Mexico - Merida

Merida is the capital of Yucatan and has 2 million inhabitants. It is known as the White Town, but frankly, don't try to ask us why, since we don't have a clue. Unlike Campeche, the traffic is horrendous, the houses are poorly maintained and it is overrun by tourists. The one benefit this had for us was that it was the perfect place to complete our 'souvenir' shopping, but that was about the only benefit we could find. For the rest it was a slight disappointment after Campeche, even though the travel guide had predicted that we would fall in love with the place. One noteable exception, a small fish restaurant (Blue Marlin) only open for breakfast and lunch, which did the best ever prawn cocktail and ceviche.

However, we didn't only go to Merida for its attractions, but to use it as a basis to visit the two main Mayan sites in Yucatan - Uxmal and Chichen Itza. Both cities were at the height of their power about the same time and had tens of thousands of inhabitants. Chichen Itza is the more famous (also because it is within a daytrip from Cancun (or 'USA on the Sea'), but Uxmal is the more strikingly beautiful. This is due to by Uxmal's architrectural style, which is very geometric and repetitive. Images of the god of the rain (with a massive hooked nose, attractive) are repeated in regular patterns (giving the buildings an almost abstract quality) which is even further accentuated by the occasional iguana that sunbathes on the structures. The buildings themselves are also amongst the more beautiful around, with the most impressive being a large, oval pyramid and a 'governmental' palace that would not be out of place on a square in Paris or Rome.









Chichen Itza, on ther other hand, has a mixture styles for the several buildings, that include the largest ballcourt in the Mayan world, a big, square pyramid that is a physical representation of the Mayan calendar and an observatory. Iguanas were not present, probably because all the available space was taken by tourists (thousands of tourists that had left the beach behind for a day to 'do some culture') and souvenir sellers, who were out in their hundreds (even though it was apparently illegal to sell stuff on the premises of the site). In the evening a 'sound & light spectacle' took place, where the buildings around the main plaza were the main 'actors' in a re-enactment of life in Chichen Itza in Mayan times. Few of the beach tourists were left (the clubs in Cancun beckoned), but for the ones left it was a nice way to spend a warm evening.

Moving on, the last leg of our trip had arrived. Already. Four months had flown by, now Tulum was waiting as the last stop.....