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.