On the Streets of San Ignacio
A nondescript wooden hut sits on the corner down the street from our house. If we didn’t know better, we probably would have walked past it all week long and never noticed it. But that is one of the perks of staying with an Airbnb host; they alert you to the local gems that ought not be missed. Such was the case with this breakfast shack where we procured two delicious, freshly-prepared breakfast burritos for $3US. The perfect way to fuel our excursion!
Coffee shops are always at the top of the list of must-finds whenever we travel. The pedestrian-only Burns Avenue led us right to Coffee De Los Mayas, which earned a rate of approval from Julian.
Next up, we snuck a peek at the famous San Ignacio Market. Apparently Saturday is the big day here, but there were a fair number of produce and food stands there today. We mostly scoped out the goods to give us an idea of what to come prepared to buy on Saturday!
One major difference this trip from all of our others thus far is that we opted not to rent a car, but to use an airport transport and either explore on foot or hail a taxi for any non-tour days that didn’t provide transportation. Today was an on foot day, and we both sorely wished we had opted to wear our hiking shoes instead of our hiking sandals! Nevertheless, we made it up the long climb to the Cahal Pech Archeological Site that sits above the city so we could explore the ruins of a Mayan civilization from thousands of years ago.
A beautiful jungle path led us to a clearing where we could explore the various plazas and buildings that have been uncovered since excavation began in the 1950s.
As we traversed the narrow passageways and ascended mountains of stairs, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Did Mayan youngsters ever play hide-and-seek in these walls? Did naughty ones ever get in trouble for climbing the forbidden temple stairs?”
By the time we made it back down to the city square, we were ready for some lunch. Six chicken street tacos for $1US? Yes, please!
As we walked back to our house to chill for a couple of hours (and massage our aching feet!), we were amused by the use of random sticks to support the concrete walls and ceilings in new construction.
After a few hours of napping and reading and chatting with our host we were ready to don our shoes (our hiking shoes this time!) and commence our evening activities, namely, a delicious restaurant for dinner. According to our hosts, Lola’s is one of the best in town, so we decided to give it a try.
Again, I sure am glad for insider information because this place sure isn’t going to survive with drive-by business!
We were not disappointed! Two plates of scrumptious food made their way to our table and then quickly disappeared. Julian’s homemade pasta with cream sauce was delightful, and my citrus basil fish was quite tasty – well worth the $27.50US that we parted with in exchange for them.
Even though it always feels a little weird to see people celebrating Christmas in 70+ degree tropical climates (since we usually travel south in December), we still enjoy the lights and festive spirit of the season.
For our final stop of the night, we had to sample some of the local ice cream. Of course we’ll need to compare as many as possible throughout the week, but our first one was the thoughtfully-named “Ice Cream Shoppe.” They had a handful of flavors and offered samples before settling on reasonably-priced $2USD scoops. In my expert opinion I’d rate it between 3 and 4 stars on a 5-star scale. My quest must continue to find the best ice cream in San Ignacio!
