Oxcutzcab

This market town, hungry for tourism, is a good alternative to Ticul for those who want to spend the night in the Puuc area. Strangers will greet you as you walk the streets. Even the teenagers here are friendly and polite. Oxcutzcab (osh-coots-cob) supplies much of the state with produce: avocados, mangoes, mameys, papayas, watermelons, peanuts, and citrus fruits are all grown in the surrounding region and sold daily at the cheerful municipal market, directly in front of the town's picturesque Franciscan church. Pedicabs line up on the opposite side of the market, ready to take you on a three-wheeled tour of town for just a few pesos. The town's coat of arms tells the etymology of the name Oxcutzcab. In Mayan, "ox" means ramon (twigs cut for cattle fodder), "kutz" is tobacco, also grown in the area, and "cab" is honey.