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Cancun
Travel Guide
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Cancun
Dining
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The menu may be more
enjoyable than the meal;
there's nothing I love
more than reading garbled
translations like "Dreaded
meat with potatoes,"
"Eggs with Fool," "Fruit
with ice cream - 5 pesos,
Fruit withnot ice cream
- 3 pesos," "Cheeselies,"
"Smack Pork Chops,"
"Black coffeecup - 5
pesos," "Chicken Car
Cold," and so forth.
-Carl
Franz, The People's
Guide to Mexico
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Cuisine
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From continental
dining, to fresh seafood and
shellfish, to traditional
Mayan cuisine, Cancun offers
a truly dazzling assortment
of dining options. There are
over 200 restaurants; settings
range from fast-food, to casual
bistros, to dinner cruises,
to elegant theme restaurants.
A fun way to start your evening
is to "hotel hop," taking in
several excellent happy hours,
a variety of live music, and
some incredibly beautiful settings.
Yucatan cooking has gained
a reputation as one of the finest
in all of Mexico with a combination
of Mayan and European ingredients,
a tasty byproduct of the Spanish
Conquest. Dishes include the
famous cochinita pibil (suckling
pig baked in banana leaves with
a rich annatto sauce) papadzules
(tortillas stuffed with boiled
eggs in a pumpkin seed sauce)
and panuchos, (tortillas with
fried black beans, chicken and
pickled onions).
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Gastronomic
Tour in Yucatan |
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Location: YUCATAN
Departs From:
MERIDA Transportation
From: MERIDA
HOTELS |
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| This experience
begins in Merida.
You will stop
at a location
that is between
the archaeological
sites of Xlapak
and Labna. It
will then be
time to go to
Mani, where
you'll have
the opportunity
to eat authentic
Yucatecan food.
At the end of
your meal, you
will visit the
ruins of Mayapan. |
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Dinner
Cruises
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| For those
wanting a little adventure,
try one of the popular sunset
cocktail or dinner cruises.
Dinner cruises are like being
on a floating restaurant - a
wonderful way to see the sunset
over the bay and the lights
of Cancun. The dinner
cruises often serve lobster
or steak dinners, drinks, and
include entertainment.
The Captain Hook Galleon is
an especially entertaining show.
This incredible historic experience
focuses on pirates, with sword
fights, exciting music and a
romantic atmosphere, all aboard
an authentic Spanish galleon.
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Dining
Tips
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The Check
Please: It
is considered quite rude for
a waiter to bring the check
before asked. Simply say "la
cuenta por favor" or make the
international scribbling on
your hand sign to get the bill
when you are ready.
Tipping:
Leave a minimum
of 15% for satisfactory service,
or more for exceptional service,
but make sure the tip hasn't
already been added to the bill.
In Spanish, the word for "tip"
is "propina" and may appear
that way on the tab. Your
tab may also say "servicio."
Hours to
Eat: Breakfast
usually starts around 10, lunch
at 1 (the main meal of the day)
and dinner around 9 or even
later. Eating earlier at tourist
restaurants is not a problem
since they start serving breakfast
at 8 or 9, but if you show up
at a truly local place for lunch
at noon, you will find that
nothing is ready yet.
 For
budget food,
follow the locals
and make for the markets. The
biggest in Cancun is Mercado
28 , close to downtown's main
post office at the western end
of Av Sunyaxchen. There are
plenty of food stalls and tiny
cheap restaurants here. The
other market in Cancun, Mercado
23 , is much smaller but makes
a relatively peaceful venue
for a decent Mexican lunch.
From the bus station, walk a
few blocks north along Tulum
and then turn down Flamboyan
or Cerdo. Further along, at
the junction of Tulum and Lopez
Portillo, is a small plaza,
complete with fountain, at the
edge of another market. The
little café here are packed
with Mexican families.
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