Living in the Penthouse

Except for two trips when I rented a house, every time that I come to Mérida I stay at a delightful, little hotel called Luz en Yucatán.  It is perfectly located in the heart of the city's historic center, just steps from the Plaza de Santa Lucía.  The building was once a colonial convent for the adjoining Church of Santa Lucía.

The exterior is unassuming.  You would never expect what lies beyond the doorway...

...a lovely, tranquil retreat.

The owners do everything possible to make your stay pleasant, and the prices are very reasonable.  Even the most expensive rooms are well under $100 US per night.

 

On my very first visit, I stayed in the rooftop room known as the Penthouse.   

Since then, every time I have come here, the Penthouse has been booked.  However, on this trip the Penthouse was available, so I grabbed it.  It has been completely remodeled since I stayed there years ago.

This is my room.  I love the large painting of Mexican musicians done by a local artist.

I also love this stained glass window in the room.

 
From the bedroom you step out to an outdoor kitchen.  I didn't use it, since there are so many good restaurants in Mérida.  

However I have made use of the rooftop terrace.  One day Gail, Wes and I picked up some pastries at a bakery and coffee and hot chocolate at a little coffee shop just down then street.  We then went up to my terrace to enjoy our snack.

 And I have been relaxing in the hammock on the terrace almost every day.

(photo taken by Wes)

Luz en Yucatán is probably my favorite hotel anywhere in the world!
 

A Bit of Exploring

I am now on my own in Mérida, and I decided to explore some parts of the city that I have not seen before.  Yes, in spite of all the times that I have been here, there are places even in the historic center that I have not seen.

The "norte" (the cold front from the north) that passed through over the weekend is dissipating.  The clouds are giving way to more sunshine, and the temperature, although still comfortable, is rising.  It was a pleasant day for a walk

I headed south from the main plaza, and within a few blocks I was in the "colonia" (neighborhood) of San Juan.  Each neighborhood of the old city is centered around a parish church and a small plaza dating back to colonial times.  Here is the Church of San Juan.

I was still in familiar territory.  I have passed through this part of town numerous times on my way to the nearby bus stations.

At one corner of the plaza is the Arch of San Juan.  Mérida was once a walled city with eight gates.  This is one of only three gates which still stand.

I passed through the gate and continued southward toward the neighborhood of San Sebastián, an area I had never explored before.  That neighborhood is centered of course around the Church of San Sebastián.

This pretty building, which is attached to the church, now houses the offices of the Secretariat of Public Education.

San Sebastián is not a fancy neighborhood, but its streets lined with old houses have a certain charm.

There are derelict, abandoned buildings, but others are brightly painted.

I can imagine the disapproval you would face back home if you were to paint your house these bright colors... but here in Mexico they look wonderful.

Sometimes you come upon incredibly narrow houses such as this one.

They are the result of property being divided up over the generations.  The lot is narrow but very deep, and such houses have one room after another.  We would call them "shot-gun" houses back in the U.S.

There were a number of properties that were for sale.

I suspect that prices are lower here than in other neighborhoods that are more popular with "gringo" ex-pats.  However, I have read that "gringos" are starting to buy homes in San Sebastián too.

This picturesque house, which is also for sale, has an historical marker on it.  It is nicknamed "the House of the Decapitated Friar",  because the roof-top statue of a monk no longer has its head.

On many street corners in the historic center there are old plaques which identify local landmarks which may no longer exist.  These plaques always had a picture for the benefit of those who were illiterate.  

Today the curious names on these plaques are often a mystery to passersby.  But in this case there is a historical marker explaining the reason why this corner was called "La Flor de Mayo".  There was once a grocery store on this location that was called "Flor de Mayo" because of the flowering frangipani shrubs growing by it.

After exploring San Sebastián I retraced my steps back to Colonia San Juan and then headed east.  I entered the neighborhood of San Cristóbal and came to the parish church of the same name.  This rather impressive building was one of the last churches built during the colonial era.

I continued northward along the street in front of the church and came to the other two city gates which are still standing.

"El Arco del Puente" (the Arch of the Bridge)...

... and "El Arco de los Dragones" (the Arch of the Dragoons), so named because the army cavalry headquarters were once located next to it.

Just a block beyond the second arch was the Church of "La Mejorada".  I was now back in familiar territory, just a few blocks from my hotel.

Their Last Day in Mérida

I will be staying on in Mérida for a few more days, but yesterday was Wes and Gail's last day here.  When we planned this trip, I had told them that they must experience Sunday in Mérida.  Every Sunday is like a "fiesta" here.  Streets are closed off to traffic, a big handicraft market is set up on the plaza, and there is music and dancing.  Every Sunday except YESTERDAY!  My best guess is that the usual festivities were cancelled because the Mérida Marathon was held yesterday, and part of the course ran through the downtown area where the Sunday events usually take place.  It was the only major disappointment of the trip, but we made the best of it.  Gail and Wes did some more souvenir shopping, and we walked around admiring some of the city's lovely architecture.

