El Volador is a very…very relaxed spot. The writing on the door suggests it opens at 8am but we have yet to see it open anytime before 9am. The young man who is in charge every day is just as cool as a cucumber and all of his friends that come by for coffees and everyone else who comes by for coffees is just really relaxed. Every time Rich comes back from having an espresso there he is just floating a little bit.

El Volador is a very tiny café right on a corner surrounded by a very quiet courtyard. Across is a tiny music school where you often hear students practicing, who all seem to be quite accomplished. In the evening the pedestrian courtyard which doesn’t get a lot of throughtraffic is filled with little boys running around and riding their bikes. In the corners teenage couples cuddle for literally hours, giggling and holding on to each other for dear life.

In the middle of the square is the Cruz de Piedra or Cross made of rock and often this area is more recognized by that name than its actual name Calle Xototl. At one end of the area is the old aqueduct that makes its way for quite a while along Calle Rufino Tamayo into the Xochimilco neighbourhood where all the weavers used to be based but today only a handful remain. This aqueduct supplied water to the city until 1941 and today there are several homes and stores built around the arches which are also made of Oaxaca’s famous green stone.

El Volador, like the buildings that surround it, is a one story building, painted in bright yellows, blues, reds and oranges. There are several painted ceramic tiles on the walls and cactus planted in pots outside windows. You have a choice to sit outside the café on one of the several tiny but surprisingly comfortable wooden chairs, or inside to escape the heat. Inside you can admire the painting on the backwall, a sort of smiley face smoking a cigarette.

The hot chocolate, like all hot chocolate in Oaxaca really, was very nice. I had this one with milk and it was rich and creamy. The hot chocolates here are not sweet but they aren’t bitter either…just right. If you would prefer a coffee El Volador uses their own coffee beans which the owner Alvaro gets from his family’s organic coffee plantation. If you’re lucky you might even see the neighbours dogs out. All three are very cute but one apparently can walk on his hind legs while smiling.

Verdict: Definitely worth the detour. Apparently their brownies are excellent too. El Volador, Calle Xolotl on the corner right next to the statue, Oaxaca, Mexico

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UNESCO World Heritage site Monte Alban is stunning. You don’t see the huge pyramids as you see in other parts of Mexico, or intricately carved buildings and statues. Most of the site is really just ruins. But Monte Alban sits on top of a hill, in fact it was literally carved out of the mountain when it was built. From here you have a view of everything that surrounds it which makes it an extremely tranquil space.

Monte Alban was inhabited for a period of 1,500 years by a succession of peoples – Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs. Many beautiful treasures were found at this site but all have been moved to various museums including the State Museum of Oaxaca and the Anthpology Museum in Mexico City.

We arrived around 9.30am and there were very few tourists. We were accompanied through by probably 200 local school kids, all wearing the same black, red and white jogging suit uniform. Many of them wanted to take pictures of themselves with all the tourists that they met and since there weren’t a lot of tourists we found ourselves dodging selfies.

The walk around the site took longer than we thought and we enjoyed all of it. The ruins are interesting and there is information written throughout about what you are looking at. There are some beautiful views from different parts of the area and it is easy to walk around.

At the entrance where you buy your ticket is a museum with some extra artifacts collected from around the site. In a corner, very easy to miss, is a door that leads to a gorgeous little café. It was completely empty when we finally made it there, which was not surprising because it isn’t obvious at all. The terrace is covered in large cast iron tables painted white, with views of the hills surrounding Oaxaca.

My hot chocolate was great, traditionally prepared, and it had some really good froth. I expect that now that I now that everyone knows how to prepare a proper hot chocolate. You need to use your molinillo to mix everything together well and get those bubbles on top. The bubbles make all the difference. Really they do.

