July 2021 Archives

No Surprises in Mexico? Who Did I Think I Was Kidding?

Proud Peruvians won’t thank me for saying this, but a couple of weeks ago, I had the best ceviche I’ve ever tasted, and it was in Mexico. That’s a little like telling a Californian that you prefer the fish tacos in Key West to the ones in Huntington; or that the chowder you ate in Oregon was better than the one you had in Maine.

I’ve had ceviche in Chile, in Ecuador, and in its place of origin—Peru—but the plate of lime-cured grouper with tomato, cilantro, and red onion that I had in the tiny Gulf Coast village of Sísal, northwest of Mérida, was tastier than any of them. With a cold Heineken, a bowl of tortilla chips, and various fiery dips, it all came in at 130 pesos. That’s about $6.50.

I wrote last month that I wasn’t expecting any surprises on my Mexico trip. I guess that’s the definition of a surprise—you don’t see it coming. When I wrote that, I was thinking of the Caribbean coast, where the paths are well-trodden. Indeed, the beaches of Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and Cancún were as perfect as I’d hoped they’d be. I loved the postcard-pretty rockpools, the lively ocean, and the icing sugar texture of that uncommonly pale Caribbean sand.

But in Sísal, I walked along an equally pale sand beach, the only gringo there on a hot Sunday afternoon. Families relaxed under parasols, moms chatted, dads bobbed toddlers in the waves. A couple of little kids dared each other to approach me, try out their best “Hello, Mister,” and giggle at the funny blue color of my eyes. The last time that happened to me was on a different continent…in a different century.

The variety on offer in the Yucatán Peninsula—the urban swagger of Mérida, the boho-chic of Tulum, the colonial grandeur of Valladolid, the echoing magic of underground cenotes—is simply immense. And it’s all within an easy bus ride of Cancún. That, I think, was the real surprise.