Valladolid, Ek Balam, and Izamal

After Merida, my retreat friend, Daniela, left.  I headed to Valladolid, another colorful and even more humid colonial town.  It was here that I experienced the most intense heat.  I actually got tiny blisters on my skin as a reaction to the heat, which I've never had before.  While here, I stayed at a guesthouse I found on Hostelworld.  The owner was a painter, and he pained several murals on the property, there was a hammock in my room, and there was a nice garden outside for your morning coffee.
While here, I also visited Ek Balam, an ancient Mayan city.  Chichen Itza is famous for its massive pyramid, but I think Ek Balam was more impressive since more parts of the city were intact and visible.  Several area were open for tourists to explore, so I was able to climb some stairs, look around, and imagine what it looked like in its prime.  There were fewer people visiting, so it made the trip more pleasant also.  
I also did a day trip to Izamal, the yellow city.  ALL THE BUILDINGS ARE YELLOW.  Like the Coldplay song.  It really was beautiful to see.  It has Spanish colonial architecture, but the yellow color is a tribute to a Mayan sun god.  I took a carriage ride around the city, and there is a Mayan pyramid to climb.  It was hot, my blood sugar was starting to drop, so I thought I would get some sorbet - it looked like a nice strawberry dessert...  but it had chili in it.  The flecks were not pieces of fruit.  There were flakes of chili.  I didn't finish it.  The fruit and chili combination is common in Mexico - like fresh pineapple with chili or gummy candy with chili.  For me, it was an interesting flavor to try, and I suppose I would like it more if I took time to get accustomed to it, but it's not my favorite.