After just a few days at home following my Kauaʻi trip, I set off very early in the morning on a trip to Yucatán, Mexico. This would be my second trip here in as many years, and my second trip outside the country this year. My flight was so early the bus didn’t start early enough to get me to BART on time, so I had to take an Uber. I got to the airport in plenty of time and spent the day traveling. I had gone to Mexico a day early to give me a little time to acclimate before the tour. I stayed in a nice Airbnb run by a chef from the Bay Area and her Yucatánian husband. It was in the same general area as the place I stayed after last year’s tour. I arrived in the early evening but didn’t really have time to do any exploring.
Rather than getting picked up at my Airbnb, I was asked to make my way back to the Mérida airport to join up with some of the other participants. I was just a very inexpensive 10 minute Uber ride to the airport. Three of the six photographers had arrived on that morning’s flight, and Dima and Dasha picked us up and we headed out to Izamal and Hacienda Santo Domingo, our base of operations for the tour week. The tour didn’t officially start till noon the next day, but it was nice to get settled in early and be able to relax before the tour. I took the opportunity to walk to downtown Izamal that evening, do some sightseeing, and take some pictures. I also had a nice meal at Kinich, a good restaurant with authentic Yucatán cuisine.