Blogs from Merida, Yucatán, Mexico, North America

After the night in Merida, which is a really pretty place if totally honest, but then all the little places we have been to have been lovely with great squares and small places to eat and drink. We watch the local dancing which is quite nice and different and gets great crowds looking on. I am so looking forward to going to a couple of Cenotes. One is partly covered by a cave and one is totally open. Now you are probably, saying what the hell is a Cenote - well they are limestone sinkholes which have really clear water. Cenotes were commonly used for water supplies by the ancient Maya and also would you believe some of them were used for sacrificial offerings - these Mayan people loved a sacrificial ritual it appears! The first ... read more

For my last full day in Merida I wanted to do some shopping to pick up souvenirs for people, sit in a park and not really do anything else specific. It was a really warm, sunny day and also ended up being the one we did the most walking. The first walk was to breakfast that I thought was good. I had fried eggs on rice with avocado and fried plantains and fresh orange juice. Once we were done eating we walked to the main square and went in the Museo Casa Montejo. This front of this building is the oldest house in Merida. Inside is a free museum offering decorated rooms in the home as well as revolving exhibitions. Climbing to the second floor gives you a nice view out onto the square. From here ... read more

My first full day in Merida was a busy one! We started the morning by eating at Chaya Maya, a cute restaurant with a nice courtyard. I had some tacos with turkey, avocado, cucumber, tomato and pickled onions. Also some orange juice that wasn’t really fresh squeezed but still refreshing. And the meal was very filling! The tourist office offers a free walking tour of the historic square and we were able to take the first one at 9:30. Our guide talked about the history of Merida and how it was built on Mayan ruins. He explained all the buildings on the square (mostly I forgot already what they all were) and the style of architecture. We walked a little off the square to two very nice smaller parks. Each park had lots of trees and ... read more

Week five and its Merida a busy bustling colonial city. This is the culture part of the trip and we chose Merida as it gives access to two big Mayan sites, Chitzen Itza and Uxmal. After much research I decided that the latter was the better option, mainly because Chitzen Itza is in easy reach of holiday heaven Cancun and the cruise ship crowds. The temperatures in Merida were 10 °more than Nayarit but because of the buildings in the city it was still high 30 in the evenings. It definitely slowed us down but thank heavens for air conditioning and the pool. Our first day was all about getting our bearings but the city was laid out in a simple block system, even numbers north to South and odd numbers East to west. Thankfully we ... read more

Auf dem Weg nach Merida halten wir auf der wunderschönen Hacienda San Lorenzo Oxman, nur 10 Auto-Minuten und eine Schotterpiste von Valladolid entfernt. Die ehemalige Farm ist heute ein exklusives Hotel mit Pool aber auch Gästen von außerhalb ist es erlaubt gegen Gebühr das Cenote auf dem Gelände der Hacienda zu benutzen. Marlene ist wieder erstaunlich fit und möchte gerne mitgehen in das „große Schwimmbad“, kneift dann aber doch als wir an dem riesigen Wasserloch ankommen, in dem tief unten das leuchtend blaue Wasser wartet. Da wir schon morgens um neun da sind, ist außer uns zunächst nur ein Mann im Wasser, der kurz darauf auch wieder hochsteigt und wir haben das Cenote ganz für uns alleine. Über mehrere Treppen gelangt man hinunter in die „Höhle“ und dann über eine wackelige Holztreppe ins Wasser. Es kostet ... read more