 

In the evening we returned to "Amaro" for another delicious supper.  Our waiter Enrique said farewell to Gail and Wes with hugs and best wishes.

  

As I write this Gail and Wes are at the airport waiting for their flight home.  They had a great time, and said that Mérida was much more than they had ever expected.  Every time that I bring friends here as their "tour guide", I am so happy when they are able to return home with great memories of this wonderful city! 

 

It's Like "Jurassic Park"!

My cousin Gail said, "It's like Jurassic Park!" when we visited a "cenote" yesterday.
  
So, what is a "cenote"?  The Yucatan Peninsula is a flat shelf of limestone.  In countless places across the peninsula, the limestone has collapsed forming natural sinkholes.  There are no rivers in Yucatán... at least not on the surface.  There is an extensive subterranean river system, and the "cenotes"  gave the Mayas access to that hidden water supply.

Some years ago, when I was showing a family member around the Yucatán, our driver took us to a rather isolated but beautiful "cenote" called X'tabún.  Ever since then, whenever I take a friend to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal, I have the driver make a detour to visit Cenote X'tabún.  We turn off the main highway between Mérida and Uxmal, and travel several miles along a narrow paved road.  We reach a village by the name of San Antonio Mulix.  The little town owns a couple "cenotes" which they maintain as an eco-tourism spot, although it is very far off the typical tourist path.  

After our visit to Uxmal, and dinner at an old hacienda, our driver, David, took us to San Antonio Mulix.  There we stopped to pay our admission fee and sign the visitors' registry.  We were, not surprisingly, the only "gringos" to visit the place that day.  We then drove to a dirt road where a villager took our tickets and opened the gate.  We traveled along the dirt road until we came to a spot above the "cenote" where we could park the car.  We took a short path leading down into the "cenote" to the water level.  There was a Mexican family there on a Saturday afternoon outing.  They had been swimming, but were preparing to leave.  We soon had this tranquil, beautiful spot all to ourselves.  

The water is crystal clear and filled with small fish.  Where the "cenote" is deeper ...the depth of many of them is unknown...  the water is a dark midnight blue.  The limestone cliff rises up from the water, and the roots of the trees growing above hang down like vines.

    

 Our driver, David, contemplates the beauty of the "cenote".

Gail and Wes loved this spot.  Wes said that visiting a "cenote" should have been on his bucket list.  Perhaps he can add "swimming in a cenote" to his list, and thus have an excuse to make a return visit to the Yucatán.  

Spectacular Uxmal

Of course no visit to Yucatán would be complete without seeing one of the Mayan ruins which dot the peninsula.  The most famous of the Mayan ruins is Chichén Itzá, but I always take my friends to the lesser known, but equally impressive ruins of Uxmal instead.  As I have written before, Chichén Itzá is overrun with tourists and souvenir vendors, and visitors are not allowed to climb any of the ruins.  The other day I was talking with a visitor from Australia, and she confirmed what I have always said.  She had visited both Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, and she felt that Uxmal was a much more satisfying experience.

We were scheduled to leave on our excursion at 9:00 AM.  I had arranged for David Estrella , the owner of a travel agency here in Mérida, to be our driver.  I employed his services last year when I was in Mérida.  He is extremely reliable, extremely punctual, and an all-around nice guy.  I could not ask for a better person to take us on an excursion. 

David arrived a few minutes early while we were finishing our breakfast at the restaurant across the street from the hotel.  I went out to greet him, and we gave each other an "abrazo".  (I continue to amaze Gail and Wes with the number of people I know here.)

The weather today was very different from the past three days.  A "norte" (a cold front from the north) is blowing through.  The temperature was much cooler with a high in the 70s, and the skies were overcast.  We even had a bit of drizzle while we were at the ruins.  It was actually a blessing.  If the sun had been blazing and the temperature had been in the 90s, visiting the ruins would have been an exhausting ordeal.

This was the part of the trip that Wes had been looking forward to the most.  Climbing a pyramid had been on his bucket list, and, as a retired engineer, he found the Mayas' skill in construction to be fascinating.  Uxmal lived up to, and even exceeded, their expectations, and they were not expecting such a large archaeological site.

Upon entering the site, one is greeted by the impressive Pyramid of the Magician.  Climbing this pyramid is prohibited, probably because of the extreme steepness of the steps.  Many years ago, however, climbing was allowed.  Back in the 1980s I went to the top with a group of my students.

(photo courtesy of a kind stranger)

 .  
We past through a corbel arch into the quadrangle which the Spanish called the Nunnery.

