Merida : Colonial Surrounds ...

The next morning was a smashing road trip to Merida on our return leg to Cancun, with a stop in at Chichen Itza. hoping aboard the ADO bus in Palenque, things kinda happen differently here in the hills, as we couldn't check on our luggage early and were told to board it on the bus ourselves. no worries for two aussies, but i kinda felt bad for a few "over the hillers" who struggled in the early morning heat. to be honest, on reflection this was probably our worst bus trip (although all were safe, clean and good) it was simply poor this time around for personal reasons .... namely, the bus driver proceeded to assume his stereo in the cabin should be heard by everyone on the bus, and we got the greatest hits of Michael Bolten, Madonna, Erica Iglesius and Jennifer Lopez in full stereo sound. hence the iPods came out early for both of us .... my battery running out 20mins before de-boarding, i was in aural hell. the air-conditioning was also set at an arctic 18 C for the whole trip, Dad you would have loved that.

Arriving late arvo, we were once again welcomed into our hotel and given our room immediately, i must say all accommodation has been fantastic and our researching before hand was so worth it. having done Uxmal ruins on our entry leg, we left today as a back up day if it was raining. so not having to do that, we just chilled, walked into the city center, Plaza de Armas, and bought a few nick nacks. Merida is a fantastic Mexican town, modernish and clean, tight roads, bright coloured buildings, friendliest people you could meet. this is the true mexico for anyone flying in directly. a great base to begin your treks.

Having roamed the center streets, we grabbed a roadside hotdog (very clean and super nice) and decided to grab some eggs and bread to cook our own breakfast the next morning before our bus to Chichen Itza. (hotel room doubled more to a condo room). we had a great evening meal of mexican fare and relaxed, ready for the final ruins of the mexican leg. im so glad we avoided Cancun and had our first taste of city life in Merida, it gave us a much more realistic perspective.