Verdict: Highly recommend this as part of your visit to Monte Alban. Visit early and then when it starts getting hot (there is very little shade here) finish off at the café which is shady and quite beautiful. Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

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The Oaxacan region has over 145 different villages that all specialize in a different artisan craft. Each of these is more elaborate and stunning than the last and you can easily spend days wondering from town to town watching the women and men doing their magic in the same way they have been doing for generations . Over lunch today we stopped at Copal Magico in San Martin Tilcajete, a town known for Alebrije or small wooden figures carved in Copal wood and painted with intricate designs. Here we were able to see the process they use to create these wooden pieces but Roxana, the co-founder of Copal Magico, also taught us how to make Oaxacan Estofado from scratch which we devoured over lunch.

Click on video to view!

After lunch Roxana took out some raw cocoa beans and showed me how to make hot chocolate the old traditional way. No one does it this way anymore because it is very time consuming and requires a huge amount of strength. She told us stories of how when they used to have weddings they would have 15 women set up with stone mutates or grinders, grinding chocolate by hand. The Wednesday before the wedding would be called chocolate day because all the women would come together to prepare the chocolate. Then every day until the wedding as they were doing preparations for the ceremony and party, they would start each day off offering friends and family hot chocolate and sweet breads. The tradition continues today but they just bring their ingredients to the mill.

We took the raw cocoa beans and put them on the comal, a traditional Mexican stove top, to roast on medium heat, strirring them constantly to make sure they roasted evenly. After we took them off the heat and let them cool we easily peeled off the outer layer of the cocoa beans leaving just the chocolate. This was placed on the stone metate along with a generous amount of very aromatic Mexican cinnamon and the work began. A flame placed under the metate keeps the surface relatively warm so the chocolate mixture stays more liquid and easier to mix. Once sufficiently mixed a handful of sugar is added and the resulting mixture is ready to be mixed in to hot water and enjoyed.

It was no surprise that the resulting hot chocolate was really nice. I enjoyed it while admiring the Alebrijes that they make at Copal Magico. They use copal wood which is also used to create the incense used in churches. Depending on the size and shape of the branch they choose to hand carve a different type of animal, it can take weeks, even months to complete some of the more elaborate pieces.

Verdict: I had originally considered buying myself a metate to try making chocolate mixes at home by hand. After seeing how much work this is I think I’ll stick with the pre ground chocolate. Great experience. Copal Magico, San Martin Tilcajete, Mexico

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No trip to Oaxaca is complete without involving Mahsa from Journeys Beyond the Surface in some way into your trip. Originally from Iran but now a local of Oaxaca, Mahsa prepares fantastic tours and knows all the best artisans in the region. We spent several days with her and through her met some really fantastic people.

Today we started at Vida Nueva in Teotitlan del Valle, a Women’s Cooperative made up of women who are all widows, single mothers or unmarried. Here a group of 16 women of all ages have created an incredible organization that empowers not just the women themselves, but the community as a whole. Their main activity is weaving and they weave beautiful carpets by hand using a range of wool string dyed by hand using natural dyes which they sell to the local market. For 30 fascinating minutes she walked us through the different colours they use and how they get those colours. The reds come from a small white insect that grows on cactus leaves called cochineal. When pressed the inside is a bright red. Add more water it becomes lighter and less water it becomes a darker red. Squeeze a hint of lemon juice in and the reds turn into oranges. All of the colours of the rainbow are created using natural ingredients found mostly locally.

In addition to the weaving, the women also use some of the additional revenue they generate to sponsor a number of community projects. They started an impressive local recycling programme, as well as a reforestation programme. They create toys for kindergarden children who are disadvantaged and care packages for older women living alone. After spending an hour listening to them more than willingly share their stories and experiences, there was absolutely no need or expectation to buy something although considering how bueautiful their products are, and how reasonably priced they were, it was hard to leave empty handed. On days that they don’t receive visitors Vida Nueva members sell various other products in the local markets.

