Category: Black

BOLT’s Top 5 Things To Do When Visiting Merida

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, Lesbian, Long term travel, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Travel

We’ve been blessed with lots of visitors lately and were so proud to show them our beautiful city. So, it’s time for a top 5 list of what we suggest you see when visiting Merida.

El Zócalo

1. El Zócalo

Also known as la Plaza Grande or Grand Plaza el zócalo is a must visit site. It’s a great spot for picture taking, it’s surrounded by historic colonial buildings and an ancient cathedral. There are lots of art galleries and street vendors in the area. At night el zócalo comes alive with music, light shows and a variety of activities.

Musica en el Zócalo!
El Museo del Mundo Maya

2. El Museo del Mundo Maya

The Maya World Museum is a striking, modern Mayan cultural museum with many exhibits of art, handicrafts & history. It’s a great place to spend a cool air conditioned afternoon on a hot Merida day.

Maya Museum Exhibit

3. Biciruta on Sunday Morning!

Rent a bike and enjoy a ride down historic Paseo Montejo. The street is closed to car traffic on Sunday mornings and full of bikers, skaters, folks walking their dogs, babies in strollers and more. It’s a lovely way to take in Merida’s main street with beautiful old mansions and monuments.

Monumento de la Patria
Look for the pink umbrella!

4. Free Walking Tour

Every day at 10 am there is a great walking tour which starts at Parque Santa Lucia. You will tour central Merida, see lots of historic buildings and thoroughly enjoy a brief history lesson.

Cathedral de Merida

5. Take a Day Trip

With so much to see and do you may not want to leave Merida. However, at least one trip out of town shouldn’t be missed. You can visit the closest beach town or Progresso, spend a day at one of the many cenotes or visit the pyramids at the World Heritage Sites of Chichen Itza or Uxmal.

Yucatan Cenote
Uxmal

If you are planning a visit to Merida, please let us know. We’ll be proud and honored to show you our beautiful home city.

Advertisement

15 Best Things To Do in Merida Mexico 2022: Guide & Tips

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, cenotes, Long term travel, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Santa Barbara Cenote, Yucatán, Mexico, Travel

This is a pretty good article about visiting Merida. Living here means we can take our time and visit ALL the things.

https://www.roamingaroundtheworld.com/top-5-things-to-do-in-merida-mexico/

So far we have taken the walking tour which was great. We really enjoyed Pok Ta Pok and I wrote a short blog about it.

We have visited and biked Paseo Montejo as well as several of the plazas.

We’ve enjoyed several day trips, most memorably Chichén Itza and the Santa Barbara Cenotes.

Everything else on the list we are still looking forward to. We will proceed with caution as COVID is still s very real and present danger!

This is an example of what under $500 USD can get in Merida, Mexico! We are very happy in our new place.

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, Long term travel, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Old, retirement
Site icon
This is an example of what under $500 USD can get in Merida, Mexico! We are very happy in our new place.

Celebrating A Year in Merida!

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, Lesbian, Merida, Mexico, Mexico

We have really come to love this city! A year passed by really quickly! Lots of good adventures, wonderful new friends made and just another wonderful year for Black Old Lesbians Traveling!

Pok Ta Pok!

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Yucatán

Pok-Ta–Pok is an ancient Mayan ball game, that was played thousands of years ago as part of a sacred, sacrificial ceremony, pitting good against evil. The general belief is that the ball, five pounds of solid rubber, could only be hit with forearms and thighs. The goal of the game was to maneuver the ball through a stone hoop extending from a wall. It is said that the winner of the game was sacrificed, supposedly a high honor.

Pok-Ta-Pok ball courts can still be found at Mayan archeological sites, such as Chichen Itza, and Uxmal.

You can now experience this ancient game right here in Merida.

The show is held Wednesdays at 8 p.m, in front of the Merida Cathedral in Centro.

Entrance is free but assigned seating is limited. We had a great, safe time!

While Covid infections are on the rise here in Merida it is important to find outdoor, socially distanced and masked events to attend. We’d love to hear your suggestions.

BOLT Top 5: Reasons Why We Like Cruising

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, cruising, generational, Long term travel, Ocean, retirement, Travel, WOC, Women

Cruising is very special for Kathy and I. We met on a cruise. When we were working cruising was a great way to vacation. We started our lives of retirement and travel with a 30 day cruise. We know that cruising is not for everyone. It’s not the best way to immerse yourself in a locale. You usually spend less than a day in port. It’s not the cheapest way to travel. But for us, it’s one of our favorite ways to go. Here’s our top 5 reasons why.

1. Ease of Travel

Rather then changing hotels several times,check in, check out, lug suitcases around, etc, when you cruise you check in once and are set for the length of the vacation. On our last cruise we visited 3 countries and a total of 9 ports. Cruising made that so much easier.

2. Meals

Cruise ships have amazing food! There is a huge variety of selections and dining options. Unless you choose to dine at the “specialty restaurants” all your meals are included in the price of the cruise.

3. The Ports

Cruising is a great way to see places you might not normally visit. You will visit many exotic places on most cruises. You can choose one of the many shore excursions offered by the cruise lines or just get off the ship and explore on your own.

