No. 097 Kayaking at Chuburná Estuary

Kayaking is one of the favorite tourist activities in the Yucatán Riviera. A kayak tour will let you feel the sea breeze, see the colors in the water, and the great flora and fauna biodiversity you can find in the estuary ecosystem.

One of the most recommended places for kayaking in Yucatán is Chuburná Port. Preferably in group or in couples, and previously hiring the services of a professional guide, certified in nature interpretation and first-aid protocols, it is important to mention that the activity is performed in quiet shallow waters.

Chuburná estuary is a relatively unexplored place, but with an impressive beauty due to the water shades of color, the varied species for birdwatching and the mangrove’s tunnels, either performing the activity in the morning, or in the evening, to enjoy the sunset in all its glory.

It also has places for free swimming, where you can be in direct contact with nature. The experience consists of the challenge to explore places little known, enjoy many landscapes, lots of nature, have fun, camaraderie, and contact with the marine atmosphere.

Tekax Adventours is a company offering ATV tours experiences through and extreme route in the south of Yucatán, located 62.1 miles away from Mérida, Yucatán. They are located in Tekax, Yucatán, the only area with highlands in all the state, which helps in providing an adventurous and fun experience for all the family, groups of friends, or any person who wants to spend an extraordinary time with lots of adrenaline.

The adventure experience, ATV tour, will take you to archeological sites, where you will see colonial buildings, flora, fauna, caves, Mayan villages, and you will enjoy the flavor touch of the wide Yucatecan gastronomy.

To carry out this activity, there are guided tours to visit the most important attractions within the city, such as the historic downtown, Tekax cathedral, the chapel, and going through the pathways, which will take you to natural parks with grottoes, one of the most known are Kaalmankal, Chocantes and Sartenejas Grottoes, in which you will have the opportunity of practicing rappel, zip-lining, or visit the Mayan underworld.

To enjoy this experience you need to make a previous reservation.

Yaxunah has a handcrafts’ community, who are very skilled and will show you their artworks. They will invite you to participate in part of the process in the hammock production workshop. You will be able to see how they make colorful and traditional hammocks; their different techniques and you will try to keep experts’pace.

Women that form part of this workshop are part of the group Káanbal Kuxtal (which in Maya means learn to live), and the income they get from the sells is destined for the education of their children.

In the horns workshop, they will show you the process to extract material and create accessories like earrings and necklaces. It is possible to create your own piece of art in a bull’s horn and take it as a souvenir (at an additional cost).

De Santiago Market is one of the favorites of families and couples from Mérida. There, you will find regional products, ideal for cooking Yucatecan dishes, fruits, and vegetables, and of course, the traditional restaurant area where you can eat traditional delicacies.

It is a special place to enjoy a delicious lime soup, some panuchos and salbutes while you enjoy the serenity of the park and the people around. The market is originally called “Mercado Municipal No. 2 Santos Degollado”, and you can find it at Santiago neighborhood in Mérida’s historic downtown.

Yokdzonot community is located 12.4 miles from Chichén Itzá archeological site. In this tourist look-out you can find an impressive cenote with vertical walls of 131 ft of diameter and 147 ft deep. Swim in its crystalline waters, go over it in a zip-line, and get down from its vertical walls rappelling, admiring the flora and fauna surrounding it. Walk along pathways that will connect you to nature, like sacbés (white pathways) which once connected cities, cenotes, and ritual sites in the Peninsula.

After having enjoyed the adrenaline of the activities at the cenote, participate in the gastronomic workshop, where you will learn to prepare traditional dishes from the state, and you will eat them after the workshop.

Additionally, this cooperative performs social and environmental activities with community’s youngsters and children, which is why before arriving to the look-out, you will be able to see along streets and houses, beautiful murals regarding flora, fauna, and culture from the region. To complement the experience, and if you want, the look-out offers a camping area in strategic sites around the cenote.

It includes lifejackets, helmet, local ingredients, and if it is the case, food tasting, tents, vests, and local guides. It is recommended to wear swimming suit, bring towel, shoes, snorkel, scuba mask, fins, and comfortable clothing.

Would you like to visit an artisan’s atelier? A place where you can witness the creation of a real artwork, watch the effort, skills, and patience to create a jewel from raw material taken from the most emblematic harvesting in Yucatán: henequen.

Discover the creativity of Master Esteban Abán’s hands, which comes from years of investigation he has invested in the creation of pieces, most of them jewelry pieces, made from cocoyol seeds, dzibul, and henequen thorns.

During this tour, not only will you admire jewelry pieces, but also will hear the fond explanation given by the artisan. He will tell you about his career and in a didactic way, he will show you the raw material he uses, and he will show to you some of his main working techniques. He has devoted his life to creating different personal ornamental pieces, from which necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and rosaries outstand. Sometimes, he combines the materials he uses with some others, like bull’s horn, deer antlers or bone, considering its color, size, and the contrast. Another material he uses is the silver silk thread, which he personally makes with a laminator.

