A little birthday trip

We just did a whirlwind four day tour of the northern Yucatan, along the Gulf Coast. We have never been in this area, except for Isla Holbox and wanted to check it out. Hardly worth the gas to get there. We drove to Valledolid and then headed due north to Tizimin, the 3rd largest city in the Yucatan. We stopped along the way to see the Maya ruins at Ek Balal. Small site but well worth the visit. I do recommend it. Then a night in Tizimin at a sleezy hotel. This is not a tourist town and the accomodations were few and far between. I spent the night sleeping on a mattress that felt like it had been stuffed with broken rebar pieces! Then on to Rio Lagartos. We wanted to hire a boat and go out to the estuary to see the flamingos. Except this is the off season and there was nobody around. So we had to be content to just see them from shore. Big deal, pink birds. Next stop was the little village of San Felipe. Very quaint and picturesque. Houses made of wood and all brighly painted. Had breakfast there and headed out. Next we drove the road from hell along the Gulf Coast to Progresso. This road was so narrow it looked more like a bicycle path. When the rare oncoming vehicle was met, we actually had to drive into the jungle at the side of the road to avoid being sideswiped! Not to mention the giant potholes everywhere. And we saw more SNAKES! either crossing the road or being eaten by vultures after having been run over than we saw the entire time we were in Costa Rica! Progresso was nicer than we thought and the 6 mile wharf there is quite impressive. Then on to one of our favorite cities, Merida. Spent the day shopping and then returned home safe and sound. An interesting little trip but I would not repeat it. The Gulf Coast is totally devoid of anything interesting and even places to eat are few and far between. Oh well, can tick that off our list now.