Earlier this year, TABLE Contributor Corinne Whiting left the chill and gloom of Western PA winter behind to discover sweet and educational chef-led adventures around Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Famed chef Richard Sandoval showed her how he balances sustainability, hospitality, and deliciousness. His bees were the star of the show.

A sumptuous farm-to-table spread prepared by Chef Richard Sandoval.

How Bees Help Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula Thrive

In February, I gleefully escaped more snow with an adventure to Mexico’s enchanting Yucatán Peninsula on a trip inspired by the sustainability efforts of Chef Richard Sandoval. For more than three decades, Sandoval has built a global empire of sorts, with his Mexican restaurants now spanning 60 locations across four continents. For Pittsburghers, the closest outposts can be found in D.C. and NYC.

On the Yucatan peninsula, the citrus capital of Mexico, Chef Sandoval visits the orchards of Alma Finca orange liqueur.

The Importance of the Bee

Sandoval, a self-proclaimed introvert who loves playing tennis and increasingly craves quiet, has a kind presence and easy laugh. He’s admittedly growing weary from his constant globe-hopping and looks forward to passing along the baton to his two 20-something children (also on our group trip, a delightful addition). The team previously took an educational culinary adventure together to Oaxaca. This Yucatán excursion was inspired by an initiative Richard Sandoval Hospitality launched in 2022 to raise awareness about the vital role of bees in our food system and ecosystem.

Alma Finca, the only Mexican orange liqueur made from fresh ingredients harvested from the Yucatan peninsula.

Through Viva Abejas (“Long Live Bees”), Sandoval has introduced bee-inspired menus at several restaurants for the past couple of springs. In early 2023, he released his first children’s book of the same name, with all proceeds benefiting the World Bee Project. All of this work intends to amplify the fact that every third bite of food we take depends on bees for pollination. (Of note: avocados as well as the agave plant, which feature frequently in Latin cuisine.)

The team gets a hands-on lesson with local beekeepers.

Mérida’s Land of Bees

Our trip stations in Mérida, a colorful destination rich in Mayan and colonial heritage. We also got out to surrounding towns to learn about people and businesses with whom Sandoval collaborates — like Alma Finca orange liqueur, ideal for mixing into spicy mezcalritas and cosmopolitans. In a shaded patch of one of their orchards, we learned about the Alma Finca Project facilitated by Free Range Beehives, a Denver-based “corporate beekeeping” company that’s on a mission to support and enhance pollinator populations. Free Range also helped install bees here in November 2024, working with local Jose Cortes Larriva to care for the stingless Melipona bee species used for the project.

A tasty cocktail with spiced rim made with Alma Finca.

During our grove visit, Emmaida Figueroa of Miel Nativa also shared about her business’s involvement and its commitment to the reproduction of these native bees. We learned that 90 percent of Melipona hives have been lost in the past 35 years (due to factors like deforestation, loss of forage, and pesticide use). Figueroa let us sample some of the goods sold at her downtown shop, including divinely thick Melipona honey, used by the Mayans for its medicinal superpowers since ancient times.

Staying Close to the Action

During our trip, hotel Fiesta Americana became our downtown Mérida HQ, conveniently situated at the crossroads of the capital’s main avenues — Paseo Montejo and Colón. (Those seeking a more intimate lodging experience might opt for nearby boutique options like Adora Hotel.) Our location made for easy strolls past exquisite architecture just as the city was swirling to life, to friendly breakfast spots like Justo Bread Studio and Fronto.

The entire group enjoyed a hands-on cooking lesson in the home of a welcoming Maya-Yucatec family.

I enjoyed my most memorable desayuno, however, inside the tranquil, arched courtyard of Casa T’Hō, a design-fashion-art hub opened in 2017 by three passionate owners wanting to showcase local creative talent. In the center of this once-abandoned, early 19th century mansion, I leisurely enjoyed my migas con huevo and pineapple-tumeric-ginger juice before perusing on-site boutiques stocked with gorgeous Mexican goods.

All ingredients were freshly harvested, including citrus, a prized ingredient across the Yucatán peninsula.

Immersion in the Communities

Every meal on this trip felt memorable, whether wandering the narrow food markets alongside Chef and our Eating with Carmen tour guide (think gorditas, salbutes, tamales and the freshest of juices), or while taking an at-home cooking class in the teeny town of Abala. Here a Maya-Yucatec family welcomed us in for a hands-on lesson about ingredients grown in their soil (like a nutritious, leafy vegetable called chaya) as well as culinary techniques passed down through the generations.

