Mérida - Highly praised but did not impress me much

I spent four nights at a great accommodation and was invited to home-made dinner by the family every time I stepped into the door. They were outstandingly hospitable, and I felt very much at home. Other than that, the city didn't blow me away. The downtown area was incredibly crowded and congested with traffic meanwhile offering only cheap clothing stores, and I got the nastiest mosquito bites of my entire trip!

I dedicated my stay to the region's colonial heritage and visited a mansion to see how the conquistadores used to live back in the days, as well as a hacienda on which henéquen was grown and processed. Henéquen is a plant native to Yucatán, and until the mid-20th century it was one of the big industrial activities in the area because you can produce various forms of textile from this plant. Unfortunately, the hacienda was much in decay.

On one day I went onto a day trip to Celestún, a town right at the coast with a long beach. There were guides offering boat tours to see the nearby flora and fauna, i.e. flamingoes, pelicans, cormorants, mangroves etc. I was especially proud of myself because I managed to negotiate a price that was 50% below the usual tour prices, and it was indeed a nice tour.