The Best Ceviche We Found in the Yucatan: La Playa in Chelem

When we visited the Yucatan, we decided to visit a hangout we'd often heard mentioned on the expat forums, but when we finally located it, we discovered that new management was taking over and the building was being remodeled. Alas. We'd missed our chance.

The new manager, however, recommended La Playa in Chelem to us, so we took off in search of this restaurant we'd never heard of.  We found it. It was down a drive lined with old picturesque boats and palm trees. 

The outside was not what we expected, just because we aren't yet used to the real Mexico. But we decided to try it. It was probably originally a motel, and we peered into the empty rooms as we walked past the fishing boat in front of the main building.

Two young Mexican men walked out to greet us and led us into the restaurant.  We were the only customers on that weekday mid afternoon.

We could see through to a table perched right by the ocean and asked to be seated there.  Where the restaurant is located, directly east of the Progreso Pier, has a real beach erosion problem and the waves lapped right up to the bottom of the the covered concrete patio where our table was situated. We wonder how long it will be until it is actually eroded away. That will be sad.

Actually, all we wanted was a beer, mostly, and that was about all we could afford because we hadn't located an ATM in Progreso yet and they didn't take credit cards. I scrabbled through my purse for all the pesos I could find and we ordered two Solas and a ceviche to share.

Chef Carlos strolled out to talk to us as we enjoyed the best ceviche we experienced on our entire trip. And we sampled quite a lot. We love ceviche. He told us how he came to start the restaurant and that he climbs down from the patio onto the crumbled concrete by the waves every morning to buy fresh fish from the fishing boats. 

We were told by a friend later that many Mexicans refuse to eat fish in the afternoon because by that time, it isn't fresh enough for their standards.  That's one reason that I'd love to live by the sea. I would love to exist on mostly fish. What fun to buy it from the fishermen and have it that fresh!

We ordered a couple more Solas as we finished every last bite of Chef Carlos' ceviche. The wind was brisk. A bird trying to make headway, fighting against the wind put on quite a show for us.

We left La Playa planning to return, although we weren't able to do so on this trip. We will be back, however. We were very impressed.

We found this tiny restaurant by the sea by accident, but discovered before we left that it is a big favorite for the local expats, both those that live at the beach and many who live in Merida.

We can see why. I can't wait to visit again.

https://www.facebook.com/laplayadechelem/

Calle 13, Chelem Yucalpeten, Progreso

Chelem, Yucatan, Mexico 97322

+52 969 935 4285

Low Carb/Keto Capered Chicken Recipe with video

My husband challenged me to make a Yucatanean Meal, then added, "but of course, you can't make it low carb."  Huh. I showed him.

 The recipe I've linked to in this post was the entree. I will also be sharing the other recipes I used in that meal.

All the recipes I used were:

• Capered Chicken (Pollo Alcaparrado) from Rick Bayless
• David Sterling's sautéed chaya with smoked bacon: Chayas fritas / Tsajbil chaay
• Pork Rind Tortillas 1 carb each
• Achiote-Rubbed Butternut Squash Tacos

This Capered Chicken recipe came from Rick Bayless, and actually needed only one change to make it keto, and that was leaving out the raisins. I made a few changes to use what I had on hand or what was in season, however. And it turned out great!  A very successful dish. I'm sure I'll cook it again.

Rick Bayless is a TV chef and cookbook writer, who has traveled in the Yucatan. We've watched him on YouTube.  

Here is his website: http://www.rickbayless.com/

And here is the link to the recipe for Capered Chicken: http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/capered-chicken/

And finally, here's a link to the video I made about cooking low carb Capered Chicken:  https://youtu.be/WqNsOT8-5i4

Happy Eating!!!

Here are some of Rick's cookbooks:

(with links to where you can purchase them)

This post may be sponsored or contain affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you – which helps keep this blog running, my recipes free, and supports our efforts to bring information about the low carb lifestyle and the experience of moving to Mexico to you.  

Beautiful Sisal

One of our goals for our trip to the Yucatan last month was to explore the beach towns. The map below shows the stretch of beach from Sisal to Telchac. You can drive along the beach to Telchac but you have to go through Merida to get to Sisal.

We stayed in Progreso, on the Malecon.  The picture below is of the two mile pier where the cruise ships dock.  Our hotel was a couple blocks from there.

We drove east to Telchac and West to Sisal. Telchac is nice. We are considering it, but we REALLY love Sisal. It's a long way out there....through a village. But then you get to Sisal and it's what we'd been looking for since we'd arrived in Mexico.

We drove through the town. It was clean and cute.  We found a cute beach restaurant and had ceviche and Sols.

Then we found the road that led past the beach homes and out onto the beautiful beach.

The houses were beautiful and even the second row was nice The palm trees are tall, which indicates they don't have bad hurricanes there.  The palms are taller there than any other beach town we saw.

The day was really windy. I'd like to see the ocean on a calmer day. People were in the water near the restaurant and the pier, but I thought it looked pretty scary out in the water down where we were. But the beach was beautiful. And deserted. Such white sand and so deserted. Just us.

We are really fascinated with Sisal. When we first move down, we will rent for six months at least, and we plan to rent in Merida. But we're going to be seeing a whole lot more of Sisal during that time and we just may end up living there.

I found this great drone video of Sisal that I'll share with you, too....  Dreams are made of this!!

This post may be sponsored or contain affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you – which helps keep this blog running, my recipes free, and supports our efforts to bring information about the low carb lifestyle and the experience of moving to Mexico to you.  

Where we are right now on our journey to Mexico

We returned from our trip to Mexico just a little over two weeks ago, and we sat down this weekend to talk about that trip and where we feel we are right now.