Our lunch stop was a trip to Tlacolula market. This Sunday market is just massive as it takes over blocks and blocks of the city, and not surprisingly you can find absolutely anything you could want or need. They have Oaxacan avocados, incense, shopping bags, bowls, and traditional clothes. Although the market is on every day, this extended market that even includes animals is only on Sundays. Right in the center of town, through a quiet church courtyard, is the heart of the market. Here is where the best stuff is sold, the food. When you first enter to the left there is a hallway filled with stalls selling sweet breads. To the right, stalls selling thin strips of raw meat that are cooked right there on the spot for you. The next row on the left is where the lamb barbecue is, one of the main reasons most people make the trip out to this market on Sundays. The area was jam packed and you’ll need some luck to squeeze yourself into one of the benches. We ordered a handful of tacos with lamb, and also a caldo of lamb, a lamb soup that is incredibly addictive. I also followed the cue of some of the locals sitting on the same table as us, and ordered a hot chocolate and a sweet bread. Like I needed any encouragement …..

Click on video below to see the market!

The hot chocolate sort of balanced the sweet and sour flavours of the spices in the tacos and the soup, and because of those flavours, it kind of took on a sweet and sour taste itself, in an incredibly pleasant way. This hot chocolate was made from milk and was nice and creamy. The locals most often order it with a sweet bread, which they will bring over from one of the bread stalls nearby, and dip pieces of their bread into the chocolate. Delicious!

From the safety of our benches we could watch the craziness of the market. At one point a band managed to walk through the market. How they found room to move their instruments around I have no idea but the echo across the building was fantastic. From our benches you could feel the heat coming off the coals from the makeshift burners used to cook the lamb and the goat. Big pots with both types of meat were tended to by women wearing traditional outfits, and men would come by regularly to pour a large container of seasoned liquid into the cooking meat.

Verdict: That lamb stew, and the accompanying hot chocolate, was one of the food highlights of our trip. Puesto de Barbacoa Dona Adolfa, second stall on the right side of the second row on the left (you’ll see the big sign overhead), Tlacolula, Mexico

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Oaxaca is now officially one of my favourite cities, anywhere. The people are incredibly friendly, the food is delicious and there are so many different things to do. It is also a great city for walking with lots of streets dedicated to pedestrians. The whole downtown area is made up of beautifully colourful colonial buildings filled with museums, artisan cooperatives, cafes and restaurants. Crossing the center of town are a number of pedestrian streets, one of which, Macedonia Alcala street, goes past the beautiful Santo Domingo Church. If you are lucky, and we were lucky several times during our trip, you will see some sort of celebration here. A few steps away from the church is your first and most important stop; Casa Mayordomo.

(Click on video below)

There are two main brands of chocolate millers in town, and most of the chocolate comes from one of the two. By far the most popular one, and the one with more stores is Mayordomo. Mayordomo Chocolate was started in 1956 and is a family business from the region. This is Mayordomo’s restaurant where they sell a range of local specialties as well as the only two choices of hot chocolate in Oaxaca (or chocolate as they call it here. It is assumed when you asked for chocolate that you want to drink hot chocolate since no one eats chocolate). You can get it with milk or with water, big or small. We sat down inside and ordered one of each in small (although I would recommend the big). A few moments later one of the waiters arrived with two large green ceramic jugs, one with the milk chocolate and the other with the water chocolate. He used the molinillo, a wooden stick used to mix the chocolate together well and then whisk up the liquid to create a fantastic frothy top. He then filled our little cups as high as they could possibly be filled. And all this for just 20 pesos. Safe to say that the chocolate here was my favourite on our trip to Oaxaca. It was creamy and light, with a hint of cinnamon. Just beautiful. The food here was beautiful as well. We had the mole rojo with pollo, as well as the pozole de pollo, a beautiful soup, although just calling it a soup doesn’t do it justice. All excellent.

