Carnival in Merida

We decided to go to Merida on Saturday February 21st and stay overnight to watch the parade. We booked a room in a hotel with a view on the street where the parade was taking place. Unfortunately there was Plexiglas outside of our patio doors so we could not see the parade very well, however, we were very happy to have that Plexiglas once the parade was over because it reduced the noise tremendously.

We took the local bus at 11:00 from Progreso and arrived downtown at 12:00 to meet some friends for lunch at an old hacienda a couple of blocks away. After lunch we went to our hotel, and had a good swim in the pool (water was very cold), spent some time around the pool and went back to our room for an afternoon siesta. The hotel had a wonderful indoor garden and lots of antiques (see photo).















We went out for dinner before the parade, at a lovely restaurant and had typical Mayan food, which was excellent. We looked around a bit and then decided to come back to our hotel where we bought our tickets to reserve our chairs to watch the parade. The tickets were $2.50/each, and sat on the last row (there were 3 rows of chairs). See photo.




















Merida´s Carnival is one of the five most important in the entire Mexican republic. The theme of this year´s Carnival was Carnival of Cinema. It ran from February 18, when bad humor and moods were symbolically burned, and ended on Tuesday February 24 with humor, happiness and joy in the hearts of all those who took part. There were 110 groups, which included dancers, parade floats, marching bands, lots of very loud music, pretty girls, etc. (see photos). We had a really great time (it was our first Carnival) and enjoyed our break away from the constant wind in Chicxulub.

Uxmal and the Puuc Route

Friday, February 6, 2009

We took a trip along the Convent Route which is off the beaten path and into the heart of the Yucatan. We visited Mayan villages and ruins, colonial churches, cathedrals and convents, courtyards and cenotes (large freshwater sinkholes) dating back centuries. Going through one of the villages we came across a market with a remarkable mural (see picture).














We also stopped in Ticul which is know for its pottery, went into lots of stores but have not found what we are looking for. We then went to Uxmal, which is the most memorable Maya ruins in the Yucatán, it contains some of the best –preserved architecture (between A.D. 850 and 900).

We were planning on seeing the sound and light show but it was cancelled because of repairs. We stayed at the Misión Hotel in Uxmal with our room facing the ruins. Quite a sight. The next morning we spent 2 hrs visiting the ruins, which were beautiful with the lattice work, the numerous masks, serpents and massive buildings (see pictures). We then followed the Puuc Route and saw numerous other ruins. As usual, the weather has been more than beautiful every day, sunny and very warm (+ - 28C).

Campeche City

February 2, 2009

Campeche city is the capital of the Campeche state which is approx. 2.5 hrs from where we are staying. Campeche earned its UN World Heritage designation primarily for its network of city walls, bastions and forts.














Most have been meticulously restored and contain small but excellent museums. We walked on the city walls as well as visited replicas of daily life within the forts. (see picture of Serge defending the fort, and David taking care of the daily water ration!!!).













We also saw some very impressive Mayan artifacts.


















We went wandering around the central plaza and city center where we found a number of historical churches and buildings worth peeking into and looked at the colorful facades and cobblestoned streets along the way. This city must get a lot of rain based on the height of the sidewalks. (See pictures)


















Every weekend, the city streets around the central plaza are closed for pedestrians only, restaurants place their tables outdoors, food and trinket vendors set up stalls, and bingo games get going in front of the Cathedral. Both evenings, the city hosts cultural events; typically a concert and people fill the park benches to enjoy the show. The weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor event, warm and windy. It was a perfect opportunity for us to stroll around the plaza and to get a sense of how Campechanos enjoy their city.

We also walked around the fruit and vegetable markets and the fish and meat one (stinky…) as well as the Malecon (very wide seaside boardwalk) under a very warm and humid sun. (not complaining though)

We stayed overnight in a very nice renovated small hotel, 2 blocks from the central plaza so that we could take full advantage of the evening activities. We also had a very nice meal at one of the local restaurants followed by a drink on the central plaza. On the way back we stopped at Calcehtok caves which Lucille did not visit because she does not like caves…

Merida and Celestún

January 30, 2009

As soon as we moved into our new home (see pictures) we asked the owner if we could have a BBQ. A couple of days later he delivered a nice little charcoal BBQ which we use almost every night to cook fish/steaks/chicken. It has been wonderful to cook on this BBQ.