With a backyard rooster wandering nearby and a playful kitten underfoot, our gracious hostess casually concocted a multi-course lunch. She used her palate to taste along the way — a method Chef Sandoval prefers his team to use, too. (After all, a recipe is merely a guideline, he says.) Eventually, our group crammed around a large wooden table to devour an array of salads, warm tortillas, lemon soup with grilled tomatoes, onions, garlic and sweet pepper, plus pollo pibil — a Yucatán dish that’s slow-cooked in banana leaves and traditionally made with pork.

A Mexican artist explained henequen, a native Yucatán plant used in textiles and handicrafts.

A Memorable Lesson on Community Sustainability

Back in Mérida, we feasted inside hip, vibey venues where DJs spun hypnotic beats on lounge-like patios and trees stretched skyward through dramatic dining rooms. We savored ceviche blanco, tacos de rib eye and pulpo a la parrilla at Arcano, a variety of barbequed meats at Anima (plus a surprising smoked watermelon favorite) and then a sensational beef carpaccio and tuna crudo at Ariadna. Enjoying local delicacies amongst a group of people so dedicated to their craft — in such a magic-dusted Mexican setting — was an experience I won’t soon forget. And I left with much more reverence, too, for the bees who play a part in it all.

Story by Corinne Whiting
Photography by Rodolfo Vallado

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Are you craving a moment of silence? A chance to think your own thoughts? Being alone in the world by choice is increasingly popular. Take a solitary walk in the woods with TABLE’s Guest Editor, Stephen Treffinger to these single occupancy cabins.

Be One With Yourself at These Single Occupancy Cabins for Traveling Alone

If you find yourself wanting to spend more time alone, you are definitely not alone. Articles about being apart from other human beings — the causes, the how-tos, etc. — appear to be multiplying exponentially. Recently, The New York Times published an article about the difficulties of dining alone, Afar followed suit with one about the joys of taking a solo trip as an older adult, and Forbes discussed one of the world’s most remote luxury lodges.

In February, the Atlantic published an extensive piece, The Anti-Social Century, examining the causes and effects of alone time and how it’s changing everything from personalities to perceptions of reality. The pandemic, of course, put people on the path, but many stayed there. Solo dining, for instance, has increased by 29 percent in the last two years. People are spending less time, in general, with other people.

For decades the automobile and the TV were to blame, allowing people to live further apart and to be entertained at home instead of going out in groups. Now it’s social media and smart phones, of course. Even teens are now spending far less time together than they did 40 years ago, girls even less time than boys.

On the downside, too much time spent solo can affect brain development in younger people. It can cause loneliness in anyone — very different from being alone, a real concern, especially in older individuals. On the upside, being without others allows you to develop your own interests, decompress from stress, and learn more about yourself without all the noise.

Where to Travel by Yourself

The illusion of being alone is fairly easy if you’re in the luxury market — think huts out on the water in Bora Bora, a private luxury treehouse in South Africa, an upscale tent in India. There are also remote places in countries where tourism is a click or two lower — Albania, Cambodia, and the Stans (aka the republics of Central Asia), to name a handful.

But escaping needn’t be so complicated or so costly. There are companies that offer small, efficiently designed huts you can stay in by yourself (or with carefully selected others). Often in secluded wooded areas, they are nonetheless reachable without a helicopter or security detail.

Adventuring Into the Woods

Unyoked is a company that serves Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, offering over 100 cabins that are specifically designed to help people get out in nature more often, to slow down, and to immerse themselves somewhere unique and secluded. You can choose how far of a hike from your car you’d like and how isolated you’d like to be (called “spiciness levels”) and Unyoked offers research into how their particular experience works. There is a section about “The 3 Day Effect” which explains the cognitive and emotional benefits one can gain from 72 hours immersed in nature. Most cabins are large enough for two or more and would be quite roomy for one. There are often fire pits, picnic tables, and Adirondack chairs outside — and a shower. (No need to go feral and smelly just to get some me time.) Prices start at about $253/night.

And although they don’t take quite as psychological an approach, Postcard Cabins has small units throughout the US. While some will be in a group with other cabins, some are more remote. The idea is that you can be alone if you want to, or you can socialize more if that’s your scene. Prices begin at about $99/night.

