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Merida

With all of the architectural and historical wonders racing through our minds, we finished our tour of Chichen Itza and return to our bus. A short 1 1/2 hour journey sees us arrive at Merida, a Spanish colonial city dating back to 1550AD. The casual tourist would maybe gaze at a few beautiful buildings and drive on past. Stopping for a while opens up a hidden world. From the outside, many buildings are exceedingly unspectacular. Stepping inside, however, reveals beautiful hotels and civic buildings where the craftsmanship of the Spanish people is a real delight. In the Government House are found some of the worlds largest paintings, many recording the history, religion and legends of the Mayan people. Some of the paintings measure more than 4 metres in height and 5 metres in width, yet their size doesn't diminish from the artistic content in any way.

Many hatsIf your itinerary allows it, try to be in Merida on Sunday night when the city centre takes on a festival atmosphere. Thousands of people flock to the city, ready to enjoy singing, dancing and street theatre. Men, women and children are dressed in their Sunday best, teenage girls are dressed to impress teenage boys and old people are wearing the same clothes they wore 40 years ago.

As with most of Central America, the restaurants in Merida are fantastic. From Mexican and Spanish cuisine to Mayan recipes (some very much like Chinese), there is inexpensive food in abundance. As is to be expected, the hospitality easily matches the cuisine, ranging from elegant and first class silver service to lively and fun restaurants with live music and readily available Tequila to match the mood. There are also a number of small restaurants hidden away on side streets that serve delicious breakfasts where the art of muesli and fresh fruit has been taken to new heights. It's a pity my poor sense of direction saw me wandering around the streets one morning for more than an hour seeking out one such place. Never did find it!
 


Copyright: Martin Dabb 1997. All rights reserved.
jmdabb@bigpond.com


 
 

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