Mexican Magical City #2: Merida

July 30, 2024|Rick Juliusson

After the food scarcity of Cuba, Mexican cuisine was an explosion of senses. From the phallic frivolity of street food like the photo above (filled with cream cheese and nutella), to the sophisticated fusion of traditional and modern cuisine of the Yucatan, our final two stops in Mexico were a constant culinary cacophony from market stalls to converted mansion elegance.

I'm not trying to be a "7 things to do in Merida" writer, but if you are there please treat yourself to a feast at Yerba Santa. Formerly a doctor's private residence, it's now a high-end restaurant - the fancy food and building (including a tower) photos below are from there.

Market breakfast

Atop the tower at Yerba Santa

Safely inland from the craziness of Cancun, Merida is an absolute gem of a place to spend a week. We had the pool at our historic district AirBnB all to ourselves, where we spent the middle of every 110 degree day. But mornings and evenings were 15,000 steps of gorgeous old Spanish architecture reminiscent of Havana, free outdoor music & dance performances (mostly attended by residents, not foreigners), markets, monuments and art.

Our private pool

Free nighttime concert

Outside our AirBnB

View from our rooftop

"Lovers' Chairs" - for talking without too much contact

Free outdoor concerts were a dance magnet for local folk

Bizarre light show on a monument

Probaby to protect the tourist industry, Merida is a safe city to visit. But we were reminded of the reality of drug cartels and violence when stumbling upon a peaceful political rally for Claudia Sheinbaum - soon-after was elected as Mexico's first female president (yes, it is possible in North America!) - through which police cruised in open-air jeeps with mounted machine guns.

On our last day we rented a tiny little car to drive out to some of the hundreds of underground “cenote” fresh water sinkholes. These seemingly endless supplies of fresh water for inland Yucatan did, in fact, run dry due to deforestation and overuse, likely causing the end of the Mayan empire. When I asked our walking tour guide what will prevent that from happening again - given the rising population, global temperatures and deforestation - he basically gave the longer-straw solution: we pipe the water in from further-away cenotes.

Tree roots reaching down for a long drink

Inside the cenote

Entrance to an underground Cenote water hole

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4 Comments

(Ms) Pete Young on July 30, 2024 at 12:39 am

Wonderful photos … THANKS

Reply
- Rick Juliusson on July 30, 2024 at 1:04 am
  
  Thanks Pete. To be fair, some of them (probably the best ones) are by Sarah.
  
  Reply
Jill Kresse on July 30, 2024 at 12:58 am

I’m enjoying reading your updates. Re: safety, I recently had a student from Merida. She explained it’s where many of the cartels’ families live. Thus, it’s safe.

Reply
- Rick Juliusson on July 30, 2024 at 1:03 am
  
  Wow, I hadn’t thought of that. Gracias!
  
  Reply