A spicy introduction to Merida

“Here! Lick the salt!”

Joaquin Camara had my back as I gulped down a habanero hot sauce-drenched panucho over lunch at La Chaya Maya restaurant in downtown Merida, Yucatan in Mexico.

A panucho is a local Yucatan speciality made with a fresh tortilla that is topped with pulled pork, turkey or chicken, avocado and jalapeños. Traditionally, the meat is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground pit.

You can eat a panucho as is, but when you soak one in spicy habanero sauce, as I naively did, don’t expect to get away with it without a few gasps and eye-popping are-you-sure-you-wanna-do-that glances from fellow peers at your table.

Yucatan habanero is hot as hellfire, which is why Joaquin Camara, a salesman for Hispano America representing WestJet Vacations, grabbed a shaker and yelled “Salt! Salt! Salt!” after I poured habanero all over my panucho and gobbled it down without a care in the world.

Shaking salt on your hand, and licking it off, tempers the spicy inferno in your mouth that comes after consuming high-heat habanero sauce, Camara stressed.

As beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks, and as my throat flamed into a thousand blazes, I grabbed Camara’s shaker, shook salt into the palm of my hand, and licked it off like a dog.

The fire in my mouth extinguished and marked a fiery end to the spicy (yet totally amazing and authentic) lunch that kicked-off day one of PAX’s press trip through Southeastern Mexico. 

The trip, hosted by the Government of Yucatan and the Mexico Tourism Board, revolves around the historical Mayan and Spanish colonial heritage of Merida, the culture-rich capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan.

From now until Friday (April 8), PAX will be exploring Merida’s booming city center, including the Plaza de la Independencia, the green-walled Government’s Palace, elegant museum-lined Paseo de Montejo boulevard, and other colonial-era structures that were built using stone from ancient Mayan temples.

We will be going on road trips, too, paying visits to the ancient archeological zone of Chichen Itza; Izamal – a “magical town” with pre-Hispanic constructions, such as Kinich Kak Moo and a big pyramid; Celstun and its Natural Park of turtles, monkeys and pelicans; the colonial city of Valladolid; and lastly, Cancun, known as the capital Maya of the West.

You can’t get a more off the beaten path look at Mexico than this, so stay tuned to PAXnews.com for more updates (spicy eats included). You can also follow PAX on Twitter and Instagram for all of our on-location posts.