4. Group Gatherings

Cruises are such an awesome way to get a group together. With a minimum of planning you can have a wonderful family vacation, class reunion or simply a gathering of friends.

5. Value

Cruising is not the least expensive way to travel but when you add up all of the above we think you get very good value for your travel dollar, especially if you put in some effort to research bargains.

How about you? We’d love to hear your thoughts on cruising. Contact us at boltraveling@gmail.com

5 Fun Things to do While Living in Merida

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, Fun, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Old, Yucatán

Having fun and finding beauty, even during a pandemic, is easy and affordable to do in and around Merida. Here are five suggestions.

1. Take a Walk
Merida is a great city for walking especially in the Centro or Paseo Montejo áreas.

2. Explore Mayan History and Culture
Chichen Itza is just one of many ancient Mayan heritage sites in the area. Get a good guide and learn more about this beautiful culture.

3. Visit a Cenote
If you do nothing else, visit at least one of these magical and sacred natural water filled sink holes.

4. Go Looking for Iguanas
These dragon like creatures are all over the city, especially in parks. I love trying to spot them as they are shy and blend in well with their surroundings.

5. Cool Off with a Day at the Beach or a Pool!
Merida is 🔥 HOT! There are lovely beaches less than 30 minutes away and many local hotels allow you to come swim, better yet…get an apartment with a pool!

BOLT Reviews: Cenote Santa Barbara

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, cenotes, Long term travel, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Santa Barbara Cenote, Yucatán, Mexico, Yucatán

Words and pictures can not fully express the magic I experienced on our recent trip to the little town of Homun and the Cenote Santa Barbara.

A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The regional term is specifically associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where we are currently living.

The Maya believed cenotes to be a gateway to Xibalba, the underworld, and the god of rain, Chaac, was believed to live at the bottom of these sacred wells. The Maya performed rituals and ceremonies at sacred cenotes to ask for rain and good crops.

Cenote Santa Barbara has three really beautiful and accessable cenotes. We were able to explore and swim in all three. The stairs down to the cenotes were well designed and very stable they all had hand rails. This was not true for the cenote we visited in Valladolid and I chose not to risk going down.

To get to the first cenote you could ride a bike or the horse drawn cart. It’s a fun less than 10 minute ride, whichever you choose.

Our friends and we swam in all 3 cenotes. The water was cool but not cold. For me it was a relaxing and healing experience.

We ended our day at the restaurant on the premises. We were able to choose from many delicious options of Yuccatecan style food. Admission to the cenote, including lunch was 290 pesos, less than $15 USD!

For more information about these amazing gifts of nature visit https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/mexico-s-cenotes-hidden-gems-of-the-yucatan/

BOLT Reviews: Playa Bonita Beach Club

by BOLT, posted in African American, Beach Fun, Black, family, Fun, Gay, generational, Long term travel, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Ocean, Old, Playa Bonita Beach Club, POC, Travel, WOC, Women, Yucatán

Just a short 3o minutes away from Mérida, Mexico is the city of Chelem. This sleepy little pueblo is home to the perfect spot for a getaway.

Playa Bonita Beach Club is the perfect spot for a day trip. For only 100 pesos (about $5 usd) you can spend all day on a comfortable beach lounge.

There is a lovely little pool, changing rooms and very clean restrooms.

I was especially delighted by how good, I mean really good the food and drinks were. There is a full, moderately priced menu. The waiters were attentive and friendly. You can have your food brought to your oceanside lounge or table.

I enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach and several people were actually enjoying time in the waves. All in all I spent a perfect day at Playa Bonita Beach Club. I can’t wait to go back!

If you have a special getaway spot in the Yucatan or wherever you are, we’d love to hear about it. Comment here or write us at BOLTraveling@gmail.com

Nuestras Primeras Dos Semanas en Mérida

by BOLT, posted in African American, Black, generational, Lesbian, Merida, Mexico, Mexico, Old, retirement, WOC, Women

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since our arrival in Merida. Because of Covid concerns we haven’t done much exploring yet, outside of getting to know our new neighborhood. Here is a summary of our first two weeks in pictures.

First off, We love our little orange house and the small compound in which we are living.
There is a lovely park one block away with walking trails. I am really enjoying my morning walks an seeing my neighbors and their dogs.
There is a GREAT BIG mall within walking distance too. It has EVERYTHING including an enormous supermarket (Soriana).
There are all kinds of restaurants in the area including a pretty good pizza place (yes, they deliver).
Equally close is another, smaller, mall with a fully stocked Walmart.
There is a beautiful community of Black folks here. They had a gathering in the park on Sunday which included a toy drive. Kathy enjoyed meeting some new folks and seeing some old friend and dropping off some toys.
We have a tortilleria right across the street from us, which is wonderful.
The place I was most excited to discover was right next door! There is a wonderful little tienda that sells fresh fruits and veggies, and egg. They even have a butcher!

So, our new life in Merida is comfortable, quiet and beautiful…all we could ask for during these difficult times. We look forward to exploring and sharing more as the weeks progress. Stay safe! Love and light to all!