Mérida What to Pack

Luggage and bags: - Unless you speak Spanish, bring a small notebook or calculator for writing prices when negotiating.

- Bring a Spanish-Your language dictionary to assist in communicating.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: - We did not bring enough clothes. We forgot about the heat and sweat and the fact that you can only wear a top for one day. You either need more clothes or to find a laundromat.

- Bring comfortable runners. I wore only sandals the first two days, but developed blisters since it has been 5 months since I last used them in Canada, so I had to switch to my runners until the blisters healed.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: - Consider bringing Pepto Bismal. We were told that taking Pepto Bismal twice or four times a day keeps most people from getting Montezuma's Revenge (or as they now call it Traveller's Disease).

- In Mexico, always carry tissues or wet ones. Many washrooms do not have toilet paper (or toilet seats).

- We used a lot of suntan lotion.

- We read elsewhere that visitors needed to bring mosquito lotion. It depends on when you visit. The rainy season in Merida is June through September (over 5" of rain each month). From November to April, average rainfall is approx 1" per month -- not enough rain to support mosquitos.

Miscellaneous: - ATM's give out cash in 500 and 200 peso notes. Most restaurants were not happy accepting a 500 peso note. Make sure you have lots of smaller value notes, use the big bills in big grocery stores or paying for hotels.

- Regarding phone calls. The pay phones do not accept cash. We wanted to make a couple of local calls, and never found out how to do it -- the rules at buying (and using) a phone card are all in Spanish.