Merida

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We arrived in Merida at 6:00 a.m. after taking the night bus from Palenque. As soon as we arrived we headed for a cab. We stopped at the first hostel, but it was booked. The man who answered was nice enough to direct us to a family run guest house that had vacancies. After knocking for a few minutes, the owner finally answered and let us in. We stayed for one night because it was more expensive than we had wanted to pay. At that point all we really wanted was a place to sleep because neither one of us slept very well on the bus.

We spent the later part of the day touring Merida. We used the Merida as a base and stayed two nights. Neither one of us really got a great feel for the city of Merida. Merida seems like such an isolated city because it sits on the Yucatan and is a bit separate from the rest of Mexico. We had also been in the mountains and the jungle for the 9 days prior so it was bit of culture shock to be without the mountains and jungle. It did have some charm though and is a very pretty city.

We switched to a hostel down the street, which was cheap and a great place for backpackers. This is where we could relax in the hammock, wash clothes, plan for the trip, etc. We definitely recommend Hostel Nomadas.

The next day we took a tour to the Uxmal ruins, which will be the next entry.

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Photos

Preparing Dinner
During our trips we find it much cheaper to buy groceries and prepare our own meals. Most of the places we stay have community kitchens, which is a plus.