A day in Mérida

After breakfast by the pool, we walk into the main square where we meet up with a guide who takes a bunch of us around the colonial main square (Plaza Grande) for an historical tour of the main buildings in the plaza.

Of particular note is the Palacio de Gobernador (the Governor's Palace) with the wonderful paintings by Fernando Castro Pacheco which illustrate beautifully the history of the Yucatán area.

The Mayans fought hard against the Spanish: on the Yucatán, there was the caste war in which 300,000 people were killed. It was Francisco Hernández de Córdoba who discovered the Yucatán but Commander Francisco de Montejo and his nephew and son (the son founded the city on 6 January 1542) who conquered it, taking 20 years to overcome the Mayans. And it was the Franciscans who were responsible for the spiritual conquest (to Catholicism) of the Mayans, even though they did defend them from abuses. Later on, in the Agrarian reform years in the early 20th century, it was Puerto and Cárdenas who were dedicated to the emancipation of the Mayan peasant.

Afterwards, we visited the Museum of Modern Art housed in one of the buildings in the plaza. We sat awhile in the Cathedral de San Ildefonso - as we were walking past we heard singing and went in an enjoyed a 10 or 15 minutes of lovely singing accompanied by the organ playing.

Then My Friend wanted to buy a Panama hat; we were discussing where to go when a local stopped and in perfect English explained where we should go to get a genuine one. Having achieved this goal, we walked to a coffee place that Jorges had recommended (it was OK), buying a yummy pastry along the way from a bakery.

Next port of call was to walk along the Paseo de Montejo where the wealthy land barons of Mérida lived, displaying their wealth; there are a number of grand, opulent, white stone mansions along this wide boulevard which is named after Mérida's founder. Mérida is the capital of the Yucatán and is nick-named 'The White City'.

We kept walking - way too far! Finally we caught a taxi for the last few kilometers (we had way under-estimated the distance!!) and we arrived at the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. A world-class museum celebrating Maya culture, the Gran Museo houses a permanent collection of more than 1100 remarkably well-preserved artifacts. A couple of these photos are provided by My Friend.

As the reviews had suggested, this was truly wonderful and worth the effort. (So was the taxi back and a drink and some yummy tortillas and dips at La Negrita).

We had a bit of a break back at our casa before heading out once more. Downtown in the main plaza, we were told there would be some local dancing. We had been given two different starting times so, to be sure, we turned up at 8 p.m. and 'snagged' seats on a metal stand set up temporarily and watched the crowd form. At 9 p.m. the show started. By now there were heaps of people!

This was all free (libre) mind you! It was quite a performance with a band of musicians and an MC who kept everyone amused - even though we couldn't understand much of the Spanish, we had a bit of an idea by the gestures of the MC and the reaction of the locals - THEY all found what he had to say to be funny!

It was all very energetic and colourful and we enjoyed an hour's entertainment (even having a giggle at the expense of a couple of the poor male dancers who seemed to struggle a bit at times either with the steps or the pace of the dancing).

It was a great spectacle and we enjoyed ourselves.