Translation of blanquear

If someone tells me to try a delicacy I won't eat it although I have never tried it. It took me twenty year to try Sushi and yes I love it. My friends tell me that I am conservative and stubborn.
After getting up early I took a local car to get back to the center from where I took a coach to the long awaited city of San Cristobal de Las Casas. I have heard so much about this distant place.
Although the travel guide book mentioned a three star hotel we did not even had to enter the lobby in order to see that we would not sleep there. So we picked another recommendation and drove on.