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Published: February 24th 2014
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After a full day touring at Uxmal and nearby Kabah, Saturday and Sunday were days of rest and relaxation in Merida. Besides simply wandering and exploring the old historic centro district of Merida we had one specific “sight” to visit and that was to be Paseo Montejo.
Long ago as the Spanish hacienda owners prospered and grew rich on the labours of the conquered Mayan and Mexican peoples they would send their sons and daughters back to Europe for their education. The children were usually sent to institutions in France or Spain for their further education. In time the children would return to the family haciendas in Mexico and eventually take over the operations of the ranch / farm and continue to prosper and accumulate weatlth.
The children turned wealthy hacienda owners began talking among themselves and soon realized that they had no way to actually let everyone know that they were wealthier than Jose’ or Pedro down the trail so they all got together and decided they should create a boulevard in Merida that would rival any European city’s grand boulevard. A Champ Elyees in Mexico, and Paseo Montejo was born !
The wealthy hacienda owners developed
Paseo Montejo building larger and more grand homes to showcase their wealth and not only keep up with ‘ the Jurez’s ‘ but to out do them as well. Well, history does repeat itself and in Mexico they eventually had a bit of a revolution. The hacienda owners were disposed, left, and Paseo Montejol deteriorated.
Mexico moved on from the revolution and developed its own identity and culture and today Paseo Montejo has been restored as a grand boulevard with all these magnificently restored grand old homes. These restored properties are now corporate headquarters or head office homes of banks, other financial institutions, international commercial operations and galleries and boutique shops.
Sunday was an interesting day in the “historica centro” because about eight square blocks of the centre of the district, primarily from the cathedral and main square outwards, the roads are closed to vehicles. Pedestrians and bicycles are allowed, and although it seems we had not seen recreational bicycles before there were scores of them on the street in all manner of configurations. Some were decorated, some were built for two, some were tandem pairs, and some were, well, somewhat customized, and different.
About two blocks
out from the area of the main square the area became pedestrian only and even bicycles were diverted or parked. When you have an area with no vehicles, lots of people, a central main square, and many smaller squares you have a Mexican outdoor market.
Local markets are always fun and interesting and may be part of the way of life in Mexico but Merida is more than just a market and tourist sights. Merida is also a cultural centre and educational centre with its university. More than this, Merida is its’ people. Proud of their Mayan history they are friendly and helpful. In a commercial sense it seems they want you to be a friend, not just a customer or another tourist. All people we encountered and interacted with seemed to have a genuine interest in “our day” . People wanted to make sure we saw all the sights we wanted to with the best guides, or to make sure we had a good experience simply walking about and exploring.
So the next time you consider some time in the sun and think of some place like Cancun consider a short break of a few
days in Merida. It’s a different experience and just a comfortable 4 hour bus ride away.
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