Merida - home of hammocks and panama style hats!

I took the night bus from Palenque to Merida. The bus left at 10 p.m. and it took about 8 1/2 hours to get to Merida. I slept for about 5 of those hours so it wasn´t that bad. I wanted to be in Merida over the weekend because there was supposed to be an all day feria Saturday and Sunday. I arrived on Friday and checked into the Hostel Santa Lucia where I paid a whopping $9.50 a night (that did include free internet, breakfast, and Alhambra like water - so it was a really good deal!).

On Friday, I wandered around the main square, went to Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Ateneo de Yucatan (MACAY), visited the Mercado Municipal and tried to stay cool. It is so hot and sticky here...WOW! I love the town though. There´s alot going on here...theatres, music, museums, restaurants, etc! Merida is famous for producing Panama style hats out of the leaves of Jipijapa Palms and for producing great quality hammocks.

My plan was to stay in Merida on Saturday for the feria and head out on Sunday. Saturday came and no feria...what?? I asked a man that was sitting in the main square and he said that the feria is on Sunday not Saturday...what?...crap...the book failed me! I didn´t want to waste a day so I high tailed it over to the 2nd class bus station and hopped on a bus to Chichen Itza, the big mayan ruin site in the Yucatan. I can now officially say that I have been on a Chicken bus! Yes, there were chickens on this bus. On the way there, there was a box full of baby chicks and on the way back, a box with a big chicken. The box had a hole cut out for the chicken´s head and it was loud...squaking the entire way back!

Chichen Itza is amazing, but to me seemed like the "Disneyland" of Mayan ruins. Upon entering the grounds, there are a ton of tour buses, vendors, food stands, ticket takers, etc. I even saw this little boy get sick while he was on his dad´s shoulders (I am sure that happens at Disneyland!). I toured the grounds and took a few pictures. I was there for maybe an hour and I heard one of the vendors say "hay viene la lluvia" (here comes the rain). I looked up and it didn´t seem like it was going to rain so I kept walking. The next thing you know, it is pouring down rain - really pouring! I had to take shelter under a tree. Because I had left in such a hurry, I didn´t have my normal day trip garb...no rain jacket, umbrella - nada! I was soaked - I was actually laughing the entire time - it was like I knew something like this was bound to happen sooner or later! So that was it, I made my way back to the bus area soaking wet and took the next bus back to Merida. That will teach me to question a local!

Sunday was, in fact, the feria. The streets to the main square are closed off and there were vendors everywhere. Food, traditional Mayan dresses for the ladies and Panama style hats for the men, baloons for the kids, music, clowns, and ice cream everywhere! The evening was the best part. That´s when the music got really good. My favorite was this old school band that played mambo, cumbia and rumba beats and all the "old school" locals were dancing up a storm. I had a lot of fun just watching and laughing at the kids having fun.

One thing about Merida though...they´ve got mosquitos and it´s hot and sticky here. Did I say mosquitos?? Yeah...a lot of mosquitos! One night, I forgot to put on my new favorite perfume, DEET, and now I am a mess. I counted 37 bites on my arms and legs. I think it´s time for me to go before I get eaten alive!