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!
Merida is a great, vibrant city in the south of Mexico, it’s the capital Yucatan state. According to the 2020 census, the population of Mérida was 1,161,000. Mérida is a cultural center, featuring multiple museums, art galleries, restaurants, movie theatres, and shops. Sadly, with Covid many of these are closed or have limited access. There is much to love about Merida, these are our top 7 reasons (in no particular order).
Community!
Community!
There is a wonderful and growing community of black folks where in Merida. We especially appreciate the diversity of ages, there are lots of families and we’ve made lots of friends with women in our age group as well.
Parks and Green Spaces!
Parks and Green Spaces!
Merida is a lovely and lively city with an abundance of parks. These are great for two of our favorite activities, walking and people watching.
The Beaches!
The Beaches!
While not technically a beach city there are plenty of sweet little beach towns less than 30 minutes away.
Lots to See and Do!Biciruta!
Lots to See and Do!
From beautiful monuments, majestic mansions on Paseó Montejo, magical cenotes and ancient Chichen Itza, there is a wide variety of activities and sightseeing trips in and around Merida. Biciruta is a favorite activity of ours, it’s made me love Merida even more.
Safety, Language and the People!
Safety, Language and the People!
Merida is consistently rated as one of the safest cities in the world. We have found it to be so. We are learning Spanish and find communication fairly easy. Most importantly, we have found the people here to be helpful, friendly and kind.
Modern Comforts!
Modern Comforts!
Merida is modern city with a range of shopping malls, auto dealerships, hotels, restaurants, and leisure facilities. Medical care is good and affordable.
The Food!
The Food!
If you are expecting “traditional” Mexican food like you’d find in your favorite U.S. spot, you’re gonna be disappointed. The flavors of this region are quite different. I’m growing to like several dishes and am willing to try more. Also, there are plenty of non Yucatecan restaurants in town, including vegetarian spots, top of the line steak houses and even U.S. chains like Fridays, Chilli’s and IHOP.
There’s a great Sunday morning tradition here in Merida. Paseó Montejo, a beautiful street filled with old world mansions, is closed off to car traffic. Bicyclers, skaters and walkers take over the street from 8am to noon. It was a lovely experience!
We especially enjoyed seeing all the cute kids and dogs. There were several bands playing a variety of music and of course, vendors selling their wares. BOLT will definitely be returning for many Sundays to come.
I have come to love iguanas! On my daily walks I’m always on the lookout for them. They are very shy and you can’t get too close. They also blend in very well with the topography. Have fun trying to spot the iguanas in these pictures from my recent walk.
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!
Two trips to Los Angeles, two 4 day hotel stays… getting the Covid vaccine wasn’t cheap for us. We believe that being vaccinated will make our future travels safer and easier.
Get your family and friends vaccinated! Appointments are AVAILABLE NOW at MyTurn.ca.gov. Vaccines are FREE and for anyone 16 and older.
There is a little piece of red, white and green paper that non-residents get upon entering mainland Mexico. It is the visitors permit. Not having this piece of paper was a costly mistake for Kathy and I. The paper is just handed to you when you exit the airport. It is not stapled into your passport or otherwise secured. It is easily lost or misplaced.
Kathy and I were on our way from Merida to Los Angeles for a quick trip to get the Covid vaccine. It is not available to non-residents here in Mexico. Reservations had been made, negative covid tests obtained and passports were in hand. I vaguely noticed I didn’t have the same paper Kathy had but was not very worried about it.
We flew from Merida to Mexico City without this permit. However, when I checked in for our Mexico City to Los Angeles flight, I was told I must have it to fly.
This seems to happen to a lot of people. I was sent downstairs to immigration where I was told “no problem”. I paid 600 Pesos (about $30 USD), signed a form saying I lost the paper and voila! I was on my way back to the American Airlines check in counter.
But…there was a problem, a big one! I was like five minutes past the check in time. Despite Kathy standing right there, boarding pass in hand, despite the plane still boarding with at least 30 minutes before takeoff, depsite my pleas and begs…I was not allowed to board.
Kathy went ahead as there was no sense in both of us missing our flight. Distraught I began to look for other flights. There was nothing left flying out that evening. It was only 8 pm and I was not comfortable spending the night in the airport terminal.
There are no actual hotels in the Mexico City airport but I found a moderately priced sleep pod.
I was unable to truly sleep but with Kathy’s help I got a flight our in the morning. I made it to Los Angeles, we got our first vaccination and are safely back in Merida.
Some expensive lessons were learned!
Check, double check and triple check that you have all necessary documents, no matter where you are traveling.
Allow yourself plenty of time between flights, especially if traveling to large international airports. In Mexico City we had to wait for and take trains between the terminals which was another reason I was late.
If at all possible, when you have missed a flight, allow the airline to rebook your travel. I booked on another airline which is not reimbursable and they cancel your round trip when you don’t allow the original airline to rebook you.
Sleep pods are nice clean places to rest, take care of business, etc. but NOT to sleep.
Missing a flight is not the end of the world. Stay calm, patient and focused and all shall be well.
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
BOLT: Black Old Lesbians Traveling 