Think of Merida as a hub of a giant wheel in the Yucatan Peninsula. All roads go to Merida and we hit most of them. There isn't a road that skirts the coast all the way around, so we had to go in and then out again to move around the peninsula.
There used to be 9 arches around the city, defenses from all directions back in the 1500s to 1700's. This is one of the few remaininng ones you can see from town.
We parked on the street here, next to this 'anti-monument', a tribute to feminists I believe. Electrical circuits line the streets here and we could plug in the van to keep the fridge and freezer running without having to use the generator. The cords are so expensive, though, Jason pulled them in at night when we went to bed.
Across the street, this sculpture of a lonely man on a bench invites folks to sit and join him.
One of the main streets here, Paseo de Montejo, is designed after the Champs d'Elyssee in Paris, complete with huge French colonial mansions. This was the rich part of town. Now coroporations or banks own and maintain most of them.
Jason puckered up on a 'kissing chair'. We found these all over the parks here. They provide a 'barrier' between a man and a woman, which protected the lady's virtue in the past. Hands were to be seen at all times!
A colorful mineret/tower on one of the mansions here.
Not all of the old homes have been so well maintained, but I liked the red on this one regardless.
A tiny tourist police car. Looks like a toy and we only ever saw them parked, never being driven.
The old municipal office building. The clock tower works and this is the meeting place for walking tours, right on one of the popular squares.
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On another side of the main square is this facade of the oldest home in Merida, established in 1542. It belonged to the rich Montejo family, a set of brothers and nephew who were conquistadors and made their fortunes here on the backs of the local 'pagans' they conquered and slaves they brought in from Africa.
Up close, the bas relief facade tells a gruesome story of conquest.
This victorious conquistador stands on the heads of the conquered.
The Aztec temples were dismantled and the stones reused to build the churches and buildings for the conquerors. Some of the Aztec symbolic stones can still be seen, as this one in the wall of the cathedral in the center of Merida.
Other stones with symbolic carvings on them have been 'framed on the outside of the stuccoed buildings to retain them while moderinzing the exterior from the rough appearance like the church wall above.
Karen and Jason in a kissing chair.
I finally joined the lonely guy on the bench for a photo.
Mayans and modern Mexicans maintain a healthy interest in the dead. They believe the dead go to inhabit the underworld, which is neither bad nor hell, just the place where people's souls go to live until they are returned to the 'overworld' that we inhabit. Many homes maintain a shrine to keep food and drink and other items for the dead until their return. Life is a cycle, per the Mayan beliefs, and modern attention to the 'Muertos' (dead) is colorful to say the least.
Jason stalking a lazy jaguar (cat) on our walking tour after the guide spent much time telling us about the jaguar and its meanings in Mayan culture.
We finally found a 'pastore' restaurant in the big market where Jason wanted to try the food. We had the shaved meat, cheese, onions and veges on a toasted bun to make it a 'torta' instead of a taco. A huge horchata drink (rice mild with cinnamon and sugar--delicious) quenched our thirsts.
Jsson liked his so much, he ordered a second one! The red coloring is because the roof was red plastic.
Went to a Jan Hendrix exhibit and were impressed by these paintings in black and white.
This covered a full room wall and was a woven painting. Amazing, really. We couldn't figure out how it was done to look like a painting and be 3D with texture.
This shiny perforated set of curved panels creates a distorted view of anything inside of it. Karen flashing a peace sign.
A view from the window of the Montejo mansion facade, which is now the front of this gallery. Looking back down on the park and main square in Merida from the old home of the richest family in town back in the 16th century.
In a gallery of Matisse artwork, this was the only one that I liked even a little bit. Guess I'm not a Matisse fan.
A butterfly topiary in front of a long arched display gallery. You could walk through the arched area and see other topiary and sculptures, but going inside requires a paid entry. There were enough free galleries that we didn't go in this one.
A bowl of bejeweled bugs in a market.
Up close view of the beetles. They glue the beads and chains onto their backs and they look really odd crawling around, dragging golden chains behind them. Weird.
A statue in the Mayan World Museum. A big place with lots of artifacts.
A relic that shows the different months of the year in Mayan.
One of the stone hoops from the ball court at Chichen Itza. Mayans played a game called pok-ta-pok, where they had to try to bounce a big rubbery ball through the hoop, using only their hips and torso. No hands, feet, or head allowed, In one extreme game, the loser was beheaded!
Some jade/jadeite artifacts from the Mayan temples. Jadeite and obsidian are found in the region where the pyramids are.
A cenote in the parking lot of Costco! This whole peninsula is perforated with the cenotes (water holes in the coral rock ground). You can swim or tube in some of them. They were/are the underground water source here.
It was so stinking hot in Merida (95+ Farenheit), that we had to leave to to back to a coast to get a cool breeze. Progreso is due north on the coast and we spent a couple nights there.
This replica of a Mayan temple is on the beach at Progreso and is lit by colored lights along the malecon.
Another sign along the malecon.
This colorful pole along the sidewalk is made from 55-gallon drums painted in teh colors of the rainbow.
Progreso is also known for its meteorite museum. They say a giant meteorite slammed into the earth near here, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. They have this giant dinosaur on their roof. The museum was closed when we came by, but folks have said it's not got a lot in it.
Another dinosaur skeleton outside the museum.
T-rex statue in Progreso.
An old car parked on the street in Centro Merida on a Saturday night.
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