or the Guatemala border.
Escudo Jaguar…($580, 315)said to have a pool…This is where National Geographic & many other tours stop. Has camping
Hotel Nueva Alianza… ($700, 300) said to have a better restaurant…many comments/complaints about the walls of the cabañas not going all the way up to the roof
Zats- considered an exotic food, are only available during the months of June, July, and August. Zats are caterpillars living in the cork tree on the hottest days and that presents its larval stage between the aforementioned months.
The municipalities where this rich delicacy is mainly eaten are Chilón, Ocosingo, Huitiupan, Simojovel, and Yajalón. Prepared with the clean, boiling with salt and ending with frying in oil. Seasoned with ground chile and lime to taste.
In the municipality of Simojovel, many families are dedicated to collect, cook and market a worm that the locals consider a delicacy: zats that in the Tzotzil language means worm.
Its collection can be dangerous because the person must climb more than four meters on very thin branches, work that falls on children or very thin people because they must climb the tree and detach the caterpillar.
In an interview with the seller of the Ocosingo market, Mrs. Mari Trejo, who is originally from Tzotzil-Maya and has dedicated herself for years to the preparation of this worm, offers her recipe.
“First I wash it, then I put it in the pot with water, prepare the fire and for an hour’s cooking I add salt, wait an hour to remove it from the heat, drain it in a colander and cook it again with lemon and chili until that broth is consumed,” she said.
Zats preparation is thorough. First, the bowels are removed, then cooked in water with salt and lemon for about two hours. Later they drain to brown them in oil or lard and finally eat it in a very Mexican way, with a tortilla in a taco.
The zats are not alive when eaten, as with other insects, such as jumiles and maguey worms, which are very popular in all the indigenous peoples of Chiapas.
The tradition of eating insects is part of the diet of the indigenous communities of Mexico since prehispanic times since, according to specialists, insects contain a high nutritional level, with between 15% and 75% of proteins.
Throughout Mexico, indigenous groups such as the Zapotec, Tzetzales, Huicholes, Nahuas, Tzotzils, Tarascans, Mayas, consume more than 200 edible species of insects.
15 days of eating & drinking, swimming & exploring
When my friend Gabi invited me to her wedding in La Concordia, Chiapas, I immediately & enthusiastically accepted. I imagined crossing the Yucatan peninsula & the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by bus, stopping in the cool mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas, and finally paying a visit to the island of Boca del Cielo, on the Pacific Coast.
A few days later my friend Carmen said she could come for a visit that same week. She was easily convinced to embark on a Chiapas adventure and furious & obsessive planning commenced. I believe that I spent a solid 3 days researching & planning. I’ve had the good luck of visiting Chiapas, but the last time was over 10 years ago.
My careful planning yielded this itinerary (all prices are in pesos chiapanecos):
WEDNESDAY : meet at Villahermosa airport & take an ado van to palenque $95 (2hrs)
SATURDAYstraight to JUNGLE: visit Bonampak & Yaxchilan, swim in the river
3 hours by bus from Palenque- hopefully, we can take combis from Misol Ha to one of the camps, about 3 hrs in. I think we can book when we get there. The best options seem to be in the Crucero Bonampak community, where there’s at least 10 little camps scattered around.
Autotransporte Chamoán Palenque to Frontera Corozal ($145, 2½ -3hrs, every 40 min from 4 am to 5 pm) boat to Yaxchilán for 2 people costs $1000, for 6 people $2000. Takes 40 minutes to get there. Rates are non-negotiable. You have 2 hours in the archeological zone. The last boat leaves at 15h but as the site closes at 17h.
Taxi from Frontera Corozal to Yaxchilán $300 pesos.
Linea de Pasajeros Comitan Lagos de Montebello runs from Palenque to Comitan and will stop at the cruceros (intersections)
Autotransporte Chamoán Palenque to Crucero Bonampak ($95, two hours), instead of the San Javier stop on the highway.
Getting to Bonampak: highway 199 t from Palenque – Chancalá – Corozal Border, as far as the San Javier exit at km 97; continue on the road towards Lacanhá and the archeological zone is 4 km further on.
It’s mandatory to use a local guide & their transportation for $500 pesos
Bonampak community fee $75 pesos
Entrance tickets to the Bonampak site are $75 pesos
It’s also possible to visit more waterfalls from this area using Linea de Pasajeros Comitan Lagos de Montebello &/or Autotransporte Chamoán Palenque :
Cascada Golondrina $25
Cascada Welib-Já and Nueva Palestina, take any Carretera Fronteriza bound combi from Palenque.
MONDAY : TRAVEL DAY OR STAY AN EXTRA DAY IN THE JUNGLE
Return to Palenque, and catch a combi to visit Tonina has the tallest pyramid on Mexico. Read more about the Tonina pyramids. Ocosingo has a couple places to stay, an interesting market, and breaks up the 5.5 hour trip to San Cristóbal.
