Blogs from 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

After a couple of days in Chichen Itza region, it was time to move up North. Road East to Valladolid is forested and little villages are seen here and there. Moving up North after Valladolid, the vegetation gets scarce and especially after Tizimin, vegetation is of type of tropical savanna and ranches are abundant. We arrived at Rio Lagartos. It's a small fishing village at the end of the road, on the side of a lagoon. It's part of the Ria Lagartos natural reserve: A mix of lagoons, shrub forests, beaches and mangroves. The day after we took a boat tour to explore mangroves. It's a renowned place to see flamingos...but season was not perfect and we saw only a handful from afar. 13 years ago, we were in Celestun on the West coast of Yucatan, ... read more

We all have different points of interests and tastes in travels. Some prefer to see different cultures and meet people, others are foodies, others like architecture and others are more nature oriented. I am of the latter type. But with some attractions, interests might converge. Even If I prefer nature, I don't want to miss big impressive monuments. I wouldn't do a detour for door handles or balconies, but for very large structures, yes. :-) I have been to Mexico a couple of times, and have then visited a couple of archaeological sites: Teotihuacan , (huge and impressive), Palenque and Calakmul ,(mayan sites in middle of the tropical forest that make you feel like an explorator, especially Calakmul), Tulum, (not big but really beautiful because of the proximity of the turquoise Caribbean sea. Then there's Chichen ... 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

This morning we had another early start breakfast of Cheerios. Our destination for the day was the Hacienda Mucuyche. This is one of many haciendas that were built during the henequen boom of the late 1880s to the 1920s. Henequen is a member of the agave family and the fibers are super strong. It was used to make ropes and bags to store grain as well as hats, handbags and more. The invention of nylon saw the end of the wealth for henequen plantations as nylon was cheaper and easier to produce. Today henequen is still used for hats and bags available for sale in many of the local markets. The other attraction here is the two cenotes, Carlota and Mayan Blue. Mucuyche has been left in its abandoned state and is hauntingly beautiful. The front ... read more