Social responsibiliy

At La Texana we're keen to give back a little of us to the community which is why we went to the community of Kochol, Yucatán, home of our unconditional friend Emiliano to donate some clothes and shoes.

Dinner with Emiliano and his family

Thank you Emiliano and family for having a great afternoon at your place and thanks to all who donated. It's the little things in life that make a change. 

If you also want to give back a little don't hesitate to contact us. We are willing to organise visits to local communities throughout all the semester.

La Texana goes Fashion

Last Saturday it was all about fashion, lifestyle and culture:

we visited the 7th edition of El Mercadito Bazar - a fashion and lifestyle event with numerous young Mexican designers showing their work.

Welcome to Mercadito Bazar

It varied from fashion, graphic, industrial, illustrational and music works. Our favourites were the individual designed iPhone cases, handbags of all kind of materials (Frida Kahlo printed), jewelry (especially the bracelets and necklaces from Citrina) and the fancy t-shirts from Hipster Glam which were all on affordable prices. The bazar was located at Tequila, one of the most famous clubs in Merida.

Exhibition of designers 

Another highlight this day was La Noche Blanca which is held twice a year in the historic centre of Merida. That night the centre of Merida turns into a big hub of locations and events like concerts, circus artists, cinema and theatre and many more.

La Noche Balnca - Cathedral de Yucatán

Our first stop was the fashion show of David Salomon - a Mexican designers, originally from Merida who dressed american actresses like Kate Walsh, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and many more. He presented his collection "Fortuna" in front of the Cathedral de Yucatan in the heart of Merida.

David Salomon fashion show

La Texana Cocktail Night

Last friday we hosted La Texana Cocktail Night at Casa Naña which is one of our student homes.

We invited a professional Bartender who brought all his equipment and taught us four delicious cocktail recipes. As a group of total beginners we had a lot of fun. We worked in teams of two and started a competition whose cocktails tasted the best.



We learned that every cocktail always is made of 3 basic ingredients:

- base of alcohol (in our case gin or vodka)
- base of juice
- a tasteful addition (like herbs, honey etc.)


Among others we used ingredientes like cucumbers and apple slices to experience a different taste than the usual Caipirinhas or Mojitos. It was pretty interesting learning about the secrets of cocktail mixing from a professional bartender.

Let's go: La Texana cocktail night

The equipment

Tasting the first cocktail

Cheers from Brazil and Germany

Our selection of cocktails:

1. Golden Fusion
    (Vodka, mint liquor, lemon juice,
     cucumber, marmalade, ginger ale)
2. Polar Gin
    (Gin, Blue Curacao, lemon juice, mint,
     sugar, ginger ale)
3. Red Joy
    (Gin, honey, apple juice, red fruit tea)
4. Spicy Ro 
    (Gin, orange juice, lemon juice,
     cucumber, chilli)


Our favorite was definitely Golden Fusion :)

Polar Gin, Golden Fusion, Red Joy and Spicy Ro (left to right)

You better Belize it !!!

If you are thinking about travelling through middle America you shouldn't miss out the pretty caribbean island Caye Caulker in Belize. Last weekend we organised a tour to this tiny little piece of land located in the second largest reef after the famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia: the Belize Barrier Reef.

We started our trip from Merida southwards to Chetumal, a city just a few km from the border, from where we took a local Belizean bus - kind of American school Bus without Air Condition and many room for your legs - to get to Belize City: 4 hours for some 160 km due to many bus stops and bad road conditions. Once you crossed the border to Belize you find yourself in a totally different world compared to Mexico: the official language is English with some creole and Spanish influences, you pay in Belizean Dollar and its much more harder to for example negotiate for prices.

On our way to Belize City 

After another 1-hour boat ride we finally made it to Caye Caulker. Its like Holbox in Mexico but with a touch of relaxed and laid back Jamaican feeling. You will find that spirit all over the island: colourful wooden signs of "Go slow" , "No shirt, no shoes, no problem". It's basically the dream of every backpacker. The majority of the inhabitants are Belizeans from all ethnic groups (Asians, Africans, Creoles) and some european and north american guys who started restaurants or hotels there (check out the Caribbean Color Art Cafe by Lee Vanderwalker for delicious food and marvellous caribbean art). 

