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The October Breakfast Journal
The Rhythm of Morning at Los Colores
When guests arrive at Los Colores de Mérida B&B, part of welcoming them into my home is getting to know their breakfast preferences. Served daily from 8 to 10 a.m., breakfast is one of the highlights of their stay and my day, too! I coordinate with the other guests so everyone can share breakfast together. It's an opportunity to make new friends, discover Yucatán's culture through food, share stories from their days exploring Mérida, and laugh over a delicious four-course breakfast inspired by Yucatecan cuisine.
I'm usually up early, except on Sundays, when I give myself permission to "sleep in." There's always something to do around the B&B before breakfast, from taking care of the morning tasks to getting everything ready for the day ahead.
I enjoy those quiet hours before the house comes to life and everyone gathers around the breakfast table.
October mornings bring a few seasonal touches to Los Colores. The tropical birds are already singing in the gardens, and parrots often fly overhead, announcing their arrival with a very distinctive squawk. You won't mistake them for any other bird! In the back gardens, the balché tree bursts into bloom, its purple flowers filling the air with fragrance. It's a lovely backdrop to the start of the day, and one of the things I enjoy about living and welcoming guests here.
As breakfast time approaches, the morning light streams through the front windows and falls across the communal table. After taking care of the morning tasks, it's time for one of my favorite parts of the day: setting the table, putting the finishing touches on breakfast, and preparing to welcome everyone. Before long, the table becomes a place to share good food, stories, laughter, and a little of Yucatán's culture.
Stay Connected to Mérida
And keep a little piece of your home at Los Colores with you.
A Taste of Yucatán
October is a special time of year in Mérida, when families prepare to honor loved ones who have passed away through Janal Pixán, the Maya tradition of remembering the dead. Altars are decorated with flowers, candles, food, and other offerings, while families gather to remember those who are no longer with them. Food is an especially meaningful part of these celebrations because it honors the departed and keeps their memories alive.
One of the most emblematic foods of this season is mucbipollo, often called pib. The name mucbipollo combines the Maya word mukbil, meaning buried, with the Spanish word pollo. It refers to the traditional method of cooking the dish underground in a pit called a píib. The wrapped tamal is placed over heated stones and embers, covered with leaves and earth, and left to cook slowly. This method gives pib its distinctive flavor and connects its preparation to longstanding Maya culinary practices. Although many families now bake their pib in conventional ovens, cooking it underground remains an important part of the cultural experience.
If you're visiting Mérida during Festival de las Ánimas, don't miss the 9th Feria del Mucbipollo, taking place on Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Parque de San Sebastián. The feria offers an opportunity to taste different versions of this seasonal specialty and learn more about its preparation and cultural significance. The program also includes a demonstration of underground cooking, giving visitors a closer look at the techniques behind this emblematic Yucatecan dish.
For me, discovering Yucatán through its food has been a rewarding parts of living here. Some dishes are more than just delicious food. They carry stories of history, culture, and traditions that people continue to share across generations. When I serve a dish with a particularly interesting cultural story at breakfast, I enjoy sharing that history with my guests. It's another way to experience the food and traditions that make Yucatán so special.
And sometimes, learning about a dish's history makes me want to learn how to prepare it myself. That's exactly what happened with pib.
People and Stories from the Kitchen
When I'd been living in Mérida for only a couple of months, my neighbor Nelly, my “twin sister,” invited me to her house for pib. Ever since that first taste, I'd wanted to learn how to make it myself. I knew preparing this traditional Yucatecan dish from scratch would be an all-day affair, with plenty of steps and details to learn. So, a couple of weeks ago, I finally asked Nelly if she'd spend a Sunday teaching me how to make it.
It turned out to be a really fun, but very long, day!
We started at Mercado Lucas de Gálvez, one of Mérida's best-known markets, where Nelly showed me around to her favorite vendors to buy all the ingredients and tools we'd need. Since it was Sunday, we also picked up tortas de cochinita pibil for breakfast. You can't spend a day learning about Yucatecan food without eating well along the way!
We returned to Los Colores with breakfast, everything we needed to make the pib, and plenty of beer. Nelly walked me through the entire process, showing me how to prepare each step by hand. There was a lot to learn, but between the cooking, chisme, and beer, the hours flew by. What began as a cooking lesson turned into a nine-hour adventure filled with food, laughter, and plenty of stories.