Once you have made your body happy with this magical drink, continue your walk down Macedonia Alcala until you hit the Zocalo, the main square and the cathedral. Here again you are likely to see some sort of a party. Today they had several young children dancing traditional dances dressed in beautiful elaborate and colourful outfits. To continue your loop turn around and walk back up the street parallel to Macedonia Alcala called Garcia Viglio. The first part of this road isn’t pedestrian but the second part is. As you get to the end of the non-pedestrian part, right back near the Santo Domingo Church, stop in at a tiny bakery on the corner called Pan&Co. They have the most incredible Pan de Chocolate I have ever had. I was so obsessed with these we ordered several each day. They fill them with Oaxacan chocolate of course. Grab a couple, and then continue down the road past several great restaurant options for dinner. Soon you will reach the old aqueducts and your loop is complete. Beyond these main pedestrian streets you can pretty much walk in any direction in Oaxaca and you will fine something interesting; a local park, interesting stores and restaurants. You can spend hours getting lost (safely) in Oaxaca.

Verdict: Simply a must – start your Oaxaca trip here! Casa Mayordomo, Macedonia Alcala n. 302 Oaxaca, Mexico

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Oaxaca has a number of beautiful markets, each specializing in something different. The Mercado 20 de Noviembre sells bread and chocolate (my kind of market), Mercado Benito Juarez has ceramics, coffee, leather, textiles, and lots and lots of grasshoppers (a local delicacy). Mercado Abastos has ceramics, wooden figures and wrestling masks among other things. Our local market, Mercado Sanchez Pascuas is known for rugs and ceramics but we know it for being a really good daily market with lots of fantastic produce and fresh meat, colorful juices and fantastic food. Perhaps because of its location away from the center, it is calm and happy and people are incredibly friendly.

Traditionally the markets in Oaxaca have two different names, a religious one which comes from the location of the market, and a civil one controlled by the city. Mercado del Carmen Alto is the religious name for this market since it used by be located right across from the Carmen Alto church. But the locals mostly know it by its civil name now, Mercado Sanchez Pascuas, given to this market over 40 years ago when it was first opened

Every day when we were in Oaxaca, we visited this small market for breakfast. There were two food stalls that we preferred and we alternated each day. You can enter the market at Calle del Gral Portirio Dias and Hialgo, through one of two small doors hidden by a beautiful big tree, some interesting graffiti on the wall and a stunning flower stand, and walk through to the other side. There near the back entrance you will see a stand making fresh juice and right in front of that two tables with small red plastic chairs and table clothes on one side and women preparing the food on the other.

There are three separate stands in the row. The first sells tamale, a traditional Mesoamerican dish made with masa (a corn based dough) which is steamed in a leaf. These are filled with meats, cheese and other fillings. Our favourites here were the mole tamale (because of course when in Oaxaca you must eat mole) and also the chepil tamal, chepil being a small green edible leaf very popular in Oaxaca that has an interesting taste that resembles watercrest and spinach. These are easy to buy to go too if you prefer.

The second stand sells memelas. The woman pressed each tortialla fresh as we ordered and it is first cooked on the hot comal. Then a thin layer of lard is spread on it (to make it taste even better although you can ask for it without but why would you really!). Then a layer of bean paste is spread before your choice of toppings. There are a lot of toppings in the different plastic containers on her tiny table and we tried all and they were all equally good. My favorite though was anything with quesillo, the traditional Oaxacan cheese that is stringy and gooey and just delicious. The memelas are presented flat on a simple plastic plate but the easiest way to eat them is by folding them in two and just devouring them while they are nice and hot. Six of these (which are a good size) cost 90 pesos which is nothing for the amount of happiness they gave us and our stomaches. One is probably enough for most people…but we couldn’t get enough.

The third stand is a family selling atole, a traditional masa based beverage. They sell one that is both plane and one sweetened with brown sugar…and of course the very popular atole flavored with chocolate; the champurado. I fell in love with champurado in Mexico City and would be happy to start every day with this drink (as many here do). This one comes in a beautiful clay bowl that had green and blue flowers painted around it for about 15 pesos. A bowl full is almost a full meal in itself. You can get this to go as well.

