A Road Trip around Merida
From Magico Mexico in Merida, Mexico on Jun 29 '08
Mexico city´s climate was not what I expected. I was under the misguided impression that all of Mexico basked in a pleasant, though not unbearable summer heat- How wrong I was. In my tiny back pack, I didn´t pack any clothes that would protect me from the mild cold and the rain which poured down relentlessly on Sunday evening. The dampness of the cold rain that had saturated my clothes, my skin and my hair, started to make me vaguely irritated. I could not believe that the climate in Mexico city was similar to London´s.
But when I landed in Merida after a short flight, walking into the midday heat was like walking into a wall of pure steel. I felt a sudden urge to strip to the bear essentials as every pore on my skin absorbed the heat and threw forth, like torrents of rushing mountain streams, warm and sticky sweat. The sun burned into the black shirt I was wearing and the taxi air conditioning was a brief respite from the shock of the sun.
My new found respect for Mexico is based fundamentally on its culinary wealth.
Once I arrived at my hostel, I immediately noticed the owner´s accent. Although I can tell the difference between Spanish spoken in different countries, regional accents are a different story. This sing song accent sounds almost child like and naive, especially when accompanied by a delighted smile. It´s something that I can listen to all day.
After about five minutes of me being there and wondering what to do (everything is closed on Mondays) with the rest of my day in this scorching heat, I was approached by Sara , an English teacher from Mexico City. She, her boyfriend Sergio and their two friends, Sonia and Omar, had rented a car and wondered whether I wanted to go to the beach with them and visit the ruins around Merida. In this heat, it sounded like a signal from God. The beach was exactly where I wanted to go to.
We drove from Merida to Dzbilchaltun first of all. This is an archeological site, about 30 minutes from the city. After a short walk, you arrive at an impressive but tiny pyramid which, although was interesting to see, has little by way of explanation. All I knew was that it was called the temple of the dolls and that it was great to sit in the shade for a while. There is also a tiny cenote. These are underground lakes that are very rarely found anywhere else other than in the Yucatan. I came prepared for the beach, so without even a second thought, I stripped off and dived straight in. The water was perfectly tepid and swimming amongst the water lilies made me thank God that I wasn´t at work.
We followed the road on the coast to Chicxultub Puerto. This is, as the name suggests, a port of tiny fishing boats. There was nothing of particular note here. The road to Xcambo, however, was breathtakingly beautiful and most definitely worth renting a car to visit. The road runs through salt marshes which stretch as far as you can see. The smell of sulphur and damp was all too familiar after my visit to Bolivia and though unpleasant, brought back some good memories. The sun exaggerated the brilliant white of the salt which looked strangely like piles of snow, melting slowly in the sun. Rose coloured flamingos waded elegantly and in unison, their curved necks, the shape of one half of a heart, dug into the water for food. The countryside was certainly a surprise.
The ruins of Xcambo, again were impressive but I knew little about them. They are situated in dense vegetation. Once you climb to the top of both the relatively high pyramids, the view is spectacular. You not only see out across the jungle but also across the salt marshes.
We followed this road onto Telchac Pueblo. This, like all of the other places we went to, was a sleepy town where the locals have absolutely no need to live a frenetic and stressful life, or at least that´s how it appeared. The most outstanding feature was my introduction to real Mexican food. I generally, am not a fan of greasy tex mex and tequila. Buffalo wings and potato skins really have no place in a Mexican´s kitchen. We were starving so we stopped at a house which had the sign "restaurant" outside the front porch. I don´t remember the names of the food that I had but I was so unbelievably impressed that I think it is now my favourite type of food. I can´t get enough of refried beans. So simple but so good. It is like stodgy comfort food. I also nearly cried when I ate the "empanadas especiales" which were corn flour empanadas stuffed with meat and covered in a kind of cottage cheese and goats cheese. I am sure those are not the ingredients but that`s what they tasted like. Tostados were amazing as well. The name suggested a kind of mediterranean sandwich but instead, they are toasted corn tortillas with a variety of different toppings. I chose the beef, covered in cheese, avocado, tomato and onion. My new found respect for Mexico is based fundamentally on its culinary wealth.
Unfortunately, I didn´t see the rest of the city as I had decided to leave for Chichen Itza the next day and then continue onto Playa del Carmen. Although I regret this slightly, I would highly recommend the route that we took along the coast.
Where have you been lately?
Share your travels with friends & family
- Free Travel Blog
- Stunning maps
- Share experiences
- Automatic emails
- Unlimited photos
- Unlimited entries
Would you like to comment or ask a question?