2001-08-17-merida-yucatan-mexico.md (3674B)
1 +++ 2 title = "Mérida, Yucatán, México" 3 date = "2001-08-17T16:00:00Z" 4 slug = "merida-yucatan-mexico" 5 tags = ["Mexico", "Travel"] 6 +++ 7 8 Arrived in Cancún on Friday at about 6 pm, took out some money from the bank 9 machine, and hopped into a colectivo¹ for Ciudad Cancún—the city itself—a 10 twenty minute drive from the long strip of hotels between the lagoon and the 11 ocean that the outside world refers to as Cancún. By the time the colectivo got 12 to the bus station, it was 9 pm, so after checking out the schedule and booking 13 tickets, there was just enough time to grab some dinner and get some sleep 14 before heading off to Mérida first thing the next morning. 15 16 {{< figure src="/post/2001-08-17-cathedral.jpg" alt="Façade of the Mérida cathedral in the evening light. Groups of pedestrians pass along the sidewalk in front as Volkswagen Beetles drive by." >}} 17 18 Sitting in a Mexican bus station is an activity in itself. Drenched in sweat 19 and surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people carrying bags, backpacks, and 20 cardboard packages held together with twine, in heat and humidity well above 21 what any sane person would tolerate, you gain an appreciation of just how 22 patient a people the Mexicans are. Buses come and go as they please; to the 23 Mexican bus driver, the posted schedule is only a guideline. Buses are 24 notoriously late, and ours is no exception. 25 26 When it does arrive, the bags are loaded, everyone climbs into their seats and, 27 once the bus driver has got his drinks and snacks ready for the trip, he throws 28 it into reverse and we´re off. After a four hour ride through the Yucatecan 29 jungle, we arrived at the Fiesta Américana terminal in the north end of Mérida. 30 From there, we grabbed a taxi into town and unloaded everything at Hotel Mucuy, 31 on calle 57 between calle 56 and calle 58, where we stayed while we searched 32 for jobs and a place to live. 33 34 This might be a good time to explain the mysterious numbering system for the 35 addresses in Mérida. Odd numbered streets run east-west and even numbered 36 streets run north-south. For streets that run diagonally, the ones that run 37 from SE to NW are even, the rest are odd—usually. Another challenge is that 38 street addresses are not often consistent; number 499 might be three or four 39 blocks from 498. Because of this, addresses are usually given as a street 40 number and a cross street (for corner addresses) or a street number and the two 41 cross streets between which the address lies. 42 43 Mérida is the capital city of México’s Yucatán state and, centuries ago, was 44 the capital of the Mayan empire as well. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived 45 in the city in the mid-16th century, led by Francisco de Montejo, they 46 discovered the Mayan city of Tihó. Its temples and limestone architecture 47 reminded them enough of Mérida, Spain that they promptly renamed the city and 48 began dismantling the Mayan structures. While you won’t find any of the 49 original Mayan buildings remaining today, the cathedral in the Plaza Principal² 50 contains blocks from the Mayan temple that once stood in the same location. 51 52 In any case, the city today is gorgeous. Its narrow streets and colonial 53 architecture give it a traditional feel. Every Sunday, all the streets within 54 several blocks of the main plaza are shut down to vehicle traffic while 55 musicians play live music near the Plaza Principal, and people dance in the 56 streets. 57 58 ### Glossary 59 60 1. *Colectivo:* a communal taxi, usually a VW van, into which the driver packs 61 as many people as the laws of physics will allow. For example the last one 62 we used had 16 people stuffed into it. 63 1. *Plaza Principal:* the main square found in almost every Mexican town.