Verdict: Highly recommend this breakfast combination if you are visiting Oaxaca. My mouth is drooling as I write this. So good. During the week the women pack up right around lunch so make sure if you go for lunch you go early.

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If you are a lover of hot chocolate, there are a few places in the world that you absolutely have to visit, and Oaxaca is one of them. In this magical city of about 200,000 people, everyone drinks hot chocolate, or simply chocolate as they call it. Families have their special blends that they get made up at their local chocolate store, and people usually drink it at home with water, but sometimes with milk. They take their chocolate,  choose how much sugar they want added to the chocolate as well as any other ingredients such as cinnamon, almonds or chili. They then bring their recipes to a number of stores around the Chocolate and Bread market downtown where the staff carefully place them in grinders and lovingly put together their mixes for them to prepare at home.

There are two main chocolate brands available in the market, both have several stalls and stores in the area all with grinders. One is Mayordomo which I will review soon. But today we started off at La Soledad, mostly because locals had recommended it. La Soledad is a family business that started in the 30’s. Back then there was a demand for places to grind the chocolate since most people before then were grinding them by hand, a slow and laborious process. The mills, which originally weren’t made to grind cocoa, were tweaked by the family to make them more effective at producing the slightly rough chocolate texture favored here. Families would arrive with their ingredients and then these would be passed through the molido twice in order to thoroughly mix the chocolate, sugar, cinnamon and almonds. Customers had the choice of receiving their personalized mixes in either rectangular or round tablets or small balls. Because of the popularity, La Soledad soon after started selling the necessary ingredients in the store so that customers didn’t have to bring their own ingredients.

Whether you are a lover of chocolate or not it is worth a visit inside. The walls and counters are made of beautiful intricately engraved wood carvings, made in a local village that specializes in this type of thing. One side of the store has the chocolate for sale with samples of the different hot chocolate mixes they have already prepared as well as mole. In the middle there is a small café area, which is also the breakfast area for the Hotel Chocolate which is housed in the same building. On the other side is the chocolate mixing area. Here you can buy the chocolate pastes already pre mixed but in bulk and can also sample them.  The idea is that you then tell them how much sugar you want added and they make you a personalized mix.

When we arrived, a man had arrived at the same time with not just a family recipe but his own ingredients. A member of the staff took the cocoa nibs and put them through the grinder. Out came this beautiful rich cacao liquor which he let us taste. Completely unsweetened and rough in texture it was quite warm from the friction of the mill. It had a powerful yet pleasant taste, you could really taste the subtleties of the chocolate flavor itself without the distraction of sugar and other ingredients. He then took that chocolate liquor and added almonds and cinnamon and put it through another mill again before mixing in a large scoop of sugar. The whole mix was put into a plastic bag and handed back to the very happy client.

We decided to sit in their café to try their hot chocolate. The café was pretty rough around the edges, with green tartan table clothes and a woman cleaning the walls with a powerful disinfectant as we sat there. But the café was bright and spacious with the same beautiful wooden carvings throughout. We ordered two hot chocolates, their basic with water and their especial (special) with water which has almonds and cinnamon. The chocolate was beautiful. We had tasted the original chocolate a few times in the store and knew that. But we felt somewhat let down as it wasn’t the best of the hot chocolates we had while in Oaxaca (and we expected it would be, but it did have a lot of competition!), too much water and not enough of their beautiful chocolate.

You will not find any other chocolate products such as chocolate bars and treats here. In Mexico people do not eat chocolate bars. Chocolate is sold for two main reasons; to make hot chocolate and to make mole. Oaxaca is famous for its mole and has 7 different types of moles. Several of the moles, in particular mole negro, have chocolate added to them. Making mole is a very elaborate and time consumer process and requires dozens of different ingredients all prepared in a particular way. For example the Mole Oaxagueno has 21 different ingredients! For that reason many buy mole paste and mixes from the market rather than making their own. La Soledad sells a range of moles ready to use at home.

