Sometimes, you have to take a chance and you may get lucky. We weren’t in Puerto Aventuras, but Progreso was a nice surprise.

The port city, located on the Gulf of Mexico, is a short 30-minute drive from Mérida (okay, actually a bit more since driving out of the city is complicated).

We weren’t expecting much from it. I had heard it had an “industrial” feel and that the beach was dominated by the 8.5-kilometre-long pier, the Terminal Remota.

But Progreso turned out to be a pleasant and relaxed town. We parked and started at the market. The fresh fish and meat stalls didn’t gross us out… it made us hungry. We found a small lunchería and had fish and tortilla, a nice break from pollo.

The beach isn’t that great for swimming: the water is murky and the sand is a bit coarse, especially compared to Tulum—but I’m being picky here. Past the pier, it was a no man’s land, but the town itself was just fine.

In the evening, we drove back to Mérida and enjoyed the city centre one last time. Time to leave!