While in central Yucatán, we stayed in Valladolid because it was a good location to access Ek’ Balam. Before our visit, though, we knew nothing about the city. We stayed two nights at a pretty cool Airbnb with a kitchen and a pool and most of all: air conditioning in the bedrooms. It was SO HOT and STICKY in Yucatán. The weather was a character in our story every moment of the day.
Valladolid was founded in 1543 by Francisco de Montejo, and named after the capital of Spain at that time. We headed out into the city of Valladolid in short bursts because of the weather. During the day the city was fairly quiet and empty, but in the evenings it became busy and filled with people and lights and sound. We were lucky enough to have the time to experience both.
Across from the Iglesia was a little park that we discovered held a short cut to downtown through a nice little paved path. It came out along a street with a shop selling tacos al pastor (rotisserie-cooked meat) that Pedro got very excited about. We made specific plans to have dinner from there one night. It’s one of the best things about our Mexico trip: having someone with insider knowledge of what was good, what to look for, and what memories were associated with some things.
Only a few blocks from there is the main square of Valladolid with the main central park.
On the edge of the square, as with practically every Mexican city we encountered, is a large church. This one, the Templo de San Servacio (Church of Saint Servatius) is as lovely as any of them. The original was built by Fr. Francisco Hernandez in 1545, but that one was destroyed for moral reasons. Apparently, two men who were elected in 1703 as Mayor and Deputy Mayor were rivals of the outgoing Mayor, and wanted him arrested per orders from the Governor. The old Mayor knew what was up, and hid inside the church with his friend, but the two new Mayors sent people in to get them. Instead of hauling them to jail, the two were beaten badly and then taken to jail, where they subsequently died. Then their bodies were hung in front of the windows of their cell. To disassociate this heinous violence from the sacred church, the Bishop ordered it to be demolished.
Bishop Don Pedro de los Reyes Ríos ordered new construction to begin in 1706. To further avoid the taint of the crime, the orientation of the church was changed to facing north, instead of facing East (Rome, or more specifically, the Roman Catholic Church), as all other Colonial churches in the Yucatán face.
When we explored, we were constantly trying to cool off and keep our spirits up, especially during daytime. When we ran out of tolerance, we headed back to AC and the pool.
With rest, showers, 20 minutes in our air-conditioned bedrooms, we were ready to head out again. The city offered another perspective at night.
The parks in Mexican cities are always filled with vendors and their carts, selling things you might want to spontaneously purchase: snacks, toys, small gifts, bottled drinks.
The little girl in the photo above looked to be about 7 years old. She handled absolutely everything, and ran behind the cart to hand over money to her grandmother, who looked about 90, who was holding the cash bag. Grandma didn’t speak or interact with us, and the little girl made change on her own and brought it to us.
One evening it rained on us as we made our way home, and though that made the weather stickier, it did also cool things off a little. We still went into the pool though, ha ha!
Conscious Engagement 
one of my favorite towns in Mexico. Thanks for posting & bringing back memories
Hi Keith, thanks for stopping by. I’m glad to bring back Valladolid for you. We spent three days and two nights there and it certainly was not enough.
Great post! I bet jumping into that lovely pool felt so nice! I had to look on a map to see where Valladolid was. Looks like a place with a fascinating history. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
I had to look it up before we went too! It was a perfect home base location for our activities, and a short drive from the Cancun airport. All in all a lucky choice that worked out for us.
Despite the conditions you brought us some excellent pictures and cultural history. That church story seems credible
Thank you. Yes, the story seems sort of amazing, while simultaneously credible. Seems like the two new mayors could have left well enough alone, since records show they were elected to their new positions. They also suffered in the end, so their actions were not worth it.
Beautiful, thank you for sharing. How cool to have your personal guide. Did Pedro live in Mexico? My only visits to México are much more pedestrian, Tijuana, Nogales and Ensenada. I have great memories from those places in the 1980s.
Hi Shawn, thanks for commenting. Yes, Pedro was born in Mexico and lived there till he graduated from college. If you stick around with the blog, our second half of our vacation was in Guanajuato, his home town. I’ve been to Tijuana and Ensenada in 2005 when I went there with some college friends. I went to La Paz and Cabo San Lucas when I was in the Air Force, in 1990, so this is my third trip and the first one not in Baja. People have told me Baja is not really Mexico. Ha!! I’m glad you got to go back then. I think things are crazy commercialized now.
I think you’re right! It was a real awakening for me when l drove across the country to Charleston and back twice in 2019–2020. Our entire country has had enormous population growth since the 1980s, l’m sure México is similar. How cool that Pedro would know where to go and where to avoid. What a great couple you guys make!
Beautiful place! I can almost feel the relief of the evening with the blazing sun giving you a rest. Love the vendors and carts in the glow of the lights. I suspect that would be my favorite part of the trip, though seeing the architecture is pretty appealing too. Great adventure!
I dropped the ball on this post for some reason, and my comments were all a mess or neglected. So let me get back to you finally, ha ha! Yes, relief when the sun went down. Gosh almighty it was so sticky. It made us grumpy almost right away, and I’m super grateful that none of us is naturally inclined to grumpiness, so we all pitched in to keep spirits up. The architecture is always a favourite part of my travel. Different shapes and design choices frequently catch my attention.
What a gorgeous looking town. I especially love the pink church with the white detail, which you passed by on your way into downtown, Crystal.
Hi Jolandi! That might have been my favourite church in the town. The design seems more traditional and more of a local architectural design, which I find more interesting than the European style church in the center of town. :o)