Yucatán with Mary Sue Milliken

Bienvenidos a Mérida! This is the glorious heart of the Yucatán, with its French-inspired colonial homes and wrought-iron balconies overlooking streets bursting with open-air music. Mérida is often called the New Orleans of Mexico; and like the Big Easy, it’s not hard to fall in love with Mérida’s historic central district.

Mary Sue will lead the way as we weave through traditional markets and grab a lunch of local street-food favorites: salbutes topped with shredded meat, cabbage and pickled onions; cochinita pibil marinated in citrus and spiced with achiote paste, wrapped in a banana leaf; and pavo en relleno negro, simmering in a rich sauce of black recado and cabbage with a hardboiled egg.

Next, we’ll check into our oasis of a hotel and reconvene for a late lunch at the acclaimed hotspot, Kuuk—think meticulous remixes of traditional fare paired with subtle Mexican wines you never knew existed. Still beaming from this historical tour of small plates, we’ll make our way home for a little siesta.

In the evening, we’ll meet up at the hotel for cocktail hour where we’ll plot out course for the next 6 days of exhilaration and discovery. Dinner tonight (if you’re even hungry) is casual street food in the city’s historic center.

After breakfast, we dive right into the cultural riches of the Yucatán. Our first stop is the Tixkokob—the textile capital of the region famous for its handcrafted hammocks. Here, in a local home, we will learn to cook relleno negro, one of the Yucatán’s most famous dishes. After we roll up our sleeves and prep the meat and spices, we’ll bury it in an underground oven and allow it to cook for the next few hours.

Just as the smell of the wood coals tinge the air, we’ll make a pilgrimage to the nearby pueblo magicó, Izmal. Also known as the yellow city, Izmal is a photographer’s dream, a picturesque marriage of Spanish colonial architecture and Mayan sophistication.

We’ll take it all in and hustle back to our family and check in on our literally historic lunch. We’ll uncover the relleno, prep salsa, grind out tortillas and sit down together for a long, slow and grateful feast.

In the late afternoon, we’ll head back to Mérida to relax back at the hotel—dinner tonight is on your own. See you in the morning for a trek into the jungle!

Our final morning in Mérida begins with a breakfast to remember, at a ‘morning only’ taqueria. Papadzules sauced with pumpkin seeds and chiltomate, panuchos and salbutes, and polcanes bursting with the flavors of suckling pig, relleno negro and huevos motuleños, all bringing the essence of traditional Mayan cuisine to our lips.

Next stop: tranquility. Just an hour away, our jungle-clad hacienda sits behind brilliant coral walls, the perfect retreat for our souls. The afternoon is ours to wander the pristine grounds, take a dip in its on-site cenote or grab a drink poolside. This evening, we’ll reconvene with Mary Sue for a full-on Mayan cooking workshop and private dinner.  

Today we experience Yucatán culture through an artist’s eye. We start in the village of Maní, exploring its magnificent 16th-century Church of San Michael Arcangel, and then visit a master potter at his home and studio, where he produces his highly prized works rooted in ancient Mayan techniques. Next up is a visit to a centuries-old apiary. We’ll meet Father Luis, a caretaker of an incredible community of Melipona bees. These stingless bees are sacred to the Maya and produce some of the finest honey in the world.

Lunch today is a serious treat. We dine at humble, legendary El Príncipe Tutul Xiu in Maní, one of the region’s most storied kitchens, for their signature poc chuc: charcoal fired with grill-roasted onions, a sharp marinade, a dash of roasted habanero salsa. After lunch, we’ll take a dip in a pristine cenote, where ancient tree roots and imposing stalactites hang like an upside-down world. When we return to our hacienda, we’ll be full of inspiration and ready to relax for the evening.

The beauty is in the details. And today we’re getting up close and historical with Yucatan heritage, beginning with arguably the region’s best Mayan site, Uxmal. Here we see the ornate Puuc-style carvings adorning the gated temple walkways and bulbous pyramids that inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. Afterwards, we have a feast we won’t soon forget—the local cochinita pibil—pit-roasted, smoky and succulent, prepared just for us.

We return for a peaceful afternoon at our hacienda, but hopefully not too full! This evening, dinner is an equal treat: a farewell feast prepared by Mary Sue to celebrate his love of Yucatán and Mexico, and of our time together.

Alas, our time together is done. After a final breakfast we pack up and say K’a’ak’ate to the wonderful hacienda, our new friends, and especially Mary Sue. We’ll transfer you to the Mérida Airport for flights home. Till next time!