After a full day of preparing our pib, it was finally time to take it out of the oven and give it a try. The best part was sitting around the table with my friend Darinel and a couple of guests at Los Colores, sharing the meal we'd spent the day making together. It was a delicious end to a Sunday filled with learning, laughter, and the kind of shared experience that makes being at Los Colores so special.
Curious about what it takes to make pib from scratch? I captured our Sunday adventure in a three-part reel series, from shopping for ingredients and equipment at Mercado Lucas de Gálvez to preparing the pib and sharing the finished dish. Follow Los Colores de Mérida B&B on Instagram and Facebook to watch the story unfold. Trust me, making pib is no small undertaking!
Learning to make pib was about more than adding a traditional Yucatecan dish to my cooking repertoire. It was about spending time with a friend, learning something new, and sharing the experience with the people around me. That spirit of sharing is also at the heart of another part of life at Los Colores: the communal table.
A Table Meant to Be Shared
On most Sunday evenings, you'll find me, my friend Darinel, a couple of other friends, and sometimes guests gathered around the table at Los Colores. We're catching up, sharing stories and gossip, enjoying some food, and maybe pouring a glass of wine or cracking open a beer. What started as an informal Sunday tradition between Darinel and me has quickly become a favorite part of the weekend. But as much as I enjoy those evenings, nothing is more important to me than breakfast!
Long before Los Colores became a reality, I spent years dreaming and planning. I also began collecting pottery and other special pieces to dress a communal table that didn't even exist yet. I knew the table would be the heart of the B&B, a place where people from different backgrounds and cultures could come together, so it deserved special attention.
Today, the communal breakfast table is dressed in bright colors and flowers, reflecting the cheerful, tropical character of Los Colores. Every morning, guests gather to enjoy a relaxed, four-course breakfast inspired by the cuisine of Yucatán. But breakfast is about more than the food. It's an opportunity to exchange stories, discover shared interests, learn about different cultures, and connect with people you might never have met otherwise.
Some mornings, the conversation carries on long after the last course has been served. Guests who arrived as strangers find themselves sharing recommendations, comparing travel experiences, or making plans to explore Mérida together. Sometimes, the connections made around the table become part of the story they take home with them.
For me, that's what makes the communal breakfast at Los Colores so special. I wanted to create more than a place to stay. I wanted a welcoming space where good food brings people together and where sharing a table can become a memorable part of the Mérida experience.
Ready for the Day
Breakfast at Los Colores is a four-course meal served every morning, meant to nourish you for a full day of exploring Mérida and the Yucatán Peninsula. Or, if you're feeling more leisurely, perhaps it'll simply leave you happily full and ready for a mid-morning nap! Either way, it's a meal meant to prepare you for whatever the day holds.
Around the communal table, guests share their cantina plans, stories of dancing salsa late into the night, and memories of watching the Desfile de las Catrinas. Some are exploring Mérida and Yucatán for the first time, while others have returned again and again, always finding something new to experience while enjoying the familiar welcome of Los Colores.
One of my favorite things about hosting a bed and breakfast in Mérida is listening to guests recommend places they've discovered to the new friends they've made around the table. I enjoy hearing about the little restaurant someone stumbled upon, a neighborhood they loved wandering through, or an experience they hadn't expected to find. And I love sharing recommendations of my own, too.
Even after living here, I'm still discovering Mérida through the eyes of my guests. Sometimes they introduce me to a place I haven't visited yet; other times, they share a fresh perspective on somewhere I already know. These conversations remind me that discovering a city isn't just about the places you visit. It's also about the people you meet and the stories you share along the way.
Of course, there's also my great cooking! But beyond the food, this is part of what makes breakfast at Los Colores so special. It's a chance to enjoy a nourishing, homemade meal, share some laughs, and gather inspiration for the day ahead. You might leave with a full stomach, a new place to explore, or a recommendation from someone who was a stranger when they sat down at the table. Hopefully, you'll leave with all three.
And if you're planning a trip to Mérida, I'd love to welcome you to my home. At Los Colores de Mérida B&B, an owner-hosted bed and breakfast in Mérida Centro, breakfast is included with your stay. You'll enjoy a handmade, four-course breakfast, tropical gardens, and the chance to share your mornings with fellow travelers while experiencing a little of the Mérida I love.
Planning a visit? Explore our rooms and check rates to find the right space for your Mérida stay.
And if a trip isn't on your calendar just yet, you can still stay connected. Subscribe to the Los Colores newsletter for seasonal stories, food and cultural traditions, and my monthly guides to things to do in Mérida, Yucatán. I'd love to keep sharing a little of life here with you, wherever you are.
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