Verdict: Buy a few different types and bring them home to prepare in the comfort of your home rather than having them in store. La Soledad might have a few things to learn from competitors Mayordomo on presentation of their hot chocolate….more on that soon. Regardless, beautiful chocolate and an incredible experience seeing the milling process.  La Soledad Chocolate y Mole, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Valladolid is a colonial city in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, about 130 km West from Cancun, and about half way across to Merida. Often visitors drive nearby on their way to visit major tourist sites such as the impressive Chichen Itza or the ruins of Ek Balam but few take the time to make a stop. Too bad, as they definitely should. It is one of Mexicos “Magical Villages”, given this title because of its natural beauty, cultural riches and historical importance to the country. Before it became a modern city it was a Mayan settlement called Zaci which means ‘white hawk’. Today the streets are still lined with multicolored colonial buildings and 19^th century structures. The people, like most across the Yucatan, are incredibly friendly and are most often found in great numbers in the main plaza with large shady trees and s shaped chairs or ‘confidenciales’ set up to encourage friends to chat or lovers to cuddle.

A short and pleasant walk from the main plaza brings you to Calzado de los Frailes, a beautiful road with a mix of unique Mexican branded stores and restaurants. Right at the beginning of the street you will pass the Fabrica de Chocolate Artesanal Maya Chocol Haa. Easily missed, this building houses an ode to all things chocolate and is a great stop. Part café, part store and part museum, the dark little museum is laid out in a loop made up of 4 square rooms. The first room is the entrance where you are greeted by a very friendly woman who quickly brings you back to room number two. Here she very briefly introduces the museum and encourages you to try all 10 flavours of chocolate that they make, all flavoured with honey rather than sugar as was the traditional Mayan way. There is chocolate with ginger, with aniseed, with chili, 100% cacao with no honey. The next little square room has a number of really interesting old hot chocolate holding vessels, from France, the UK and of course Mexico and if you are lucky sometimes they have a live display of women grinding cocoa beans behind a glass window. The last room has some pictures of the cocoa growing process.

The most interesting part of the whole museum is through a little door between the 3^rd and fourth rooms. This brings you out to a beautiful bright and colourful terrace where you can order one of their hot chocolates. A number of square wooden tables are surrounded by brightly painted chairs, scattered throughout an interesting secret garden with cactus and a small. A miniature door at the edge of the garden gives a view of the street outside.

For 25 pesos the woman at the counter highly recommended the hot chocolate ancestral served in a traditional Jacara or dried gourde. They had several other options including one that was made of 100% cacao but we went for this one. It had a nice mix of spices, a secret recipe she told us, and was very enjoyable.

Verdict: Valladolid is a really nice stop full of energy and beautiful buildings….and a great hot chocolate. Fabrica de Chocolate Artesanal Maya Chocol Haa, Calzado de los Frailes on the corner of sisal, Valladolid, Mexico

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It is unfortunate that people usually only visit this region to go to Cancun and the surrounding beaches, because the real treasure of the Yucatan region is the food. Every region of Mexico has its own distinct food, but Yucatan food is by far my favourite. Hacienda Ticuche is where we go to every time we are in the region to stuff ourselves silly. I can’t even begin to explain how good the food is. Order the sopa de lima, a gorgeous chicken soup made with tortilla chips and a generous squeeze of lime. Have the cochinita pibil as your main course, an incredible piece of pork marinated in antijote and banana leaves and cooked in a pit. Today was our second time here in 3 years, and both times it was equally good. The staff are over the top helpful and friendly, and the restaurant itself is a beautiful space with an indoor and outdoor terrace. They even have a tiny church at the end of a long stone path with dozens of proud peacocks and cactus.

