The Two Merry Men of Merida

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Busses, cars, and trucks squeeze through the narrow streets of Merida. Fumes and dust turn my clothes gray. Narrow sidewalks are crowded with pedestrians playing chicken: who will be the one to give way by stepping off of the curb into the street? Ear splitting mariachi music blares out of cantinas, sometimes wafting into the doors of an opposing cathedral, where it blends with choir music creating an unholy cacophony.

Jerry and I step into the courtyard of Dolores Alba, our colonial-era hotel, and with one step we pass from chaos to serenity. Although partially covered, birds fly in and out. Reproductions of some of Frida Khola's more disturbing paintings hang on the walls. Everyone gathers in a cluster of rocking chairs in one corner of the courtyard where wifi is available. Over skype a woman loudly scolds her employees back home. Jerry entertains seven-year-old boy with magic tricks. He is here with his grandmother on a trip of indefinite length and purpose. We think she is on the run.

On Sunday the streets are blocked and the entire town gathers in the zocalo (town square). There are vendors, clowns, musicians, lovers, food, dancers, and kids running amok. Jerry and I sit on a bench eating fried bananas dowsed with cream and honey. On the walk home we take a wrong turn and end up in a vast covered market. Endless rows of stalls sell everything from live rabbits to chili peppers. We have to stoop to avoid low hanging wires. We are easily a foot taller than anyone else. I offer Jerry $1000 to lick the floor. He refuses.



I remember hearing tales from my father about how bad the roads were in the Yucatan. On one occasion he and my mother broke the axel of their jeep and had to fight off fire ants while they waited for help to pass by. Of course that was back in the 1970s. Now there are several excellent roads that cross the Yucatan. But the roads are flat and straight. The dense jungle vegetation grows right next to the road, creating the impression one is speeding through an endless green tunnel. When planning this trip I fantasized that it might be possible to turn onto some obscure dirt road and drive/hike deep into the jungle where we might stumble across an overgrown Mayan temple ruled by giant iguanas. But there are no unplanned breaks in the green tunnel. There isn't even a shoulder where a curious driver might pull over.

At some of the more obscure ruins where we stop it is possible to see overgrown temples. We see plenty of large iguanas, too. We even scale the great pyramid at Uxmal. Coming down the 45 degree slope on narrow steps I wonder how many people have fallen in the last millennium. I do well because it's very similar to my steps at home, which I now realize were built to the Mayan building code.

P.S. Scroll down to see more photos.

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Photos

Merida I
Cathedral overlooking Merida's town square.

Merida II
Two merry men

Merida III
Merida is an elegant town with lots of pidgeons

Merida IV
Sunday dancing in Merida's town square

Merida V
Full band playing in town square of Merida

Nerida VI
Another architectural flourish

Merida VII
Spice bin in the covered market

Merida VIII
Courtyard of Dolores Alba

Chichen Itza I
Uncanny resemblance to this lizard thing

Chichen Itza II
Some friends we played with a Chichen Itza. Notice Alexander flipping me off.

Chichen Itza III
Jerry in front of the "Observatory" at Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza IV
The Mayans were obsessed with death

Uxmal I
View from the bottom of the temple

Uxmal II
View from top of temple. Actually, this is a self portrait. Look how long I am!

Uxmal III
After reaching the top of the pyramid a helicopter had to rescue us.

Uxmal IV
Iguana guarding the pyramid.

Comments

[mike]

loved the blog, which brought back old memories of trips to the Yucatan
Enjoy participating vicariously in your travels. I've just booked my first trip to Bangkok to learn more about Asia. keep up the good work.

[Marilyn Davis]

Go to Isla Mujeres
2nd best snorkeling in the world! Avoid Cancun.

[gary klapman]

jumping lead
it appears you might still be in the environs where chapulines are popular, usually in the oaxaca area; not that you might be attracted to fried grasshoppers but the local customs might grab you with the 'why not' and you might not regret tempting your palate with these potato chip, nut substitutes that go well with a cold cerveza now, but perhaps your bone marrow will rebel with the high concentration of lead, apparently from the material used to cook them, and be plagued until the earth changes its axis. tiene cuidado de los banditos

[Richard Mercouris/Erika Bruce]

Loving Colonial Mexico!
You know that we just love the blogs you send us on your adventures, both hither and Yon. Several years ago, we were lucky enough to ramble about in that verysame niegborhood; Valadolid etc. Once you leace the "green-tunnel", you can travel on a parralel road, but you have to slow down to 5-10m.p h. as you enter these tiny villages, where you may look right into the homes,(usually partially obscured by the ever-present hammock at the entrance). Yes, there was a toll on the new road that wasn't too steep, but God b-o-r-r-i-n-g. We loved Merida getting lucky enough to get rooms in an empty house with an extaordinary art collection. These folks were Lebonese and they had their own stories as it was in Oct 2001! Keep em' coming Dr. Pearce. p.s. we loved Nancy!