Actually, we're pretty excited about our plans. We just don't know yet if we want to end up at the beach or in Merida.  Merida is exciting and the beach is....OMG it's the beach. And so beautiful.

As I process the pictures (about a thousand) that I took down there, we'll make some videos and write some blogs about each place we visited and what we think about them. That'll be coming up soon.

The Container Mindset: What will we take to Mexico?

Every time we buy something, we ask ourselves and each other, "Will this go to Mexico?"  We often look at something we already own and ask the same question. Recently, for some reason, I've acquired some nude decorative pieces. They just called to me. And yes, they are going to Mexico. I think they will fit into our home there.

 

But we have so many decisions to make. We've done a "big move" once before. Well twice. To Australia and back. Of course, we knew that was only temporary. And we kept a storage shed here for those two years. So we had a backup for things that didn't fit in. This time is not temporary. And we are not planning for a backup storage shed.

But the big point of a container is that you make up your mind what size you are going to get and then, whatever fits inside that all costs the same amount. So you have decided on a price and you fill it up as strategically as you can.

This was our container moving back from Australia. One thing we learned is that the movers make all the difference. When we moved before, we had no choice but to let the movers pack because Australia is very picky about what goes in and out, and for them to be able to certify the contents, they had to pack it. The movers who moved us from Tulsa were awful. The movers who moved us back were awesome. Too bad OSS does not move from the U.S. to Mexico.

The problem with Tulsa is, it turns out, even if you get quotes and choose one company over another, they all contract out to the same movers. That's going to be a problem because we are moving from Tulsa again. At least this time we know enough to get in writing exactly WHO will be loading the container. Not sure we'll have a choice, though. We'll have to see about that.

But once you have a company selected and know what size you are going to use, it's all about the packing. It all costs the same amount. So how much can you get in there and what choices are you going to make? What items are valuable and delicate and need to be crated, like televisions and art? Those do cost a little more to prepare. 

OSS did a much better job for us. They got in a sofa that we didn't think would fit at all, and it's the one we're bringing to Mexico, actually.

I'm not sure if we'll have the option to do some of our own packing, coming to Mexico or not. I hope so, because I have already started. This picture is of our home in Australia, but after last Christmas, I packed all our Christmas things for the move. And I'm not unpacking it until we get there, either.  We saved a lot of our OSS boxes. They are awesome strong and durable. We need to find out more about how packing works between the US and Mexico.

But the point is, I guess, when I ask on the expat boards about some items we are thinking about bringing, some people always pipe up, "We only brought two suitcases. It costs too much to bring your stuff and you can buy everything here." The same thing happened when we moved to Australia. I guess it depends on your stuff. And if you are a nest builder or are perfectly happy with plastic chairs from Walmart or Target or what. 

We have picked out our "stuff" carefully. Some is valuable, Some is not. But we like it. When our kids visited us in Australia, there was a comfort factor. It was still Mom and Dad's house on the other side of the world. We also felt comfortable with our stuff. Lots of it has history and stories. It makes us happy.

So our latest take it or leave it conversation was about tools. We were surprised how strong the opinions were to take them. Probably not a lawn mover or weed eater. Yard help is extremely reasonably priced and your employees will probably have their own tools...maybe machetes...but yes to hand tools, ladders, wheel barrows, and generators. Oh yes, and shop vacs. Those things are not cheap down there and they are often not high quality. You are better off taking your own. Pack tools in a drawer or something. Don't waste space and it won't cost you anything to take them. A generator will take space, but it sounds like it's well worth it. Ladders won't take much room if you have good, strategic packers.

So the adventure continues.  

Mexico here we come!

We can't just pack up and take off permanently to Mexico quite yet.  We hope to make that big move next spring.  

BUT WE ARE GOING DOWN TO EXPLORE NEXT WEEK!  

We leave Friday morning and fly to Merida, where we are going to meet new friends and explore the city and all of the beach towns. We don't know exactly where we want to live yet, the beach or the city.

The Beach:

We've always wanted to live at the beach. I want to watch the moods of the ocean every day. I NEED to look out on the ocean.  The cons, however are the fact that the ocean takes its tolls on your home and everything in it. Rebar rusts, foundations crumble, books mold, art flakes away. Wild dogs roam the beach and anyone can party or camp our in front on your house. No one owns the beach...a good and bad thing.  We could also roam the beach on foot on in the ATM we hope to buy.  Whee!

Coleman Outfitter 500 - 500cc 4WD Utility Vehicle

The City (Merida):

The cultural capital of the Yucatán peninsula, Mérida is a compact city rich in colonial history, with a cosmopolitan flair. It has the region’s broadest span of dining options, from market stalls and mobile kiosks to glamorous dining in lavish haciendas.  

• Centro is full of colonial patio homes with tall ceilings and pasta tile floors.  
• The North has modern homes. 

We plan to check out both locations next week. NEXT WEEK. I can't wait!!

Well, I have a new camera, ready for photos and video on my trip.  I am trying to learn to use all its many accessories and thousands of features!!  So much fun. The ultimate VLOG camera.

Canon EOS 80D DSLR Camera Bundle with Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens + Tamron Zoom Telephoto AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Autofocus Lens + 2 PC 16 GB Memory Card + Camera Case

So to follow our adventures, either check here or our FB page:  

https://www.facebook.com/MexicanAdventure/

Actually, the FB page will be updated more quickly than the blog. It's just so easy..... But if you want to follow our adventures in exploring, preparing to move to and actually moving to and living in Mexico, this is your place.

Oh yes....and we will be learning Spanish.....

hasta más tarde......