TUESDAY: WEDNESDAY:THURSDAY: 3 nights San Cristóbal de las Casas
Rent a little casita ($500)
Casa Na-Bolom, the former home of Franz & Trudy Blom. Superstar anthropologist team working in Chiapas. Last time I was there, I saw an incredible display of Frida Kalho’s jewelry
The main reason I am going to San Cristobal is to visit the central market
There’s also an organic market on Wednesday mornings
For thorough explanations of the history & legends of the Maya world, I adore Lydia Jones’s Hammocks & Ruins. She really digs deep into the subjects and collaborates with professional photographers to create content for travelers & wanders. Check out her itineraries to Bonampak & Yaxchilan, Chiapas. I plan to download her articles to read on my way to the pyramids. Lydia writes in English.
The other joyous discovery of my Chiapas research marathon is Sinpostal.com Rubi & Jose Luis are photographers & videographers on a year-long road trip of Mexico. I found them on YouTube, devouring the videos they made in Chiapas this spring. I really appreciate their website with it’s clear breakdown of costs & logistics. All content is in Spanish, but they are super clear communicators & use helpful graphics, so I think non-Spanish speakers can find the content helpful.
Gertrude Duby’s photo archive (1943-1990) at Na-Bolom
Slow Food piece on the milpa system in Chiapas: A complex Mesoamerican intercropping method, the milpa is a sustainable agricultural system that can combat the loss of biodiversity in rural areas thanks to the rich variety it incorporates. The most common crops, and the most representative of the local diet in the Mexican region of Chiapas, are corn, beans and squash, which coexist and form symbiotic relationships with each other and other plants like tomatoes, chili peppers, quelites (wild herbs), fruit trees and dozens of other vegetables, as well as fungi and insects who find their ideal habitat in the milpa.
Lasers reveal Maya war ruins in northern Guatemala
When I was working at Mexican restaurants in NYC, I always assumed one’s *cilantro allergy* was a desire of keeping cilantro from getting stuck in one’s teeth.
Are you regularly cooking for loved ones who hate cilantro? Use a combination of other fresh herbs. Over time, you may be able to conquer the aversion.
Adjusting to living in a pueblito, things aren’t what they seem! In the Yucatan, villages can appear abandoned during the heat of the day. Businesses may appear rundown. Stores look empty. It might take you some time to get into the local groove. Asking locals for their recommendations is your best bet. Don’t bother with google maps.
For example, Chicxulub Puerto, a fishing village on the coast of about 13,000 residents spread along a barrier island between the Gulf Coast & a brackish swamp, is full of vacation homes and business that only open during the high seasons.
I found the local market on my first day and ate a a couple of the loncherías in the plaza. In this part of the world, these eateries stick to masa based antojitos: panuchos, salbutes, and empanadas. They may also we offer soup & tortas. I tried maybe 3 of the morning places and they were all kind eh. Greasy masa, canned tomato sauce, canned beans, sloppy salsas, dirty tables…no gracias! Better to enjoy the local bounty of my own kitchen.
One Sunday, I asked the plant vendor where was good to eat. He gestured to Los Tres Comadres, “Alli se come rico.”
Dios Mío! The ladies running this kitchen take pride in their antojitos. One was grating cabbage for the ensalada de repollo, occasionally stirring the tomato sauce on the stovetop. The other managed the masa & the frying pan. Another handled orders & payment, also running hot panuchos, salbutes & empanadas to the outdoor tables. I
The masa, or tortilla dough, for my antojitos was tender & light, not greasy-even through it had just been removed from bubbling oil. Both the relleno negro atop my salbute & the ground pork filling of the empanada were complex & flavorful. The traditional accompaniments were bright & fresh, totally complementing the fried masa with ensalada de repollo, made from grated cabbage, grated tomato, and tiny slivers of red onion dressed in lime juice; a mild roasted tomato sauce; and a gorgeously picante roasted habanero salsa.
Around Merida & the Yucatán coast, cantinas are mandatory stops in the afternoon when the heat get to be too much! Cold beers, served as cheladas or in cubetas, accompany small plates (don’t drink on an empty stomach!) If you are lucky, you can choose your soundtrack with a rockola or video jukebox, or if you are luckier, classic cumbias will play from the kitchen where cooks will dance as they prepare your botanas.
Botanas aka mexican apertivos:
Cantina snacks! clockwise from the chips: mango, potato, cucumber, black beans, & the traditional hot dog salad!
Cantinas in Merida & the Yucatan coast offer healthier fare than found in Mexico City. Typical botanas are cooked potato or beets dressed with salt, cilantro & fresh lime juice, Sikil P’aak- a tomato & pumpkin seed purée, scrambled egg & chaya leaf, squash fried in lard, potatoes fried in a suggestion of chorizo, a paste of refried black beans, a stuffed cabbage leaf…And always hot dog salad: sliced hotdogs served cold in a dressing of ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise with onion or jalapeno.
Must be a Monday! Menu board from a Cantina in el Centro of Merida