"Go slow hot dog crossing"

Once we all settled down in our hotel we went to explore the island by foot (you also can rent bikes or golf cars but walking still is the most relaxed way to discover the island). On the North end of the island you will find the Split - a cool spot to hang around at day to get tanned or meet backpackers and locals. It's named the Split because the island was splitted by a heavy hurricane in the 60s.
We checked out the different tour operators doing snorkeling tours in the nearby reef and went for some drinks at Barrier Reef Sports Bar and Reef and later on for the best pizza of the island at Pizza Caulker owned by Greg a pretty crazy Canadian (don't miss the coconut rum shots).

The next day after breakfast at Cubana House we did a combined fishing and snorkel trip with a local fisher. Unfortunately we didn't fish that much and either saw that many fishes how they promised us. Its recommended doing that tour with a licensed company as only they have access to the reef. For dinner some went to the Happy Lobster and others to Habaneros - both serve delicious seafood for a reasonable price and we again popped by the Sports bar for Karaoke.

Let's go snorkeling

Caribbean views 

The next morning we used to explore the island per bike or foot and bought some souvenirs before we took the water taxi to San Pedro (remember Madonnas' La isla bonita: Last night I dreamed of San Pedro). From here we took a speedboat to the city of Corazal which we thought would save us some time instead of taking the bus again (even if it had some kind of charme). The drive is two hours and you're likely to get seasick I wouldn't recommend that option. Corazal is just a few minutes from the border and it's easy to get taxis close to the harbour. 

Here some facts you should consider when travelling to Belize from Mexico:
- exit fee Mexico 306 MX
- exit fee Belize 300 MX
- entry fee Mexico 300 MX (as you're entering via land)
- best place to change Pesos to Belizean Dollar is at the border
- be prepared that Belize is relatively expensive compared to Mexico
- it's not recommend negociar for prices

Anyhow you shouldn't miss to visit this beautiful spot, so enjoy your trip and remember to go slow and better belize it.

Tulum - the best place ever

Two weeks ago we organised a trip to one of the most beautiful spots at Riviera Maya: Tulum

As almost everybody was thinking about going to Tulum this weekend - if just to relax or to go to Full Moon Party - we had quite a lot people who wanted to go with us. But as we alreday had made reservacion with our hostel in Tulum we couldn't bring more than 24 people.So we started early on friday morning to made it on time tour first destination: the ruins of Cobá - some 40 km west of Tulum. The ruins of Cobá are with 40 m height one of the largest at the Yucatan Peninsula. Located at the jungle you can discover it by feet or on bike - what the majority of us decided to do. Regardless of the hot and humid climate the whole group took the challenge of climbing up the pyramids which was pretty much worth it.

Discovering the ruins of Coba by foot and by bike 

Chilling at the beach

Once all had taken their pictures we continued our journey and arrived at Tulum in the afternoon. After checking in to our Hostel - a literally round experience we spent the afternoon at the beach (Playa Paraiso - the name says it all)) and Adelita Beach Bar where they serve the best coconut shrimps (Camarones al coco) I've ever had. We passed some hours there doing nothing but relaxing, having some chelas and walking along the beach. At night we went to Playa del Carmen for dinner and some drinks (most of the beach restaurant in Tulum are either kind of expensive or are closing around 6 pm).

Most famous photo spot of Tulum

The next day we visited the ruins of Tulum which are in second place after Chichin Itza the most visited ruins - or at least they seem to be due to loads of tourists from all over the world wandering around and taking the obligatory picture with beach and ruins in the background (of course we did so as well). After that we spent the afternoon at the beach with some of us doing a snorkeling tour and later a fishing tour and others just were handing around relaxing or exploring the beach and nearbys.


