Getting Groceries and Running Errands in the Pueblo and Beyond.

Getting Groceries:

The fruits and vegetables, and meat found here in the pueblo is usually local, and therefore organic. Don’t be afraid of buying raw chicken or fish from someone selling it on the side of the street. It is fresh, safe, and less expensive than the supermarket. Follow your nose. If it smells bad, then there is bacteria growing and you should avoid. However, the way things are cooked here, such as deep-fried whole fish and pit barbeque chicken and pork in citrus juice and salt destroys the ‘bugs’. Yes, the stomachs of the locals are more resilient than yours for most things, but they cannot handle the Trichinosis (pork), or Salmonella (chicken) either; so most everything is safer than you probably think. For canned-food and sundries, SuperWilly’s across the street from the palacio, or Duno-Susa in Conkal near CFE is your best option, or simply take a trip to Merida and shop at the Soriana in Plaza Fiesta.

If you can’t find it in the pueblo, take colectivo to Merida and get off at Plaza Fiesta bus stop. It’s inside the periférico, but not all the way to the centro. After you see the arches that enter into the city, you can start looking. There are signs that say: FIESTA, and the shopping center is just one block off Avenida Yucatan, which is the main route into the city. There is a big fountain on the other side of the avenue with a modern-shaped ‘eagle’ extending over the lanes going back to the pueblo, and SAGARPA on your right, or just ask the bus driver for Fiesta. You can however go all the way to Centro Merida for the same bus fare cost ($16 pesos each way) and find a Supermarket there, not far from the Sitio Chicxulub at Calle 52 x 69 y 71.

Medicine:

               There is a pharmacy here in the pueblo, and a medical clinic; but if you need something more you can go to Conkal to the 24 hour pharmacy. It’s 5km by van ($8pesos) or even a mototaxi ($50) will take you. There is also a doctor that will help you fill just about any prescription for $35 pesos, but you kind of have to know what you want first. They will not usually diagnose your problems, but will take your pulse and fill out a prescription you take next door. The dentist is on the main road in the block just past the palacio, next to laundry. Closest hospital is in Merida.

Running Errands:

               Banking: There is one ATM in Chicxulub Pueblo, and one in the SuperWilly’s in Conkal across the side-street from the palacio; or you can exchange $300 US Dollars for Mexican Pesos each day at the Elektra next to Dunosusa in Conkal. They are open from 9am to 9pm. Otherwise, you can find an ATM or Casa de Cambio in Merida around the Main Plaza.

Internet: There is a USB Broadband device available for $350 pesos and about that much for 3GB inside a month so you can get 3G dialup at the property (we are still waiting for some kind of service to arrive); or you can get free wifi in the central park of Chicxulub with your own laptop; or simple visit one of the three internet cafes here for full speed service for only $10 pesos an hour, and there is much appreciated air conditioning inside. Sorry, no coffee.

Laundry: To do laundry, you can do it in a bucket here with laundry soap and hot water, followed by line drying your clothes; or you can ask the neighbor lady in the handmade house next door (who also has fresh fruit ‘paletas’ or ‘popsicles’ for 3.50 pesos); or simply take your bag of dirty clothes on the Colectivo Van to Conkal and get off in the first block after the Palacio. There on your right hand side past the pizza place is the laundry. They charge $7 pesos/kg and it takes less than hours, but they close at 6pm. If you arrive late, you can ask at the pizza place but only in an emergency.

          Eating  out: There is a better selection of restaurants the closer you get to downtown Merida, but costs certainly increase with proximity. In Chicxulub there are authentic food stands serving local cuisine at economical prices; but there are also other kitchens around town that serve meals; and never will you find any meal costing more than $50 pesos with all the trimmings and a drink. Try the wood-fire pizza place on the main road past downtown a couple blocks on your right. You can get your meal cost down to around $25 pesos if you are on a budget. In Conkal, there are is more variety when it comes to eating out. There is an excellent Chicken Rotisserie near laundry with whole chicken and sides for $85 pesos, which feeds three or four regular people; or you can frequent La Porteña, which is an Appetizer/ Beer bar on the corner behind the cathedral museum as you are headed back to Chicxulub Pueblo. Oversized forty ounce beers are served in a glass accompanied by rounds and rounds of appetizers. Here there must be food on the table at all times so they can keep their licensing costs low. So, as long as you are drinking, you are eating. They also offer a full meal of breaded pork or chicken with all the fixings for $35 pesos, though you are obliged to buy a forty!  

Weekly Schedule in the Pueblo:

There is a regular weekly schedule in the pueblo, though unexpected vendors show-up in the pueblo going around announcing their arrival to the plaza in the centro to sell their wares, with some going door to door. Every few days, the Propane Gas Truck passes through and you can always recognize it with its high tone girl voice recording singing “Flete, flete el gas!”; and Once in a while, Fruit trucks pass by announcing their fruit for sale, but you gotta catch’em though! Otherwise, most everyday Jorge the juice guy shows up around 10 or 11am with fresh juice if he knows you are there and will buy. He charges $11 pesos/ litro. Friday is Drinking Water Delivery Day and this is the best way to exchange water bottles (garrafón) for just $10 pesos, otherwise you have to go to the store and pay $22+. The regular water truck passes through everyday, but charges $45! Friday is also the first day for Cochinita Pibil in the plaza and is available through Monday. You can get Tacos or Tortas, or by the Kilo. Fridays there is also a fresh fish vendor in the centro near the mercado; Listen for moto-taxi announcements for other specialties of the local area! Saturday is the best day to go to Merida, but colectivos stop running at 9pm. If you want to stay later, it’s cheaper to rent a hotel room than pay for an actual taxi to get back to the pueblo! There is limited Colectivo Taxi Service to and from Mérida, but you can find Relleno Negro de Pavo at 28 x 19 in the morning to make for a nice Sunday meal! Tuesday there is Fresh Fruits and Vegetables @ Joe Louis’ Frutería on the Main Street near to the Palacio Municipal.