We arrived in Merida late yesterday afternoon after an all-day bus ride from Villahermosa, departing at 0750 and getting here at 1625.
There isn’t actually that much to see in Merida itself but the atmosphere is lovely. We devoted the day to relaxing and absorbing the ambience. We took a peek at the cathedral and an old fully-restored (perhaps over-restored) mansion.
It became clear that it is a very touristy town. We hadn’t seen so many foreigners all in one place since we arrived in Mexico … most were Europeans but there were some people from the US in groups. I guess Merida is relatively close to the Mexican riviera in comparison to the highlands where we’ve come from.
Merida is close to several good ruins including Chichen Itza and Uxmal. We decided on the former and not to overdo ruins … and so took a pass on Uxmal.
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- The central square of Merida with the Cathedral in the background.
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- Many shops and cafes line the porticoes around the central square.
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- Horse carriages … it is a touristy city and it shows.
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- Inside Merida Cathedral.
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- Street scene with armed policeman.
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- A Mexican cantina.
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- Sombreros; rather expensive at about NZD30
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- Iglesia de Jesus.
In Merida we took the youth out of the youth hostel, staying at Nomadas Youth Hostel. We had a comfortable room, a pool and surroundings with oodles of atmosphere.
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- Our hostel with its pool through the doors.
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- Our hostel.