In the front part you will see a small room where Don Esteban proudly exhibits his creative and beautiful jewelry, which has been awarded nationally and internationally.

Experience the new attraction “Valladolid City Tour”, on a panoramic bus, you will be able to see different emblematic places, churches, and monuments, revealing the social and cultural richness of the municipality. You will learn about the colonial times history, historic buildings, and the colorful unique neighborhoods in Valladolid. Along the way, at the turibus, you will enjoy the iconic neighborhoods at Valladolid Magic Town, where architectural beauty and history behind their museums, churches and monuments outstand. During the tour you can visit:

• San Roque Museum: This museum is a must during your visit to Valladolid, as it keeps relevant data from the municipality and Yucatán’s history, that goes from pre-Hispanic to the Revolution times.
• La Aurora former loom: in front of Valladolid’s main square, you can find this former loom, which was the first in the country which functioned with a vapor machinery.
• Calzada de los Frailes: This 16th century avenue was built to connect Valladolid with Sisal town. This avenue evokes colonial times in Valladolid, after rescuing important architectural details.
• San Servacio Church: This church is one of the most visited sites in Valladolid, its tower has cannons used to recover the city in 1848, which are proudly kept by inhabitants after the Caste War.
• Zací Handcrafts Center: This handcrafts center is particularly important for Valladolid inhabitants because it is here where you can find most of the regional handcraft work, you can buy diverse hand-made products, embroidered clothes, and see lots of handicraft techniques.

One of Yucatán attractions are its cenotes. In San Antonio Mulix you will find two of this natural wonders.

Visitors and tourists will be able to enjoy the cool waters of its two cenotes: Xbatún and Dzombakal, in which quiet waters you can swim and snorkel. Both cenotes are shallow, about 13.1 ft, and they are safe in areas 3.3 ft deep.

Besides there is everyday access to the eco-tourist look-out Tumben Zazil Kin Zonot, administered by a cooperative of municipality inhabitants.

The same cooperative administers and takes care of both cenotes, they also offer hut rental services, camping equipment, biking, and swimming gear, as well as restaurant and guides services.

An adventure experience at the Magic Town of Sisal: kayaking in the estuary and natural reserve of the Yucatecan coast, abundant in mangroves and freshwater springs.

For this activity you must follow all the instructions provided by your guide, as the main objective is to watch flamingos as nearest as possible, as well as the birds that arrive at this natural site during some seasons. To achieve the objective, you must advance strategically so as not to scare or disturb them.

In this activity you will have the option of sharing a kayak with somebody else, being you and that other person the ones who steer the kayak, or on the other hand, you can go on a barge steered by your guide.

As it is an observation activity, to advance quickly is not relevant, so you will have plenty of time to take pictures and admire these little animals, see how they feed themselves, and live together.

The estuary is large, so you will have lots to explore, however, guides will direct you through the most outstanding parts of it. It is shallow, but there is a slight current, so you must be careful and know how to control and direct the kayak. Before starting the activity, the guide will explain to you how to get in and how to direct it, so you just have to pay attention and follow the instructions and recommendations.

Go around Mérida in a traditional way, riding a Guagua (picturesque ancient bus). During the tour, you will see historic monuments, main avenues in the north of the city, like Paseo Montejo, Monumento a la Patria, Santa Ana, among others.

Discover the greatness of each landmark site, ready to be photographed, its culinary richness, the Mayan heritage that has always wondered the entire world.

The “solar” is in Street 33 and 22, as reference, near the Health Center in Maní, Yucatán, it has signage to identify the entrance.

In this incredible visit, you can visit a Mayan solar, which consists of a large tract of land used for different domestic activities, such as harvesting, courtyard animals breeding, and it even is a reserve of space for different productive activities. Generally, Maní solars are more used than others; however, the trend is that the front part be used as a house and on the sides there are fruit trees, the henhouses, the area to place the pan to do the laundry under the trees’ shadow, or under a small palm roof, it is also the place of the traditional vegetable garden “ka’anché”, which is near the kitchen.

During this experience, you will see how ancient knowledge combine with current knowledge and how all that knowledge has been adapted to daily life in the 21st century.

It includes local guide, pathway tour, approach to the Melipona-bee apiaries, interaction with farm animals, beverages, and a tour of the Mayan hut.

It is a perfect place for culture and gastronomy, like cocoa, which guarantees an unforgettable and different tourist experience.

It allows visitors of all ages a privileged access to knowledge and to the discovery of the extensive cocoa culture.

Choco-Story Valladolid has 12 recreational halls with sound and illumination of approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes in the following languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Chinese, and Russian, creating a comfortable and invigorating atmosphere.