Last week, I described in brief, the history of Yucatán Peninsula starting from its discovery by Hernández de Córdoba, describing the Mayan artisan influence in this region and emphasizing the importance of Mayan people for the Mexican tourism industry. As well, I have described Yucatán's geological phenomena such as lack of above-ground rivers, abundance of limestone deposits and the wonders of cenotes or deep holes filled with underground waters.
This week, I would like to talk about my experiences in the city of Merida. I have rented a car and started my journey from Riviera Princess located in the Mayan Riviera, driving towards the city of Cancun on the main highway referred to by the locals as "la federal". From Riviera Princes to the city of Cancun I drove for about 120 kilometers, contemplating the views, gathering a feel for the road and the Mayan population.
The highway is well-maintained, although it contains a lot of "los topes" or bumps in the road, which serves as a government strategy to reduce speed in more populated areas. Sometimes, these annoying topes are so badly marked (yellow paint used) that I almost found myself flying through the air in my rental car.
The city of Cancun is located to the east of "la federal", so I turned towards the west onto another highway (la federal 180) which links Cancun to the great city of Merida.
To reach Merida, (located approximately 320 km from Cancun) I drove through the cities of Xcan, Chemax, Valladolid, Dzitas, Tunkas, Izamal, to finally reach the Centertown of Merida. Merida has a fascinating history; this city was built primary on top of the ruins of the city T'ho (old Mayan city). The magnificent Catholic cathedral has been constructed using stones transported from actual Mayan pyramids. The Mayans cherish Merida as a special place in their culture, believing that this was the centre of the universe, a point were all lines intersected (or energy center). Currently, modernized Merida serves as cultural and commercial meeting place were a wide variety of goods is freely exchanged. Merida has many parks which become populated by people of various cultures, loud music at night, dance and rejoicing. Merida brings foreign tourists who roam around in search of colonial treasures.
The main city centre known as zocalo, fills one city block, and is bordered by Calle 61 (calle means street in Spanish) to the north, Calle 62 to the west, Calle 63 to the south, and Calle 60 to the east. The best way to rediscover the city is to use a local city map and roam around, one can never get lost, because the streets are numbered this way; even-numbered streets run north-south, with numbers increasing to the west and odd-numbered streets run east-west, increasing to the south. During my stay in Merida, I explored the following sites: Zocalo, The municipal palace, The cathedral of Saint Idelfonso, The casa de Montejo, The regional museum of anthropology and history, The museum of popular arts, and el parque Hidalgo (free marimba concerts).
Cathedral de Saint Idelfonso: This old cathedral is over 400 years (built in 1598), making it the oldest cathedral on the American continent. Like most colonial structures in the Yucatan Peninsula, the cathedral was built using stones stolen from the Mayan temples of T'ho. The main feature of the cathedral is an impressive 20-meter wooden representation of crucified Christ, which is claimed to be one of the largest crucifixes in the world.
Palacio del Gobierno: Built from 1883 to 1892, the palace was built using two architectural styles known as Tuscan (main floor) and Dorian (upper floor).
The Palace contains gigantic murals which tell the story of Spanish domination over Mayan culture and the history of the Yucatan peninsula. The painting encountered above a stairway shows the Maya belief that their ancestors were made from maize.
I participated in Jarana performances known as the "Yucatecan colonial dance" usually held on Monday evening between 9 P.M. to 10 P.M. Merida is surrounded by many historic palaces and on Sunday, which is the busiest time of the week, I was treated to an open air folklore show at the zocalo near the front of the Palacio Municipal.
The Casa de Montejo: This structure displays a 16th century portico which was built in 1549. This was a former residence of the city founder, Francisco de Montejo. The carved façade, according to the Toltec tradition, demonstrates warriors standing on their conquests' heads.
There is a wide variety of inexpensive hotels that one can stay at:
Hotel Trinidad Galeria (I stayed in this one), is a colonial mansion filled with works of art, some very questionable, yet still interesting. The cost of the stay was something like 20$ per night. The other hotels which seem to be habitable are: Casa Bowen, Hotel Montejo and Hotel las Monjas. In order to be able to admire all these cities in Yucatan Peninsula a lot of time is needed. This situation can be easily reconciled by investing in a condominium property, so that you may have an anchor in one part of the peninsula and roam around to the other areas such as Merida. One possible solution to this dilemma is to own a condo hotel mexico, that is a good investment which practically pays for itself. You can rent out the condominium for profit while you are away, and live in it yourself while you explore various parts of Yucatan Peninsula, including Merida.
Next week, I will explore my voyage to the Chichen Itza, one of the most important archeological sites in Mexico, and in Yucatan Peninsula.
