Yucatan and Mexico | Carol Chapman

My Favorite Restaurant in the World

Tea and a Purse Rack at El Meson del Marques, Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico

Not only is the food magnificent and the service supreme, but imagine that when you sit down, the waiter/waitress not only pulls out the seat for you to sit on, but also brings out the purse rack so you don’t have to put your pocketbook on the floor. My favorite meal? Guacamole made at the table and sopa de lima–a traditional Mayan chicken soup with strips of tortillas soaking in the broth and a slice of lime adding that certain special flavor. El Meson del Marques is in Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico. It is a little-frequented gem that many tourists miss. But it is heavenly. It too is in the Yucatan Travel Movie.

Videotaping Zaci Cenote in Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico

Carol Chapman videotaping Zaci Cenote in Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico Photo by John Chapman

Here I am videotaping the cenote, or sinkhole, in Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico. This Valladolid cenote, called Zaci, is featured in the Yucatan Travel Movie. There are many of these sinkholes throughout the state of Yucatan and its nearby state of Quintana Roo. The fresh water within the cenotes provided water for the indigenous Mayan people, because the northern Yucatan Peninsula does not have rivers, streams, or lakes–no surface water. Rainwater trickles down through the limestone earth of the northern Yucatan Peninsula to form underwater rivers. The cenotes provide openings to the underwater rivers. I love the deep turquoise color of the water.

Cenote Swimmer in Yucatan

A swimmer enjoys Cenote Zaci in Valladolid, Yucatan.

Zaci Cenote appears in the Yucatan Travel Movie. Here, I am looking at a woman below me who is looking at a swimmer below her in the beautiful turquoise-green water of the cenote. Cenotes formed millions of years ago when sinkholes formed in the thick limestone surface exposing underground rivers below. This cenote, called “Zaci,” the original name of the city in which it is found, is in Valladolid, an inland city west of Cancun.

Izamal Horse &Buggy Taxis and Apparitions of the Virgin Mary

Horse and Buggy Taxi in the lovely Colonial Town of Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico

Horse and Buggy Taxis in the lovely Colonial Town of Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico

When traveling in Yucatan earlier this month, we visited one of my favorite Colonial cities, the lovely town of Izamal. Early December is the perfect time to be there, because the town celebrates a many-day-long festival in honor of “Concepcion,” a statue of the Virgin Mary who is the patron saint of the state of Yucatan. Supposedly, she has amazing healing powers. Hundreds of thousands of people come to Izamal in December to honor “Concepcion.” In fact, Izamal is the site of an apparition of the Virgin Mary involving this lovely statue. We were able to shoot some supplemental footage that will be useful in future movies. Izamal is already included in the Yucatan Travel Movie.

Tom Cruise in the Riviera Maya Yucatan

Tom Cruise and his family visit the Riviera Maya in Yucatan so often, that the owners of the resort they frequent have build a special suite just for him, Katie Holmes, and their daughter Suri.

The online article titled Mexico’s Riviera Maya: What Celebrity Families Vacation There? says that Julia Roberts, Mark Wahlberg, Salma Hayek, Anjolina Jolie and Brad Pitt also enjoy the Riviera Maya.

The Yucatan Travel Movie shows vacation hot spots, such as Tulum where Mick Jagger visits.

Mayan shamans and 2012

While filming the Yucatan Travel Movie: Cancun to Chichen Itza, I wondered what the Maya had to say about 2012. After all, it is a Mayan prophecy that originated all the ruckus about December 21, 2012. Therefore, while shooting video footage for the movie, I also interviewed every-day Maya and Mayan shamans. These interviews became the nucleus of my upcoming presentation for the Edgar Cayce Forum on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Sarah Albee at Book ‘Em Waynesboro 2010

Sarah Albee, New York Times Best Selling author of children’s books, her latest: Poop Happened!, also attended Book ‘Em at Waynesboro, Virginia last weekend. I enjoyed her delightful presentation called, “The Scoop on Poop” where I learned how knights in armor pooped and how astronauts poop – great stuff of great interest. If you read my October 13th post, you know that I videotaped many Yucatan bathrooms when filming Yucatan Travel because I have a fascination with beautiful tiled Mexican bathrooms. No, the bathrooms did not make it into the travel documentary. Sarah graciously posed with me for the following photo:

Carol Chapman (left) with New York Times Best Selling children's author Sarah Albee at Book 'Em in Waynesboro, Virginia, on October 16, 2010

Yucatan Travel Movie Preview Loop almost finished

Still working on the Yucatan Travel Movie Preview Loop that I will play continuously at my table during upcoming book fairs.

“Atlantis and Lemuria in Yucatan” Movie Will Be Next

I am looking forward to starting my next movie which will be on searching for clues of travelers from the lost city of Atlantis and the lost continent of Lemuria Mu in Yucatan.

Book Fair Yucatan Travel Movie Preview Loop

I have a couple of book fairs scheduled in the autumn. Therefore, today I worked on a video preview that loops around so I can have it playing continually on my laptop during the book fair. In that way, people walking by can get a glimpse of the Yucatan Travel Movie.

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