Dave and Serge have been doing a lot of fishing from the beach. So far, their efforts have resulted in very few fish but they did manage to catch 2 pelicans. The pelicans were delicious…just kidding, in fact they were released uninjured (and undoubtedly much wiser).

Serge was able to arrange for a local fisherman to take both of us out fishing in his small boat. We left at 06.00 a.m. and came back at 11.30 a.m. We caught a few very nice grouper plus some smaller fish. At first, we both tried using hand lines but the only one who was catching fish was the fisherman. Not as easy as it looks!

Fortunately David had brought his own fishing rod and he was soon using it instead. He was able to hook a rather nice grouper (Mero) which gave him a good fight. We paid the fisherman $40 Cdn and kept just enough fish for dinner. All–in-all a nice morning on the water.














On Jan. 28 we drove to Celestún (2 hrs drive) to see the flamingos which are the biggest and pinkest in the world. They need to eat 12 hrs/day . If we scare them and make them fly, they loose important energy and can also brake their necks and wings. There were literally thousand of them enjoying the shrimp (from which their colour derives) rich waters of the lagoon. The boat tour included a trip through the mangroves (see pictures), very pretty and unusual.



















There is not much else to see in Celestún, although there is a nice beach where we had a couple of beers (temperature was very humid and 30C)not complaining, though. The temperature is a little hotter on this side of the Gulf of Mexido since there is less wind.














We also stopped in UMAN, at the central market which was filled with locals doing their shopping. UMAN has to be the town with the most tricycles (see picture) (not the kiddy type but adult size) both motorized and pedal power. It was really something to see all of the people being driven about in these contraptions. Actually, they are a smart rig for people with limited means.













We went to Merida (1/2 hr drive) visited the murals at the Governor´s Palace which displayed the history of the Yucatan. We also walked around the historical centre and the colonial street, as well as visited various huge local arts and crafts markets… There were A LOT of traditional dresses and clothes that are still worn by the locals today.

On another day we went to Merida shopping at SEARS, of all places, beautiful shopping centre (smaller version of St-Laurent shopping centre) since we needed another piece of luggage. We even had lunch in the food court (we felt at home) .
This week-end we are planning on going to Campeche and staying overnight. More on that trip in our next post.

Mexico: Progresso/Chixculub 2009

January 13, 2009
Two days before our departure we received an e-mail from Air Canada informing us that our time of departure had changed. We were leaving one hour earlier with United Airlines. So we got up at 4.00 am instead of 5.00 and went to Ottawa airport for our 7.00 am departure flight. We got in the plane and had to wait one hour for de-icing the plane. So much for our earlier departure…

We also received an e-mail from Natasha, our contact in Mexico, informing us that the house that we had rented from Jan. 5 to Feb. 14 was double booked until Jan. 15… so we would have to stay in the house adjacent to the one we originally reserved. This house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen… and belongs to the landlord´s father, and we would not be charged for it. Well we know why… it is very old, we mean very very old, still has the original mattresses, i.e. probably 40 years old, the water pressure is very poor, there are about 10 different colours-style of ceremic tiles in the house, and in every room, the paint is peeling off the walls. We should be moving to the other house this Thursday. Looking forward to it.

We arrived in Cancun on Monday, and took a local bus to have a look at all the hotels around Cancun. What a zoo, one hotel after another, and that went on for 26 kms. They are all HUGE, however they looked empty. We walked alot around town, and ate very well. In Cancun itself there is not much to see.

We stayed 2 nights in a hotel downtown (right across from the Bus station). Very convenient. Wednesday afternoon we took the UNO Bus to Merida, (4 ½ hrs) first class bus, excellent service. It was better than a First Class seat via Air, with A LOT OF LEG ROOM, reclining seats (almost horizontal), free soft drinks/water and movie (unfortunately Spanish). A driver was waiting for us at the bus station and drove us to our house in Chixculub.

Chixculub is a very poor and dirty little town, however the people are wonderful. It is very safe to take the local bus and walk around. We did our grocery at the Wall-Mart in Progresso, very convenient. (smaller version of the Canadian Wall-Mart).
Progresso is a very well organized town, with lots of shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. It takes 10 minutes to go to Progresso by local bus at a cost of Cdn $0.50/trip. The buses are very very old, and very very dirty but they go by every 5 minutes or so, and there is no strike…

Our friends will join us on Jan. 18 and they will be driving a rental car which means that we will be able to visit the surrounding area.

David and Lucille