Time out for two... A journey through the past of Yucatan in Mexico: Merida and the Mayan sites

Let's go from Tulum to Merida. After our 4-hour bus ride, finding a hotel was pretty quick. We didn't have high expectations and got a simple room for €20 per night. Some people would probably have turned back here. I have to say, the hotel was quite old and you had to imagine a hot shower, but it was cleaned thoroughly every day. And luckily, we only noticed on our departure day that there were cockroaches living in the bathroom door :-D

We spent 4 nights in Merida. We spontaneously decided to extend our stay here to be able to explore a lot and have a relaxing day in the city. After 4 months of traveling (for me), I reached my limits. I became really tired of traveling and realized that the frequent changes of location turned into stress. I also felt a little homesick because I had been away from my familiar surroundings for a long time. Everything is just different in America. I was grateful and happy for this time out and the opportunity to discover several countries and experience new adventures. And yet I had to admit that I (probably also with age) was no longer made for such long trips and constant changes of location. So Nico and I decided to plan longer stays in one place for the next destinations to be able to relax. We had the time. Even though so much is tempting to be discovered, it doesn't make sense if you can't enjoy it in the end...

Back to Merida. Yes, a really beautiful colonial city!!! We enjoyed strolling through the old town every morning and evening. And not only the center was charming, the whole city consisted mainly of beautiful old buildings from the colonial period. In the "San Juan" park, we went to a snack stand almost every evening and ate cheap and delicious tacos, tortas or gringas. Merida was, in our opinion, the most beautiful city on the Yucatan Peninsula compared to Cancun and Tulum!

By chance, we passed a police station in Merida. We approached the watch leader and asked for an English-speaking colleague. A policewoman was sent to us and asked about our concern. She was very surprised and delighted when I explained to her that we are policemen from Germany and would like to exchange our badges. This led to a very detailed and interesting conversation. The station gradually filled up with colleagues and even the station chief. The policewoman translated for us. An hour passed, we were showered with badges and baseball caps from the police in Yucatan, and everyone was happy about a shared souvenir photo 😊

On our last evening in Merida, we decided to do something for fitness and our sluggish bodies! We couldn't let that slip :-P
We headed to a park with a small playground and had to realize that a big stage was set up with live music, a dance performance, and lots of spectators all around. It was Saturday evening and it seemed that there were several festivities in the city on the occasion of the upcoming "dia de muerto" (Day of the Dead). Nevertheless, this did not stop us from doing some pull-ups on the bar. When we were exhausted, it motivated several spectators who had watched us to go to the bar and try pull-ups. It seemed easy for us... Some struggled desperately to pull themselves up :-D
Then we strolled to the city center to watch the spectacle. There were stages built everywhere on the squares and loud music was playing from the speakers. Various artists presented different shows in the streets. We especially liked the drum group. It was really energetic!

Not only Merida captivated us. There were still some wonderful places to discover... Since we didn't have much time, we chose the most famous Mayan site "Chichen Itza" and the Mayan site Uxmal, as well as the cenote X'batun.

One day, we drove with a scooter and a top speed of 85 km/h for almost 2 ½ hours to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. The main pyramid rose towering at the entrance of the site and caused astonishment. The temple complex was in such good condition that one was extraordinarily impressed by the artistic and architectural works of that time. The only drawback: the stalls with the annoying vendors all over the site... No matter where you walked, you were constantly bombarded with Maya pipes, jaguar noises from some instruments, and "Here my friend. Best price. 1 Dollar. Best souvenir!"... Just extremely annoying!!! The site could be so beautiful if the stalls, like in Tulum, were outside...

For that reason, we were even happier in the Uxmal Mayan site. No vendors. Just peace, fewer visitors, and the sound of the jungle around. It was so wonderful here. We enjoyed the atmosphere and admired the preserved Mayan buildings. Afterwards, we turned onto a small road with our scooter on the way back, which led us to the cenote X'batun. We passed fields and small villages and thought, yes, this is what rural life looks like in Mexico. Farm animals ran across the streets and there was no sign of big city noise or traffic...

The cenote was really beautiful and remote! No guarantee of masses of tourists and commercialism! On the Yucatan Peninsula, there are estimated to be over 6000 of these groundwater-filled caves and holes. These "sacred springs" (translated from the Maya language) fascinate with their deep blue water and partly stalactite-like cave systems in the middle of the jungle. We let ourselves float with other locals in the small "pool", climbed a few rocks, and enjoyed the view. Since splashing around usually makes you hungry, we stopped at a restaurant in one of the villages on the way back and let ourselves be enchanted by local cuisine. We ordered "Panucho", a Mexican specialty from Yucatan. Wow, it was delicious! Just black beans, dough flakes with pulled chicken, special vegetables, and spices... You simply have to try it when you're here 😉

We now left Yucatan behind. From the airport in Merida, we flew 2 hours to Mexico City. At first, it's hard to imagine that this is such a distance. Mexico is really damn big!

Next destination: The Iztaccíhuatl volcano (hard to pronounce...) in the Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park (even harder to pronounce :-D ) and Mexico City...