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

Why buy a Drone for Traveling?

One of the funniest comedy sketches ever, in my opinion, takes place in the Marx Brothers film “Cocoanuts,” in which the term "viaduct" gets confused with “Why a Duck?”

Some of you are probably asking a similar type of question about why I want to buy a drone for our travels.  

Why a Drone?

Here are several reasons I want to buy a drone:

• Taking spectacular aerial photography
• Engaging in commercial endeavors, including real estate and industrial surveillance 
• Learning a great hobby for someone who never got around to being able to get a private pilot’s license

I have been researching this topic or some time now. Of course, asking the right questions is the first step in research. Here are mine: 

• How do you learn to fly a drone? 
• How difficult is it? 
• What does it take to become an FAA licensed drone pilot, and is it necessary and worth it?
• What type of drone should we buy? 
• Is it best to start off with a cheaper drone to learn with, or should we jump in immediately and buy the drone of our dreams? 
• Some drones are fold-able and can easily fit into a backpack, while others are designed more for transporting in their own hard case. Which is best for my situation? (In fairness, I need to point out that I am still exploring which drone to buy, but I am leaning toward a DJI drone, which I will talk about later in this blog.) 
• Since we are planning on travelling to Mexico, as well as other places, can we fly our drone in these countries legally, and if so, what are the restrictions, if any?  

The following article is up-to-date and gives plenty of good advice if you are planning on taking a drone to Mexico. Click here to read this very good article (Taking Your Drone To Mexico ? What To Know Before You Go). I also recommend signing up for their newsletter, which I did.

You can find tons of information all over the internet about this topic.  Most of it is free, but if you plan on becoming an FAA licensed pilot, you will be spending some money on training materials and paying $150 to take the test.  Basically, if you are intending on flying small toy drones and those that weigh less than half a pound you will be exempt from registration and licensing requirements.  

Since I intend on doing more serious photography, I will be getting licensed as soon as possible.  Having been through the outline of the test and some of the materials, I can assure you that it is excellent information and well worth the time and effort to study.

One other thing I have found out in my research is that the more expensive drones, such as those manufactured by DJI, have more sophisticated software and hardware, and because of that they are, in my view, more idiot-proof than simpler and cheaper models.  

For example, some cheap models will not do anything when they are running out of battery power and may simply fall out of the air without warning, even over water or power lines or in trees.  Not a good idea.  

But even if we decide to buy a DJI, which package do we need and where should we buy it?  What accessories do we need? The picture below is an example of a DJI package you can buy on Amazon. You can click it to see what it includes. They offer many more combinations as well at many price points.

As we continue our research, we will decide what drone will be best for us. Then we will start actually flying!

We will be posting more information, pictures and videos as we continue this process. Stay tuned for our next drone blog.

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.  

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......