The only thing that isn’t perfect about Hacienda Ticuche in our eyes is the hot chocolate. Amazingly for Mexico, the Hacienda has one of the worst hot chocolates I have ever had … and I should have seen it coming. In fact I pretty much asked for it. I asked our friendly waiter for a hot chocolate and he looked at me confused…”We have chocolate milk…do you want that hot”. I was so excited at the idea of sharing Hacienda Ticuche with you that I said yes … no sooner had I done so, I realized he probably meant a super sweet kids chococlate milk and that is exactly what they brought me, a slightly burnt chocolate milk for kids served in a large clear class. We pushed it quickly to one side and decided to focus on everything else we love about Hacienda Ticuche.

Oddly enough, we don’t actually know that much about the Hacienda. I don’t remember how I found it to begin with, and I haven’t been able to find much of anything written about it online. Even Tripadvisor that always has something has not one review of Hacienda Ticuche. But we love it and I would easily spend an afternoon sitting on the terrace. That’s a day I highly recommend.

Verdict: The drive from Cancun to Ticuch is incredible easy and fast along the new superhighway that connects Cancun with Merida so no excuse not to visit and enjoy the food. Oh so good. Hacienda Ticuche, Km 170 on the road from Merida to Puerto Juarez (just outside of Valladolid), Ticuche, Mexico

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We were last in Playa del Carmen about 3 or 4 years ago for just a couple of days break before attending a wedding in Cancun, and it has changed a lot since then. Gone are the little independent stores I loved along the main pedestrian walkway, replaced by many more large mainstream brands from Europe and North America. But the Playa del Carmen charm is still there. It feels more like Mexico than Cancun, that’s for sure, but is still very touristy. There is a long, very pleasant pedestrian road that goes parallel to the beach for several kilometers lined with tourist shops, lots of American sports bars where you can get highly alcoholic marguerites, most of the people walking down the street are wearing flip flops, beach shorts and no tops. It is where the tourists go when they need a break from the sun and sand and most of what is here caters to them.

That being said there are little jewels here and there, as well as just outside the pedestrian area. One of my favourite reasons to visit Playa del Carmen is Ah Cacao, a local chain only found in Playa del Carmen which sells a range of hot chocolates and all other things made from chocolate…good chocolate. They have several options to choose from when it comes to hot chocolate and surprisingly, even with the heat, at least I feel you can easily sit on the terrace under one of their fans and enjoy one while watching Playa del Carmen walk by (there is also a small air conditioned area in the back). They have hot chocolate with milk or with water, thick sipping chocolate, a traditional chocolate with cinnamon and vanilla. We ordered the Mayan chocolate with a mix of spices including honey and a slight hint of chili. It was rich and creamy yet light and frothy, perfectly prepared with a nice characteristic Mexican frothy top and a nice kick of chili. Ah Cacao also offers a range of other products made with chocolate including soaps and shampoos in case you want the complete chocolate experience.

After enjoying my hot chocolate, we walked back along the long pedestrian stretch. As when we reached a large square towards the opposite end, they had some traditional dances happening for the enjoyment of tourists and locals alike (there were more locals watching than tourists actually). One involved several men dressed in very colourful outfits who had climbed an incredibly tall poll. They sat at the top for several minutes as another man sat in the middle played a flute. Then when they were ready they dropped, held to the pole by a strong rope, and slowly and magically spun around the pole, descending as the rope unwrapped.

My other favourite thing to do in Playa del Carmen is to stop on the beach at sunset and grab a little table in the sand and order a Negro Modelo followed by a really nice Mezcal as the sun goes down (forget about the Tequilla and try the Mezcal…a better drink in my opinion than Tequilla and also not bad mixed into a hot chocolate- see my review from Mexico City). I used to have two stores I loved in Playa del Carmen as well as a great little boutique hotel but sadly, all three places have been torn down and replaced by shiny new shopping malls with a surprisingly good mix of mainstream stores if you are in a shopping mood. At least Ah Cacao is not just still there but thriving (and spreading, they have several locations now) which is all the reason I need to stop here if I’m ever in the region again.

Verdict: A good stop to recover your energy before making your way back along the pedestrian walkway. Ah Cacao, 5^th Avenue and Constituyentes, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

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