  
  
The Nunnery received its name because its four buildings facing a central courtyard reminded the Spaniards of the cloister of a convent.  We don't know the exact purpose of these buildings, but they certainly were not a nunnery.

The architecture of Uxmal is noted for the elaborate decorations along the upper portions of the buildings.  These are made from thousands of pieces of stone fitted together and placed in concrete.

 Built on a platform overlooking the city, the Governor's Palace is the longest, and one of the most impressive buildings of pre-Hispanic Mexico.  Again, the upper portion is intricately adorned with Mayan motifs.  However, as my cousin noted, the overall design of the structure comes across as surprisingly modern. 

 Visitors are not allowed to climb the Pyramid of the Magician, but they are allowed to climb the "Gran Pirámide".  Wes and I set out to conquer it.  (Actually, climbing it is not too difficult, but the descent can be a bit tricky.)

Success!  Wes can cross one item off of his bucket list!

.    .  

Breakfast Spots

One of my regular spots for breakfast in Mérida has always been "Café La Habana", so I took Gail and Wes there on their first morning here.  I always order the "huevos motuleños", one of the most characteristic breakfast dishes of Yucatán.  On my last trip to Mérida and again on this trip I have noticed that, although the coffee is still excellent and the service very good, the quality of the food is going downhill.

Last January when I rented a house in the Santiago neighborhood of Mérida, I discovered a place called "Café Montejo" that serves excellent breakfasts.  It is located near the "Plaza de Santiago".  It's a bit of a hike from the downtown hotel where we are staying, so yesterday morning we took a taxi there.  Seating is in a pleasant outdoor courtyard.  The food is delicious, the servings are generous, and the prices are (by our standards) inexpensive.  And the home-made pastries are out of this world!  The owner and his sister both remembered me from my visits last year and gave me hugs (reinforcing Wes and Gail's opinion that I must know everybody in Mérida.)

This morning we needed to have breakfast somewhere nearby since we were leaving at 9:00 on an excursion to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal.  There used to be a little place right across the street from the hotel, and it was a very good spot for breakfast.  I was quite upset when I discovered that it had closed and that in its place there was a Middle Eastern restaurant called "Pita".  (Middle Eastern cuisine is not a favorite of mine.) But I looked at their menu the other day, and saw that they have a number of Mexican breakfasts.  So we went there today as soon as they opened at 8:00.  

I ordered "huevos motuleños" so that I could compare them with those at "Café La Habana".  They are definitely better at "Pita"!

Wes was very happy with his "huevos rancheros"...

  
...and Gail raved about the Middle Eastern dish that she ordered.  It had cheese and egg baked in the middle of fresh pita bread.

"Pita" has replaced "La Habana" as my preferred breakfast spot downtown!

Ring of the Kings

Today is the 475th anniversary of the founding of Mérida.  But, much more important for youngsters throughout Mexico, the sixth of January is Epiphany or the Day of the Kings ("Día de los Reyes").  This is the day when children wake up to discover that the Magi Kings have brought them gifts.  (Some lucky children also receive presents from Santa Claus on Christmas.)  

Another important part of the celebration is the "rosca de los Reyes" (the ring of the Kings).  This is a large, round pastry usually decorated with candied fruit.  Baked inside the "rosca" is a small ceramic or plastic image of the Baby Jesus.  Families and friends gather together on the night of January 6th to eat the "rosca".  Whoever gets the Baby Jesus in his/her slice of the pastry, is supposed to host a supper of tamales on  February 2nd (the feast day of "La Candelaria".)

While we were walking around Mérida this evening, we saw many people heading home from the bakeries carrying the large, flat boxes in which the "roscas" are packed.

The bakeries all do a brisk business on Epiphany.

Near the main plaza, there is a "Bisquets de Obregón", part of the chain of restaurant / bakeries found throughout Mexico.  The street in front of the restaurant was closed to traffic, and tables had been set out.  An announcer was loudly proclaiming that they had the world's largest "rosca"... a rather dubious claim.  What was set on the tables was not one enormous "rosca" but slices of laid out to form a huge rectangle.

Even though "Bisquets de Obregón" is far being the country's finest bakery,  I figured that this would be a good opportunity for Gail and Wes to sample the pastry.  I asked the employee at the table if I could buy three slices.  She said "yes", but first I had to pay the cashier who was stationed outside the restaurant entrance.  We went over to her, but everything was rather disorganized.  She was a soft-spoken young lady, and I could not hear her over the announcer who was going on and on over a loudspeaker about "the world's largest rosca here at Bisquets de Obregón!"  Finally I figured out that she was waiting for a cash register and change.  After a bit of a wait we were finally able to pay.   We received a receipt which we took to the table, where the employee placed our slices in bags.

Gail and Wes took their slices back to the hotel.  I will find out tomorrow what they thought of it, and if they had the Baby Jesus in one of their slices.