Merida
Merida is popular for culture, food, and getting a real taste of the Yucatan. However book ended by Valladolid and Campeche it had a lot to live up to. It's size makes it a little more effort and though there is plenty of fun to be here (including dancing and cookery classes) we didn't see anything that we hadn't seen else where.
Getting There
Merida and Valladolid are two big cities close to one another and so there are very frequent buses. About every hour. We just showed up and booked on the next bus which was about 15 minutes wait. We paid 240 for 2 people on an Oriente bus to Merida - It went through Piste/Chichen Itza and then on and took about 3 hours.
The bus from Valladolid to Merida was relatively uneventful. We got a second class Oriente bus, which is cheaper, but of course slightly less comfortable and they don't have a toilet. The thing we still hadn't got quite right was how much clothing you need to take on the buses. The bus company must spend a ridiculous amount on air-con because those buses are seriously cold. We shivered a lot of the way, luckily we both had a few extra items of clothing attached to our bags so we just about avoided hypothermia.
When we arrived at the bus station we had the choice of walking or taking a 30 pesos taxi to the hostel. We decided to walk - though it was very hot and it was probably about a kilometer and a half to the hostel. With the heat, the thin pavements and busy traffic it was quite hard going but soon the hostel was in sight. The hostel "Nomadas Merida" is very highly rated as a hostel. It had lots of things included like salsa lessons and subsidised cooking classes so we were pretty excited to see what was on. As we checked in we also signed up for the cooking class which was a very thrifty 38 pesos each. And we got a meal too!
The check-in process seemed to take much longer than usual but eventually we were shown to our room (where the guy showing us got a bit lost and made the carrying of our bags all the more painful). We walked in to the room - which was in a kind of eastern bloc theme (lots of concrete and lacking any character - though there were some very arty blood splatters on the wall!) - dropped our bags, and switched on the fan immediately. It was already 5:30pm by this point as we'd only left Valladolid around 2ish so we didn't have long until our cooking class which was at 6. We had time to sit down and check our emails, Facebook etc.
We headed to our cooking lessons at 6 and we met our teacher Dan, and another girl from Belgium who was doing the lesson too. If I were to guess what we'd be cooking I would have definitely guess fajitas. In actual fact we were going to cook....oh, it was actually fajitas. We were however going to be making the tortillas which I was interested to see how easy it was. Dan started by teaching us what a fajitas actually is. It's not the ingredients, it's not the type of tortilla, or the spices - as I thought. It's actually the cut of meat. It needs to be thin strips of meat as do the other ingredients for it to be classed as a fajitas. Lesson learned!
To make the tortilla we also learned that the mixture is just 1 part corn flour, to half part water, some salt and pepper then you're done. We added some antijos (a mexican spice) that added some flavour and made them a beautiful red colour. We made the mixture and then used a contraption to flatten them evenly. To cook them you heat them on a very hot pan for about 30 seconds each side, flip it over, press it in the middle which prompts the tortilla to rise in the middle and it's done. We were finished cooking in about half an hour and we also had delicious meal too!
After the cooking class we decided to go for a bit of a wander and see the main square. Along the way we picked up some very nice ice cream for 30 pesos a scoop. We took it to the main square for a sit down before coming back via a very cool bar called Pipripau. From the outside it just looked like a door way, but I felt like we needed a drink so we checked it out. It opened up in to a big court yard. It looked way cooler than expected. We grabbed a couple of drinks and did some Spanish practice before heading back for a well earned nights sleep.
Day 2
Our second day in Merida was going to be dedicated to walking around the city. There's quite a few museums and art galleries to see but we didn't have any plans in particular. We had the breakfast at the hostel; Toast, Mexican eggs, and some fruit before heading out for an explore. We stopped for the obligatory coffee shop along the way, at Organico Coffee; We both got an Americanos. The coffee you have to get when the milk is rubbish!
We'd pretty much reached the main square when a couple of drops of rain began to fall. This is usually a precursor to a torrential downpour. Within a minute we were taking cover under a shop awning watching the world go by. We stood there for about 10 minutes until the rain let off before taking shelter in the Cathedral and then in to the Contemporary Art Gallery, both being free.
Next we decided to head up to one of the main streets the Paseo de Montejo. It was a long walk in the hot sun, and we were starting to run low on water. We'd also not had much to eat and it was getting to 2ish by this point. We weren't sure what to expect from the street. It's a wide road, with a lot of traffic with a few pretty buildings and museums on each side. We didn't venture in to any though we did stop for a pastry just to keep us going, before dipping in to Walmart again to grab a bite to eat.
Along the walk I'd started to feel a bit off and as we left Walmart it had also started to rain, so after that we decided to head back to the hostel to catch a breath before going to salsa class. When the rain stopped we nipped out for something to keep us going. We got an ice cream and a very tasty croissant from Opio Kitchen & Coffee cafe nearby - it was only 25 pesos and very tasty.
At 7:30 we went to the salsa class. We had one instructor, who had his own partner, and two other girls joined the group. As we had never done it before he started with the basic steps. Our dance moves were made all the more interesting by the wet floor which turned the tiles in to an ice rink. We learned 4 moves separately and on our own before putting them together. After that we joined our partner and put the dance together. We was a lot of fun, and really, really hot in the humidity. I stepped on Kate's feet a couple of times, and I'm not sure but sometimes I think she was doing her best to knee me inappropriately. Either way, we'll definitely be trying another class at some point!
