WEEKLY FIESTAS, COMMUNITY, KINDNESS
by Sandi-2004
Not only does Merida celebrate life through its weekly music and dancing in the parks and the weekend fiestas, but also there is generally a kindness and sense of community here that can be easily felt by a visitor. Merida and the Yucatan as a whole is a very safe place, very little crime. I think that perhaps that is part of this sense of goodness among the people there.
Learn a little Spanish before you go, take a phrase book and speak whatever amount of Spanish you know when starting a conversation. You will get a warm and pleasant response.
Ruta Puuc: Uxmal
by darthmilmo
The first day I started things off visiting the incredible ruins of Uxmal. This site has to be among the best in the Mayan world. Its amazing the detail work the Mayan put into building the Palace, even more so when one considers the lack of metal tools in the Mayan world back then. For those without a car, there is a Tourist Red bus that takes tourist from Merida to the many Ruta Puuc sights, including Uxmal, Sayil, and Kabah. You can catch this bus at the small town of Sta. Elena as well. Check out my Uxmal page.
La Ruta Puuc on a Sunday
by Waxbag
On Sunday why not take advantage of free admission to the Mayan ruins and visit the Ruta Puuc sites. You can see Sayil, Xlapak, Labna, Kabah and then finally Uxmal. Uxmal is the largest of the these and is one of the largest in Mexico. The Mayans here in the Puuc region built marvelously detail structures. Their style is very unique to this region.
From the Merida's Terminal de Segunda Clase, you can buy your round trip ticket that goes through all the above sites. Buy a day in advance. The bus will first go to Uxmal and drop off those going there directly. Stay on and go to the smaller sites. It will come back to Uxmal and pick you up again a few hours later.
You only have to pay the cost of the bus ticket. If you are in Merida on a Sunday I highly recommend taking advantage of this.
Paseo de Montejo
by leffe3
Having spent most of the time wondering through the narrow one way streets of the city round the Plaza Mayor, it can be something of a surpise to chance across the Paseo de Montejo. This and the immediate surrounds is where the serious 19th century money was and which now houses the more elite parts of the city, including the modern shopping mall and US chain-hotels such as the Hyatt, Holiday Inn etc. Sadly, many of the colonnial mansions have disappeared under the developers hammer, but a few remain, and even if only for a short time, it is worth heading north from the Plaza Mayor to see a different part of Merida
Casa de Montejo
by Redlats
This building is now a bank. That property used to be the home of the Montejo family who conquered the Mayans in 1542. We never looked inside, but check out the carving on the facade of the building.
The facade was arranged by the Spanish conquistadors. The images show larger-than-life Spanish soldiers standing on the heads of small Mayans -- the reasons behind such imagery I'll leave to your imaginations.
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Cenote X-Batun
Me, pan dolce y cappuccino
A typical room
Our guide Ernesto, looking for a bigger tip
