Accidentally Magellan: Yucatan and Quintana Roo

Cancun 15 December, 2025

In my first two days in Mexico, I have done nothing worthy of note except eat and sleep with intervals of sleeping and eating to break the routine. A local taqueria serves Argentine style street tacos filled with beed grilled over an open flame served with a side of salsa available at the disposal of patrons inside at a bar dedicated to the holy, sacred sauce of the gods. At breakfast, I feast upon the first item on the menu my eyes gaze upon- eggs with sausage, a small side salad, and refried black beans. Missing from the photos are the chocolate flan and churros consumed to quickly to survive any attempts to document with the camera.

Valladolid 17 December 2025

Too many tacos consumed to photograph. The streets here are filled with iconic architecture and decor- the perfect place for those expecting Mexico to look as depicted in stereotypical Hollywood films until one leaves the touristic central plaza. Hidden amongst the alleyways beyond shouting vendors advertising severely unprofitable deals on trinkets is a side of Yucatan's third largest city that would convince a traveler the jungle is campaigning to reclaim the land here. Trees wrestle decrepit, abandoned buildings where only the hope of the city's youth marked by young teenage lovers hold hands as they walk past and mothers walk their children in and out of shops selling affordable clothes and footwear.

Chichen Itza 19 December 2025

There's a desperation in the air where in the shadows of a once mighty city founded on the tandem work of astronomers and priests blending religion and science represented through sport stands several trinket stalls selling goods from the descendents of the founders of that city working for dollars a day selling bastardizations of the glorious city's incredible art style mutilated to reflect figures from the the religion of their conquerors and symbols of pop culture from a country responsible for their poverty. Modern Mayans hawk at the crowds for wood carvings done in the style of the Classic Maya Period that birthed this city but depicting American superheroes and Spanish-style depictions of Jesus advertised for "3 for $1!" for objects that could sell for dozens per item in the US in an art style once reserved for powerful gods who once ruled over a nation in which only women could own property now dominated by the colonially introduced machismo culture. Rain falls over the ruins in a downpour. As tourists flock for cover, I wonder if the ancient gods are vengeful- or perhaps providing a thankless job to the mortals who have forgotten them.

Bacalar 21 December 2025

Like the remains of a lakeside fort waiting for an attack (that will never come) to give it purpose, this town's people are plagued by a pestilence of waiting. Men wait in the streets for work, teens in love wait for their parents to call them home, travelers wait for their bus to Belize. In this purgatory, I have my first hot shower in a week- which turns cold in five minutes. I wait in vane for hot water to return (which never does) and wonder where my journey will take me next.

Playa del Carmen 23 December 2025

A city built of sand stands on the coast of the Caribbean. With a downtown dominated by American brands like Victoria's Secret and Old Navy, I find a twisted sense of satire in foreign brands selling goods made through sweatshop labor in the country where those goods are likely made at a price those making them cannot afford targeted to travelers from where the brands are headquartered on a vacation in which they can leave the United States without confrontation without the discomfort that would come from seeing the reality of the country they are visiting. I come to a conclusion in this place: that comforts are the chains by which modern slavery is made; that people will willingly surrender personal freedoms and human rights for a small dose of comfort. People would rather die in the pursuit of free speech, but willingly surrender themselves completely for access to their go-to Starbucks coffee order while abroad. I make peace with the discomfort of cold showers in this country as it symbolizes the independence the discomfort gives me. I eat tamales from a local vendor and watch American tourists frequent the 7/11 across the street wondering what someone really would do for a Klondike Bar.