Hello World! Had to take a little break there as I’m laser-focused on the Udemy course I mentioned in my last Resource Roundup post. I’ve traveled to a couple new cities and have been seeing some cool things which I have a growing backlog of video content to make vlogs for, but we’ll get to that later. For now, just know that I’m enjoying myself traveling all over Mexico and will be sharing more about my travels in the future. For today, I’ll babble a little about what I’ve been doing then share some delicious Yucatecan dishes I’ve tried and enjoyed so far!
How’s Life?
Life is good. It’s been truly amazing doing exactly the thing I wanted to do. Being in different environments, seeing different types of people and things around me all while committing myself wholly to learning and growing myself intentionally in the ways I want to. My willpower and discipline have been tested for sure, as the extreme heat and humidity here (100F+, 70% relative humidity) can make me want to lay down in my hammock all day, but I carry on and move forward. To be clear, I’d still choose this weather over the cold any day as long as I have access to the temporary relief of air conditioning.
My goal is to complete my Udemy course by the end of this month, so tunnel vision mode is definitely activated. I haven’t been doing anything too exciting outside of walking past very old and beautiful buildings and parks between cafes, taking pictures and videos, and doing a little online research on the places I’m seeing. I’m depending on walking, Uber and tried the local bus to get around, but had a hard time finding a bus pass. I’m in kind of a reclusive place right now and as much as I originally thought I wanted to be making a bunch of friends and finding community, I’m hoarding all my time to myself in this season of life. I’ll chat with people here and there, but honestly most of my time is spent alone and I can’t say I don’t like it.
I’ll get into my route and travels more later, but for now I’ll just share that I’m still on the Yucatan Peninsula and in my 68 days here, have spent time in 2 of Mexico’s 31 states (plus Mexico City, which is kind of like the District of Columbia, not technically a state). This is a big country with many different cultural identities. The Mayans of the Yucatán peninsula have distinct features that you can easily see in the facial features and stature of most people out and about. I’m thinking about how the people, energy and food will change as I journey on to other regions. As a black American, I have to say that I think we tend to be nervous about how we’ll be treated for our skin color, but I haven’t had any negative experiences and have only felt welcomed everywhere I go. Keeping in mind the context of me being American – meaning, as a wise citizen-of-the-world I met along my journey aptly observed – the only color they see when someone realizes you’re American is GREEN. Although fun fact: Canadians are a lot more valuable than Americans as tourists because they spend around double the time on vacation vs US tourists.
OK, that’s enough chit-chat. Now to the important part: The Food
December of last year, I finally got hit by an ailment that’s plagued all the women in my immediate family for years: gluten intolerance. This plus eliminating pork from my diet years ago has limited the delicious regional dishes I’ve been able to try. Pork is pretty big here due to Spanish influence, but fortunately many of the dishes that are traditionally pork are available in other meat options. It actually hasn’t been hard at all finding good food to eat with my dietary restrictions, mainly because corn is such a carb staple in Mexico. Below I’ll share some of my favorite dishes I’ve enjoyed and that I’d like to add to my home kitchen arsenal whenever I have one again. In no particular order, here are the Yucatecan dishes I’ve been drooling over. Mis platos favoritos Yucatecos:
Panuchos
For the base, 2 corn tortillas sandwiching a layer of black beans. Savory, crunchy, delicious. On top of this sits a nice heap of lettuce topped with a healthy serving of shredded meat. this photo shows turkey. To top it all off, some cool refreshing amendments, usually pickled red onion, tomato and avocado. Here I had cucumber too. This is such a solid lunch that can be found easily at an affordable price – $5 or less- at most loncherías on the Yucatán Peninsula. A delicious, but messy meal. If you want to look cute while eating, save this one for another time.
Papadzules
I stumbled upon papdzules at a seafood restaurant that lured me in with their air conditioning and not completely unreasonable prices as I was strolling down the Corredor Gastronómico de Mérida. I honestly ordered them because the cheapest thing on the menu wasn’t available that night and this was next-cheapest 😏. I ended up enjoying them so much though, I went back the next day for more. Papadzules are almost like enchiladas. Corn tortillas stuffed with shrimp (they’re usually made with eggs, but since this was a seafood restaurant, they used seafood) and bathing on the plate in savory tomato and pepper sauces. So good.
Sopa de Lima
I admit I am confused about how a hot soup made it on the short list of must-try Yucatecan dishes I keep hearing about. But here we are and there I was in Valladolid being recommended to try it in the middle of a 100-degree day. So I ordered an agua fresca (refreshing juice made with fresh fruits), gave myself a pep talk, and ate the soup. Accompanied by fried tortilla chips, this soup left me feeling nourished and hydrated. There was plenty of chicken, diced onion and parsley in the slightly tart broth that carried the flavor of lime. It was a great meal, and anyone who knows how much of a life-hack soup is as a meal-prep option during the winter months might appreciate adding a sopa de lima recipe to their rotation.
Marquesitas
So you know how in Tulum I was struggling for gluten-free sweet treats and decided to take matters into my own hands and make choco-quesadillas? Well, it turns out that idea, like most others in 2026, was not an original one. Marquesitas are delicious, thin crispy flour-based sweet tortillas that are classically filled with cheese, rolled up and served hot. You’ll see marquesita stands all over cities, especially in popular parks and walkways. Like most street food, you get to watch the treat made right in front of you. A liquid batter poured onto a cast-iron surface that sits over a flame. The top is closed and it’s flipped a couple times like a very thin waffle iron. Then the lid is flipped open and you get to choose from a pretty wide selection of fillings – nutella, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, jams, bananas, and most importantly, a big ol handful of freshly shredded cheese. The classic maarquesita is just cheese, but the combos with other ingredients are too good. The tortilla is rolled up, bagged, and handed to you straight off the grill. Crispy, savory, sweet. Worth the gluten cheat. [Editor’s note: between writing this and posting, I had to go do some additional research and have another marquesita and yes I can confirm with fresh perspective that they are delicious and excellent desserts. 10/10, no notes].
Cacao (especially Mayan Cacao)
I’m posting these foods in no particular order, but if you know me, you know chocolate has a special place in my heart. So being in one of the regions of the world where cacao was first cherished as a divine gift from Mother Earth (or rather, from the gods), Yucatecans know how to use the plant. The first documented domestication of the cacao plant was allegedly by the Olmec peoples 3000+ years ago – honestly, hard to know if this is accurate since multiple sources online are saying different things. Some more recent discoveries have dated it back to 5,000+ years ago in The Amazon. Regardless, the Mayans later adopted its use for medicinal purposes, making hot drinks from the fermented beans with water and other plants and spices. This is where delicious and savory hot cacao drinks, specifically Mayan chocolate that you’ll find at chocolate cafes, came from. A thick, savory chocolate (cacao + sugar + fat) drink with a kick of spice from the chili pepper and sometimes cinnamon mixed in. As someone who isn’t too much into coffee culture, I feel like I can finally relate to the hype. I came across this pretty cool YouTube video where this guy, Max Miller, explores the history of cacao and prepares some at home. There’s so much mythology around this plant and also it’s delicious which is why I’m just gonna say it, she’s my favorite on this list ok there I said it.
And those are the favorites so far. I’m telling you, writing about these has highly influenced what today is gonna look like for me. Time for me to get back to my Udemy course. And of course, more field research on food as well.
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Omg that food looks amazing 😍