Recreation in the Yucatan: Cantina Crawl!

Last night for the first time (since college days anyway!) I experienced a cantina crawl which is the Mexican version of bar hopping. However instead of being in a limo like is done for bachelor parties and the such, we used our feet!
Planned by our friend Mike in honor of his brother Kevin visiting from Canada, each cantina was planned with precision for style as well as beer costs. Most where in Mike's general neighborhood which we do not know very well which made it even more interesting to us. In our group was Carlos and I, form the US, Mike and Julia as well as his brother Kevin and girlfriend Lisa all from Toronto, Mattias from many places though originally from Holland, one Aussie and another Canadian couple. Truly an international crowd!
We missed the first stop (La Sabosa at Calle 54 by Calle 53) as our solar installation ran late. This is a story for another blog posting. However we caught up to the group at Cantina El Provenir at Calle 53 at Calle 52. The crowd was loud and the music was even louder. The bartender was so happy to have a big group he kept giving us money to play really really loud music on the juke box...and most of it was heavy metal. Here the beers were cheap, cold and plentiful. After several buckets it was time to head for the third cantina, The Carlotta, just several blocks away.

 By the end of our time at the Carlotta, our group was getting really happy. Mike and Lisa negotiated for a couple of the bar buckets and were happy to leave with two which will go back to Canada with them! Time to go to our fourth stop...But wait, it almost  10 PM when the cantinas close and they won't let us in...what to do ...what to do! But yes we are saved by Angel...our Mexican amigo, a bar hawker who has the sole job of  steering unsuspecting gringos to a bar and he'll get paid by the bar for supplying them with customers. He took us just a half block from the remate to a bar that we didn't even know existed...and yes it was fun and the drinks were cold and plentiful... and the best part was that they gifted several of us with complimentary bar buckets to take home....all with the name of the bar on them!

At the end of the night the group was talking to horses...and me...well I was the designated driver to get home so it was diet coke for the whole night!