Xcalak Guide Profile – Orlando Batun
We have a lot of great independent fly fishing guides here in Xcalak. I am putting up profiles of the guides in this space. I have personally been out fishing with every one that is highlighted here so I can personally vouch for their expertise and professionalism. Orlando is another one of the up and coming guides here in Xcalak. Orlando is Alejandro Batun’s cousin, so guiding is in his blood. Although he hasn’t been guiding for very long, he has years of experience in boats and knows
Victor Manuel Castro
Victor Manuel Castro Gutierrez has passed on today. He had COVID-19. For those who didn’t know Victor, he was one of the best human beings I knew. I loved him as a fly fishing guide. He guided my first Permit in 2009. And he guided my biggest permit in 2017. It is still the biggest permit caught in the Silver Scales Fly Fishing Tournament. But Victor was much more than a fly fishing guide. He became my best friend in Xcalak. Yes, we had a business relationship. His
Rental Cars
Although it is possible to get to Xcalak via bus, the preferred method to get to Acocote Eco Inn from the airport is renting a car and driving down. This has a number of advantages. You can get to our restaurants in town, maybe do a day trip to a Mayan ruin. If you are fly fishing, you can take your car to meet your guides, or if you are doing DIY fishing, you can access miles of wade-able flats chasing permit and bonefish. Although it does seem a
Restaurant Review – El Meson del Marques
Overview This restaurant is in the hotel in the main square in Valladolid, The hotel is a nice place to stay as well, but this is a review of the restaurant. You enter the restaurant from main square in Valladolid. It is in an open air courtyard. And the menu is mainly Yucatecan fare, and it is delicious. Our Visit Whenever we go to Valladolid, we usually have at least one meal at El Meson del Marques. Last time, we stayed there as well. The rooms are comfortable. Nothing super fancy,
Day Trips from Xcalak – Convent de San Bernardino in Valladolid
This is another attraction in Valladolid. Traveling around the American West, you get used to seeing "really old" stuff be from 1800's, and even on the east coast the 1700's. Valladolid is a very different experience. The Convent of San Bernardino is just a Kilometer from the center of town. The building was started in 1552, only 60 years after Columbus first sailed the ocean blue. It was completed in 1560. The church itself was called the Church of San Francisco, because it was built for the
Restaurant Review – Market at Filipe Carillo Puerto
Ok, another post of a not quite restaurant. This is in the Market at Filipe Carillo Puerto. Driving down from Cancun, Filipe Carillo Puerto is the largest town you will run into south of Tulum. It is roughly half way between Cancun and the turnoff to Mahahual near Limiones. If you go through town down the main drag from Cancun heading south, when you come to the main traffic circle, the market is to your right or to the east. There is parking right before you get
Day Trips from Xcalak – Oxtankah Ruins
Overview After cheating a bit on this blog calling Calakmul a "Day-trip", this is truly a day-trip from Xcalak. If you are in Chetumal and have some extra time, Oxtankah is a nice ruin close to town in a park-like setting. The ruin itself was probably founded in the Pre-classic around 600 BC and was an important ceremonial center for the settlements along the coast of Chetumal Bay including the island of Tamalcab. It was populated all the way through the terminal Classic era until about 1100 AD. By the
Restaurant Review – La Braceria
Overview If you are staying in Tulum on your way down to Xcalak, and you have a hankering for a good steak, give La Braceria a try. Our Experience So we went to La Braceria on the recommendation of one of our neighbors and fellow Xcalak Hotel owner. We were spending the night at the Casa Sofia in Tulum and decided to check it out. By the way, if you do stay at Casa Sofia, it is literally on the next block. The restaurant is a block off the main drag, so you
Day Trips from Xcalak – Calakmul
So this is cheating a bit. This is probably not a day trip from Xcalak for most people. It took us about 6 hours one way to get there from Xcalak. When I was first researching it, google maps said 6 hours, and I couldn't believe it because it didn't look that far. But the last 60 km is on a windy narrow road and the last 30 KM has a 30 KM/Hr speed limit. So it doesn't take that long to get to the turn off.
Second Annual Silver Scales Xcalak Fly Fishing Tournament 2018
Overview This was the second edition of the Silver Scales Xcalak Fly Fishing Tournament. To see the write up of the first tournament click here. So this year we had 10 boats and 20 anglers including Alejandro "Mr. Sandflea" Vega, Jose "Careto" Ucan who won the Del Brown Permit Tournament this year, Guides from Holbox and El Pescador in San Pedro Belize, along with competitors from Argentina, and the US. As last year, the registration dinner was the Thursday night before the tournament. Well attended by the new Municipal President,