Beach day! We hired a driver to take us to Progreso. His name was Dario associated with Transportes Turisticos Ricalde y Asociados https://www.facebook.com/TransporteRicaldeYAsociados/ The driver was good but in hindsight we would have looked into other alternatives like the bus. Why? Progreso is very easy to get to; just a ~45 min drive along a smooth freeway. Also we thought we would explore neighboring areas but our driver said most of the places were private residences which limited places to stop.
Despite being different than we expected, we had a fun beach day! We were picked up at our house about 9:20am and just under an hour later we were at the beach. Our driver made some restaurant recommendations, gave us his contact information, then went to find parking. We strolled around for a little to get a feel for the place. There were a few vendor stalls being set-up for the day and some locals tending their businesses (including a very friend large guy who said he had moved there from Florida several years ago. He appeared very comfortable in his deck chair outside of his stop. I imagine he is a fixture there). I would guess that this place feels very different when the cruise ships start up again. Speaking of which, the dock is an impressive site. It looks like a road that heads off into the water. At 4 miles long it’s considered to be the longest (or one of the longest depending on different websites) in the world.
We had breakfast overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at a place called Crabster Seafood. It is higher scale that your typical beachside restaurant and very good food. We would definitely eat here again!
After breakfast we decided to enjoy the beach. There were many vendors offering their table, chairs, and umbrellas in exchange for a minimum order. Maybe because it was early and Monday but we got the table for a promise to have more than one beer. We drank six over the next few hours as we relaxed on the white sand beach and swam in the ocean.
About 3pm in the afternoon we went to the restaurant (Eladio’s) that our driver had recommend. He walked us in past a group of people waiting at the host desk, said something to the host, and then escorted us to a prime place on the covered patio. He told us that if we ordered drinks they would bring us free appetizers. We did and they did. And we repeated :) It was quite a range of ceviches, empanadas, and kibi’s. https://www.eladios.com.mx
As we drove back into Merida the skies opened up for a short but very heavy rain storm. It was amazing how the streets filled with water then quickly drained moments after the rain stopped.
After eating, drinking, and lounging all day we decide to take a long walk through town (according to my Apple Watch we covered 6.2 mile on that day). The damp streets and sunset made for some beautiful views. For dinner we grabbed some tacos al pastor tacos at Los Trompos. This is a local chain that specialized in tacos and pizza.
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