18-22 October - Arrivining in the Yucatan Peninsula

We arrived Tuesday afternoon to a city enveloped in torrential rains.  Rather than improving, the roads turned into canals by the time we had reached our lodgings, Hostel Zocalo.  For the first time in our lives, we walked through foot deep water to get across the roads and into dry areas.  Would've been easier if the water hadn't been a murky brown grey leading you to wonder what it contained - not sure if it was our imagination, but our toes began to hurt and itch where they had been soaking in the water. Our hostel is like a little commune.  Housed in a very old building that is located next door to the oldest home in Merida, there are double-height ceilings, doors and windows throughout (we're told that design was to alleviate the heat being trapped in rooms).  Our private room has a couple of double sized beds, but it's best feature is the iron-ballustraded balcony in front which overlooks the main Palaz Grande. Hostel Zocalo has the feel of one big family.  We are all sharing a central kitchen, dining, living space and bathrooms.   There's a hammock for relaxing and a little courtyard.  The breakfasts are very good with lots of fresh fruit and offers of any kinds of eggs and crepes.  The boys have made themselves right at home - they always love a good buffet breakfast! Merida is itself drawn out in a grid style, even numbered streets in one direction and odd in another.  Better than lots of more modernised towns.  There is free wireless internet and also electrical outlets in the big parks here... so you see people sitting out there with their latops plugged in and surfing away in the middle of  scene decades old of street peddlers and bicycle taxis.  Our hostel is located on one side of the main square, Grand Plaza.  This plaza has the Palacio Gobierno on one side and the oldest cathedral in all the Americas on the other.  The cathedral is built using stones from the ruins of Mayan temples, which seems somewhat contradictory, but didn't bother the builders. While there are plenty of street vendors walkign the plazas and sidewalks of central Merida, we were never made to feel harassed as can be the case.  Instead we foudn mayan locals to be incredibly friendly.  They were all interested in our boys with their red hair and blue eyes.  Children stare and less bashful old ladies exclaim 'que guapo!' reaching out to finger their hair.   Mayan men came up to us several times to find out where we were from and offer advice on where to eat, local attractions to see.  Sometimes they even accompanied us to the destinations.  We felt a little suspiscious of their intent, but then also thought this reflected badly on our expectations of others as their actions proved guileless. We found some of the mayan girls and women to be strikingly pretty with their wide cheeckbones, smooth skin and almond shaped eyes.  Their cotton dresses, embroidered blouses and colorful scarves reflected their warm nature.   Mayans seem very proud of their culture and history - and we love learning about it here every day. The single most interesting aspect of life here in Merida happens in the evenings.  The Plazas become full of people, men, women, children.  There are vendors, musicians, entertainers.  But mainly there are romantic couples.  You see them strolling the plazas, hand in hand, cuddlign, sometimes stopping to kiss.  This is one of the most romantic places.  People here love a celebration and there seems to be a reason for one every day somewhere in Merida.  Around 5 or 6 in the evening, groups of musicans arrive in the streets.  We thought they would join in the festivities of the plazas .. but in fact they are there to be hired out to play for private audiences.  They are hired to serenade sweethearts, entertain birthday parties, and all sorts of celebrations.  Sometimes, we're told, they climb trees or balconies to fulfill a request.  There is no limit here to the celebrations other than your imagination.