Story by Stephen Treffinger

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Frequent TABLE contributor and frequent traveler Stephen Treffinger boarded a Viking cruise ship for a weeklong sojourn to Venice, Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece. Along with our envy, he racked up some incredible memories of some of the world’s most beautiful coastlines.

Cruising Through Europe’s Coastlines with Viking

In centuries past (and in several Merchant Ivory films), the Grand Tour took Europeans on a multi-leg trip that typically included Italy, accompanied by a family member, governess, or tutor. Today, these journeys are usually undertaken on a cruise ship, with arguably less grandeur — but less luggage and more freedom.

It was thus that I boarded a Viking ship in Italy for a week-long sojourn to Venice, Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece before flying home from Athens. I had done two prior sailings with Viking that took me to Egypt and Antarctica. Both had an intense focus, the former on history and archaeological sites, the latter on snow, penguins, and seals. Now, I was in for a more traditional trip, with a new city or even country each day.

Left: A fishing boat off of Mali Ston, Croatia. Right: The bell tower of the Cathedral of Saint Domnius in Split, Croatia. Photos by Jessica Kelly.

Exploration Through Viking Cruises

Before even stepping on board, I had picked a handful of excursions, mostly food-centric, that would take up the lion’s share of available time in any one place, and left other destinations free for roaming around. This seemed like a sensible approach, and proved to be an interesting way to keep things interesting.

Venice

Since I had been to Venice a couple of times before and had toured most of the major draws, I opted to get lost and avoid the crowded center, ducking into an alleyway and drifting, ignoring my phone, for hours. I began with coffee in a place that looked like it had never seen a tourist. Then onto a cicchetti joint for open-faced sandwiches (sardines, salt cod) and a glass of wine at 10 a.m. (When in Venice and all.) I eventually made my way to a favorite painting, Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin that I’d first seen in person over 30 years before, and stood before it, in awe, for a remarkably long time before catching the boat back.

Left: Pre-mussels grappa in Mali Ston, Croatia. Right: Mussels for lunch off the coast of Mali Ston, Croatia. Photos by Jessica Kelly.

Croatia

In Croatia, in addition to some informative olive oil and wine tasting, there was an excursion to Mali Ston, an area near Dubrovnik that produces some of the world’s finest oysters. We motored out to a dock in the middle of the growing beds and watched our host shuck dozens of them in rapid succession as we sipped herb-infused grappa. We were served a handful of the local treasures with bread and white wine. Absolute heaven. The fact that almost none of these gems ever make it out of Croatia only added to our delight. Gilding the lily, the team then plucked ropes of mussels out of the water, cooked and served them in a delicious broth.

Montenegro

It was raining when I disembarked in Kotor, Montenegro, where I had decided to again wander. Surrounded by fortresses, it’s an atmospheric place with stone paths and more than a few Catholic churches from its Venetian and Austrian rulers. It was far too slippery to hike up the long, steep stone staircase to St. John’s Fortress for the views. (I ran into some very fit guys from the ship who told me they had turned around-about because it was too perilous.)

Top Left: The Old Fortress in Corfu, Greece. Top Right: Ruins in Olympia, Greece. Bottom: A vineyard in Olympia, Greece. Photos by Stephen Treffinger and Jessica Kelly.

Corfu

In Corfu, on an overcast day, I ducked into a particularly beautiful church and stood in back, taking in an Orthodox service with its long responsoria, a call and repeat between the priest and congregation, and could have stayed there for hours. The next day, it was more olive oil and more wine (the region is lousy with excellent examples of both). Thus fortified and fulfilled, I got back on the ship, which would depart in the middle of the night for Athens.

Upon returning, I headed to the spa for my now established routine (sauna/cold plunge/steam/cold plunge) then return to my room for a nap in the miraculously comfy bed. I would dress up a little (but not that much) before heading out for an aperitif and dinner at one of several restaurants (variety being the spice of cruise ships), leaving it to chance most nights but almost running into and dining with someone I had met along the way, sharing stories of our day’s adventures while sipping wine and eating remarkably good food before drifting to sleep, only to wake up in another new place.

Story by Stephen Treffinger

Photography Courtesy of Viking, Stephen Treffinger, and Jessica Kelly

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