Hot Merida

For some strange reason, I have virtually no recollection of our 2003 visit to Merida, John very little either. This time, our initial march into the city center looking for hotels left us rather unimpressed. After trampling around the city for a few days, we decided that we like it rather well, in spite of the 100 degree weather which even made the headline in the local paper. We can catch heatwaves well, if not festivals.

Merida has all the elements that we love about Mexican cities. Its squares are particularly spacious and graceful, and it has a good number of Art Deco buildings. While "Domingo(Sunday) en Merida" is over touted by guidebooks, we had fun watching people cycling on streets closed especially for the weekly occasion. Most important of all, the local people in Merida are very friendly, considering Merida seems to have the most number of international tourists per capita of all the cities we visited. One day John and I were in the middle of navigating with our map, a young woman stopped in her track and said to us "you are on 68th street and the city center is that way." I need to work on my geniality.

Getting things going in Merida with a fine meal at Savia Vegetariano.


And more good eating at 2012 Mayan.


Not to mention that we ordered takeout pizza 4 night in a row. The guy with glasses is a pizza genius.




"Transportable murals" by Fernando Pacheco in the governor's palace.


The zocalo.


Dancers on the zocalo.


Parque Santa Lucia.


The Cathedral completed in 1598 out of stones from Mayan temples has gigantic stone columns. Here are two views.




Downtown with Cathdral as seen from the rooftop of Las Monjas Convent.


The Contemporary Art Museum MAYAC had 11 artists in exhibition. We liked the works of Esmeralda Torres...


...and Fernando Pacheco.


Two views of Iglesia Santiago.




Cathedral with streetlights.


Domingo en Merida.

Campeche

While our 2003 visit left us an exceedingly favorable impression of Mexico, memories of specific places are varied. Of Campeche we both had vivid memories of the peaceful waterfront, hot strong sun, graceful colonial streets, and a hotel with a high ceiling. This return visit to Campeche turned out to be more perplexing.

The central plaza and colonial streets are every bit picturesque as we remembered; in fact, most of the buildings look to be freshly painted with coordinated pastels; must have been approved by some committee. Many of the bastions are under restoration. Yet, missing in the walled city is the liveliness we have grown to revel in in almost all the cities in Mexico. Missing are the school children noisily traversing the streets; missing are vendors diligently hawking their wares; missing are the restaurants bustling with office workers. Could be it that we happened to hit Campeche in the early part of the week; not the weekend? Or could this be a reflection of lack development, or conversely, exceeding high level of development? Or could this be the quietude before the invasion of cruise ships?

The bus ride northeast from Villahermso to Campeche along the Gulf of Mexico was very scenic in spots, and we had front row seats.


The zocalo at night.








City Streets.








El Cristo Negro el Señor de San Roman en Campeche.


A peek into a private home near our hotel.


Ice cream, sunset, and a sea breeze.


Modern Government building with mural.


The Malecon (esplanade) has a bike path and walking path and is very busy in the evenings. This photo was taken in the morning.


El Fuerte de San Miguel - 4 kms southwest of city center - a good walk.


Vegetarian fast food at Natura 2000.

Villahermosa

Tired from the 11-hour overnight bus ride from Mexico City, we walked into Villahermosa through deserted Sunday AM streets, found a hotel, bought some pastries at Soriana, made coffee and had breakfast in our room, did some laundry, and then walked in unseasonably cool (but comfortable) blue skies to the Museo La Venta and saw the collection of Olmec Heads. And that's the whole story. On to Campeche.

Sun-Ling with Olmec Head in Museo La Venta. The Museo is located on a lagoon with other museums and several parks - a nice area.


John with head.


Monkey Looking at the Sky.


Sunday morning futbol.


A brass band was playing on the plaza Sunday evening.


Cool building.

Mexico City - Part V - The Museo

Saturday, before taking the night bus to Villahermosa, we spent the whole day at the Museo Nacional de Antropología; an impressive museum in a pretty neat building. We only made it through the lower floor.

The Museo in located in the Bosque de Chapultepec, the largest city park in the Western Hemisphere and which features the Art Deco Los Niños Héroes Monument at its entrance.


The impressive fountain in the Museo courtyard.


And from the opposite end of the courtyard.


Ballcourt apartatus.


Wolfman.


Bird.


Mother of the Universe.


Mayan Exhibition Hall.




Olmec head.


Mask - a Sun-Ling favorite.


Carved shell - very cool.


Near the Museo, one can borrow a bike for free.


And in our last hour in DF, we finally got a peak into La Enseñanza but only from the street. The church doors were open, but the gate was locked. Next time.