I'm going to Cancun in a few weeks, any suggestions for being vegan there?!

I'm going to Cancun in a few weeks, any suggestions for being vegan there?

Hi there - I've traveled in Mexico and Central America several times as a vegan, and it's not impossible to stay away from animal products there. Memorize the phrase "Soy vegetariano" (or soy vegetariana if you're a girl). Tropical fruit is your best bet, obviously...so many yummy things that you can't get here (or just don't taste anywhere near as good)! Corn tortillas are another good staple (flour tortillas often will be made with lard - corn tortillas are almost always just corn and water). I've ordered vegan tacos from street food vendors - it wasn't too difficult to convey that I wanted a taco only with vegetables (un taco con venduras solamente), without meat (sin carne) and without cheese (sin queso). They'll typically have a table set out with condiments, as well - radishes, cabbage, salsa, onions, etc, so it was easy to make a tasty vegan taco. Beans are another good staple - pretty much everywhere you see refried beans (typically made with lard) you can order whole beans (frijoles enteros), which will just be cooked beans. It's possible that they cooked with chicken/beef stock, or there was a knuckle bone or something in the pot for flavor, but more often than not they were just boiled in water. Plantains (large, starchy bananas) are another great vegan food - you'll see them most often as tostones - small fried slices of plantains. YUM. Dust them with salt and you're in for a seroiusly addicting treat.

I just did a little search for veggie restaurants in Cancun and it came up with a couple options - maybe you'll want to see those out? (http://www.happycow.net/north_america/me...

Good luck and have a great time!!