Considering that I’m thrifty and not a 5-star hotel kind of girl, I wanted to go somewhere where a small amount of money could take me far. My research settled on Merida, the capital city of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.
I abhor resort cities, like Cancun, (which is where I flew into), so I didn’t waste any time getting on a bus and travelling 4 hours West, to Merida.
Peaceful, elegant, and charming come to mind when I think back to that city. I wanted to experience a traditional Mexican city without modern changes made for American tourists, and I was very happy by what I saw.
My hotel was absolutely gorgeous. It had an open-air courtyard in the center and was painted in bright colors. There was a pool on the top floor, and the view was pretty nice, considering that none of the buildings were large enough to obstruct your view.
Merida is a pretty spread-out city, but everything you want or need is within walking distance. Plenty of parks, shopping, cafe’s, and restaurants are close by, complete with dancing in the courtyards and outdoor seating to listen to live music.
Chichen-Itza
The first excursion was to Chichen-Itza. It was so hot that day, and the ruins were in an open field, so there wasn’t much shade. Plus, there were so many people everywhere. There were tourist groups of every nationality, and loads of vendors selling trinkets on all the trails. The site was amazing, but I was pretty excited to get back to the air-conditioned van to head toward our pit stop at the cenote.
cenote
Along the journey, we got to see the traditional Mayan villages where its common practice for the family to all sleep in hammocks. Pretty cool.
My next day trip to the sites of Kabah and Uxmal proved a bit more comfortable. The temperature was cooler, there weren’t any venders selling trinkets, and there weren’t hoards of people. Our little group had the places all to ourselves, which was awesome, and made for some great photo ops.
Kabah
Uxmal
Considering my trip to Mexico occurred in December, my warm-weather vacation wouldn’t be complete without some beach time. For 25 pesos, or about $2.00, I got a round-trip bus ticket to Progresso, a little town 30 minutes North of Merida. The beach, palm trees and board walk went on forever and the water was so blue. There’s something special about practicing the “art of doing nothing” on a beach in Winter, and I took the opportunity to soak up as much of the experience as I could.
Progresso
To finish off the vacation, an evening buggy ride down Paseo Montejo, under a full moon was an enchanting way to see the city. It was nice to see couples taking romantic late-night strolls and listening to live music until your eyelids grew heavy.
And, if there was only one reason to return to Mexico, I would go back for the food. I have a little addiction to Lime, and there was lime in almost every dish! (My favorite was lime soup!) The pork practically melted in your mouth, the milkshakes and performance-made crepes were unbelievably fresh and the salsa’s were mouth-watering. I couldn’t believe how much flavor the food had, which helped to make my entire memory of Mexico simply delicious.
EXPOSED LATITUDES 