Date of Entry:  February 6th 2017

I arrive in Merida after a long night bus without much sleep, for some reason deciding to walk from the bus station into the centre of town where my hostel, hostel Catedral, is located, not surprisingly right beside the very impressive Merida Cathedral.   

I’m very lucky because I walk in at 9 am and while, unfortunately my bed is taken they welcome me warmly and let me sit in the spacious common room and also give me access to the delicious and impressive free breakfast which I shouldn’t be allowed to have until the coming day.  They also tell me the second my bed is empty they will send a cleaner and let me check in.  After a tasty breakfast and about an hour of waiting with no sign of the bed people walking I decide better than just sitting around I should go have a look around Merida.

It’s a beautiful colonial city and doesn’t really feel like the same Mexico I’ve come to know over the past week and a bit but it’s a real pleasure to wander around in and includes one of the coolest 2 person benches I’ve seen in the main Plaza.  I manage to keep moving for a little over an hour before getting very tired and heading back to the hostel to see if my bed is ready.

Back at the hostel my bed is still not ready so I take a seat and aim for some internet time, but as often happens in hostels I end up meeting Bavaud, a very nice french speaking Swiss person.  We chat about our travels for maybe half an hour in a mix of English, French, and Spanish. (Mine is finally fully back to normal having temporarily forgotten my Portuguese) . Finally my bed is ready and I decide that even though I only have a day in Merida I do need to grab maybe a two hour nap, after all, I’d barely slept on the night bus.  Bavaud and I say our goodbyes and he heads out on a day trip, but we agree to hang out in the late afternoon once he’s back to explore Merida Together.

I manage to grab perhaps an hour of constantly interrupted sleep before deciding it’s not worth it anymore and heading back out into the streets of Merida, my camera around my neck hoping to capture some of the colourful colonial architecture on a short little walkabout.

I head back to the hostel entirely drained, and after a quick junk food stop at 7/11 right next door I pass out for another hour or so waking up in the late hours of the afternoon and meeting Bavaud in the common room.  Together we decide to head out again for another walk exploring town.  I didn’t find much to actually do in Merida but truth be told I didn’t look that hard as just wandering around through the beautiful city would have been enough to fill several days.

Together we go into the cathedral briefly and then walk across the plaza and find a very traditional shoe repair shop.  I instinctively miss my custom nikes I wore when I first started my south American adventure and had fixed in at least 5 shops all over south America.  Bavaud, if I remember correctly, ends up buying a handmade pair of leather sandals, and we walk on searching for more surprises in Merida.

Eventually we head back to the hostel and I pass out for as good nights sleep but not before Bavaud decides that he will accompany me to my last real stop in Mexico not including the Cancun airport:  Vallodolid.  There I will be exploring Chitchen Itza,  and various Cenotes.  Unlike Merida and Tulum though Vallodolid is a little off the main tourist trail and I’m excited to get a slightly different perspective on Mexico, now with a travel buddy along for the ride.

Merida has been about what I expected, a beautiful colonial town, nice for walking around, but after the incredible sights I’ve seen in Mexico, it’s been a bit of let down overall.  Still, definitely well worth a day.