Those who went fishing brought some calamaris and fish which they cooked at night. Everywhere close to seaside around Yucatan you can find that delicious dish made of all types of seafood: Ceviche. While preparing it we realized how much time it takes to make it as you have to make sure that the fish is properly cleaned and pickled. It was a great feeling preparing the food that you just fished out of the caribbean sea. After dinner and some pre drinks the majority of us went to Full Moon Party hosted by Papaya Playa Project - a hotel and beach club directly at the beach.

Beach of Akumal 

The next day was "Sunday off" meaning that everybody could do what they want. Some went to the beach again, some had to stay in the hostel due to bad hangover and others went to the beach of Akumal, snorkeling with turtles - which I definitely would recommend. By entering the beach there a lot of guides waiting and wanting to sell their "snorkel tours" saying that you only will see turtles when you go with them. Don't trust them! You will see a lot of turtles when you rent the equipment on your own (less expensive) and share it with some friends (we rented two and shared it with four people).

Tired but full of new amazing impressions of the treasures of Mexico we made our way back to Merida in the late afternoon.

Tulum - we will miss you. We'll be back soon. 

Mexican Oktoberfest

As we all know the German Oktoberfest is one of the most famous cultural celebrations of the world.

Even here in Mexico there are german communities organising this event. This weekend some local german companies are organising the Oktoberfest Mérida 2014 with german food, party traditions and - of course - a lot of German beer in Merida.

Let's see how that will feel like for our german exchange students.

Keep you posted...

Cenotes and Charrería

Mix of cultures: mayan pyramid and hispanic church

One thing that you can find widely throughout in the state of Yucatan are cenotes (natural sinkholes resulting from a collapse of limestone bedrocks that expose groundwater underneath). Some very nice ones are located just 50 km in the south east from Merida, so we organized a trip to visit them with some of our students. Leaving Merida early in the morning, we first stopped for the city of Acancéh where we visited a mayan pyramid from the early classic period (founded between 200 and 300 AD). The view of the prehispanic monument and the spanish colonial architecture of the church right beside the pyramid was impressive. I guess this is one of the only places where you can find the heritage of both cultures that close.

Mototaxis

Hispanic church 

After a quick guided tour around the pyramids we continued our journey to the city of Cuzama. There were already some guides waiting on the road offering us tours to some cenotes but we decided to go straight to the cenotes of Chelentún. We started our tour to 3 cenotes on little train waggons drawn by horses. The cenotes were all surrounded by jungle so the only way to access them was via the narrow railway. The first one was more a cave (gruta) then a cenote. Its entrance was beneath a tree and to access we had to climb down a narrow stair beside the roots of the tree. Down there it was very dark - without the help of our guides we couldn't hardly see anything. The second one was the biggest and most beautiful one. This place had some kind of magic atmosphere: the crystal clear water with the sun entering through to holes and all the roots hanging down like lianas. The water was pretty cold but it was a great refreshment though. The third one was the largest one with a water depth of 27m and 10m height until the ceiling of 10 m.

Horse Railway

Cenotes of Chelentún

Watching Mexican national sports

Once we had done all the three cenotes we headed back with the horse railway and made it, after a short detour due to miserable road signs, to our second and last destination for that day: the Charrería event just in the small town of Baca. We went to the stadium/ranch named "El coraje" (the courage). Charrería is one of the national sports of Mexico. It is a competitive event, similar to rodeo, where the teams have to simulate the animal husbandry practices used on the haciendas of old Mexico. There are different disciplines with cattle and horse. The goal basically is to get control over the animal (horse or cattle) through catching it with a lasso, depending on time and the used techniques. The "charros" - participants in Charería events - wear traditional clothes with big hats (sombreros). We spent the rest of the afternoon there watching it and trying to get into the rules - which however at first wasn't that easy.

I would really recommend visit at least some of the hundreds of cenotes close to Merida and if you're interested in horse-riding and are keen about to learn more about the Mexican's national sport you should definitely invest some time and visit one of the Charreria events.