Saturday, April 19, 2008

Merida

Merida, the capital of the state of Yucatan, is a pleasant, fun, and easy going tropical city. It's probably the cleanest city we've been to so far, and it has a very impressive historical district. The houses and buildings are painted in soft pastels and display interesting architectural details with lots of archways. Like Puebla, Merida's streets are on a grid system, so it's really easy to get around. We spent our time there exploring the downtown area and enjoying lots of outdoor art displays. This is also where you buy hammocks. When I was here thirty years ago, (the town was of course much smaller) numerous hammock venders were patrolling the streets in search of buyers. Things haven't changed, so this time I broke down and bought one. Supposedly many people in the Yucatan prefer sleeping in hammocks to sleeping in beds. Don't know if I want to try that! Here are some images of friendly Merida.
 
View looking toward the historical district...

The silver street performer...

Pinata vendor...

Horse and carriage for touring the city...

Near the downtown...

Magistrate's House

Inside the Municipal Palace...

One of the reception halls in the Municipal Palace...

On the staircase in the palace...

Another interesting facade...

Just replace English with Spanish and that's about the extent of my language ability! 

Time to eat...

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