Blogs from Merida, Yucatán, Mexico, North America - page 7

Nukuin seitsemaan. Aamulla tyopuhelin ei kaynnistynyt lainkaan. Kavin pikaisella aamu-uinnilla. Aamiainen hotellin ravintolassa. Tiedustelin respasta missa on automaatteja ja mista voisi saada apua puhelimen ongelmaan. Ensimmaiseksi asiointireissulle. Nostin automaatista rahaa. Kavin liiketalossa, jossa oli paljon pienia teknologiamyymaloita. Yhdessa kokeiltiin vaihtaa puhelimeeni akku, ja se alkoikin taas toimia. Maksoi noin 9 euroa. Kavelin bussiasemalle ja ostin huomiselle 11 euron lipun Valladolidiin klo 12.40 lahtevaan bussiin. Seuraavaksi oli vuorossa katselukierros. Poikkesin kahvilla ja syomassa quesadillon. Kavelyreitti suuntautui mutkien kautta pohjoiseen, ja palasin keskustaan bussilla (0,4 euroa). Kavin katsomassa manner-Amerikan vanhinta kirkkoa, ja keskusaukion toisella puolella paasi toiseen kerrokseen parvekkeelle ottamaan kuvia. Kavin toisen kerran uima-altaassa... read more

Going back to Merida is like the best summer vacations of my youth: getting to see relatives you really liked in a place you adored and a whole other set of friends and experiences different than those at home. Each visit ended with torn emotions between hating to leave and a longing to return home. Nowadays, for me, that longing to return home just ain’t there. March is a great time to visit the Yucatan. The weather is not yet too hot, the festivities of Carnaval, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter season are in the air and well represented. There is always a party waiting to happen or be found if you just look. George and I traveled as much for de-stressing as for a vacation. Though aren’t they intertwined? We stayed at Ms. Ofelia’s Hotel ... read more

Hola from on board our fancy autobus with wifi. Can finally catch up on blogs. From Valladolid we had a short bus trip to Merida. We scored ourselves a sauna room at the hostel with only the noisiest fan. They had a pool but there was no way I was putting anything more than my feet in it. Merida was another colonial type town quite larger than Valladolid. The night we arrived was the start of a festival so the roads around the main square we closed off and full of makeshift restaurants and street vendors. On on street there was a band and all the oldies were dancing. There is such a great family vibe in Mexico. We organised our bus tickets to Palenque for the next day so needed another night accomodation in Merida. ... read more

What an amazing ride this week in Mérida has been. Tia and I feel unbelievably grateful for having such amazing hosts, we couldn't have asked for a more successful trip. Brian and Deyanira really went out of they way to ensure that we felt at home. "mi casa es su casa". Tia and I both appreciate culture experiences and enjoyed the ability to participate in day to day life- when away from home. This always makes our work and experience more fulfilling. Watching the girls blossom throughout the week was amazing. One girl even shared that she wanted the group to keep going because it was a safe place for her to be. Another shared she was grateful that she actually had the privilege of having the space to share her thoughts and ideas; something that ... read more

I am writing this blog in a cabin in the jungle in a place called Palenque, not on the beach as we had planned. This is due to Mexico experiencing an unseasonable amount of rain across most of the country. Being British we are not going to let this put us off but there is not much point lying on a beach in the rain so we decided to follow the sun and headed to the only point on the map without a huge storm cloud over it and went north to Merida. Merida is a lovely little colonial town and the Spanish influence is obvious as soon as you arrive. It has pretty little squares with restaurants around the sides and lots of churches. As it is the start of the Christmas holidays here there ... read more