After the class Kate had planned to take me to an Italian restaurant nearby (Yes! another Italian, we seem to be having more Italian than Mexican!). It was called Oliva and it was a couple of blocks away from the hostel. It was a very small restaurant, with only 4 or 5 tables. There was only another table taken so we had plenty of choice. We sat down and ordered almost immediately as we were pretty hungry. I got Pasta Verde, which was a pasta dish featuring broccoli, and Kate got Lasagna. Both were really good and I'd definitely recommend the restaurant. For dessert we were tempted in to a creme brulee which was also really tasty.
With our appetites satisfied we went back to the hostel to catch up on blogging and more importantly - on sleep!
Where we stayed
We stayed at Nomadas hostel. It's got a good reputation for having a "good vibe", whatever that means! It's definitely a good place to meet other travelers, and there are lots of free or very cheap activities (cooking, salsa lessons, etc), not to mention the pool. The down sides appear to be dorms that lack any sort of sound proofing. Luckily we had a double room with a dubious colour scheme. A double room was about $650.Activities
There's a lot to do at the hostel, and there are lots of day trips to be done from Merida. There also plenty of museums and art galleries to be seen, and bars to go to. We just walked around the city centre and explored.- Cooking Class - Learn how to make Mexican fair - at the hostel
- Salsa Class - show everyone your dance moves - at the hostel
- Contemporary Art Gallery - In the main square, free entry, interesting Mexican artists (if you can read Spanish it would help)
- Paseo de Montejo - a road with a lot of museums etc, along it, though the road itself isn't overly interesting.
Food & Drink
- Bar Pipripau - A cool bar, doesn't look like much from the outside but has a great courtyard.
- Organica Coffee - Great place for a proper coffee hit.
- Oliva - If you're looking for a romantic break from Mexican food this tiny Italian place is perfect
- Pola Gelato Shop - Great little ice cream place - get a cone for 30 pesos
- Opia Kitchen & Coffee - Very cheap croissants and sandwiches, great for a quick pit stop.
Journal
ArrivalThe bus from Valladolid to Merida was relatively uneventful. We got a second class Oriente bus, which is cheaper, but of course slightly less comfortable and they don't have a toilet. The thing we still hadn't got quite right was how much clothing you need to take on the buses. The bus company must spend a ridiculous amount on air-con because those buses are seriously cold. We shivered a lot of the way, luckily we both had a few extra items of clothing attached to our bags so we just about avoided hypothermia.
When we arrived at the bus station we had the choice of walking or taking a 30 pesos taxi to the hostel. We decided to walk - though it was very hot and it was probably about a kilometer and a half to the hostel. With the heat, the thin pavements and busy traffic it was quite hard going but soon the hostel was in sight. The hostel "Nomadas Merida" is very highly rated as a hostel. It had lots of things included like salsa lessons and subsidised cooking classes so we were pretty excited to see what was on. As we checked in we also signed up for the cooking class which was a very thrifty 38 pesos each. And we got a meal too!
The check-in process seemed to take much longer than usual but eventually we were shown to our room (where the guy showing us got a bit lost and made the carrying of our bags all the more painful). We walked in to the room - which was in a kind of eastern bloc theme (lots of concrete and lacking any character - though there were some very arty blood splatters on the wall!) - dropped our bags, and switched on the fan immediately. It was already 5:30pm by this point as we'd only left Valladolid around 2ish so we didn't have long until our cooking class which was at 6. We had time to sit down and check our emails, Facebook etc.
We headed to our cooking lessons at 6 and we met our teacher Dan, and another girl from Belgium who was doing the lesson too. If I were to guess what we'd be cooking I would have definitely guess fajitas. In actual fact we were going to cook....oh, it was actually fajitas. We were however going to be making the tortillas which I was interested to see how easy it was. Dan started by teaching us what a fajitas actually is. It's not the ingredients, it's not the type of tortilla, or the spices - as I thought. It's actually the cut of meat. It needs to be thin strips of meat as do the other ingredients for it to be classed as a fajitas. Lesson learned!
To make the tortilla we also learned that the mixture is just 1 part corn flour, to half part water, some salt and pepper then you're done. We added some antijos (a mexican spice) that added some flavour and made them a beautiful red colour. We made the mixture and then used a contraption to flatten them evenly. To cook them you heat them on a very hot pan for about 30 seconds each side, flip it over, press it in the middle which prompts the tortilla to rise in the middle and it's done. We were finished cooking in about half an hour and we also had delicious meal too!
After the cooking class we decided to go for a bit of a wander and see the main square. Along the way we picked up some very nice ice cream for 30 pesos a scoop. We took it to the main square for a sit down before coming back via a very cool bar called Pipripau. From the outside it just looked like a door way, but I felt like we needed a drink so we checked it out. It opened up in to a big court yard. It looked way cooler than expected. We grabbed a couple of drinks and did some Spanish practice before heading back for a well earned nights sleep.
Day 2
Our second day in Merida was going to be dedicated to walking around the city. There's quite a few museums and art galleries to see but we didn't have any plans in particular. We had the breakfast at the hostel; Toast, Mexican eggs, and some fruit before heading out for an explore. We stopped for the obligatory coffee shop along the way, at Organico Coffee; We both got an Americanos. The coffee you have to get when the milk is rubbish!
We'd pretty much reached the main square when a couple of drops of rain began to fall. This is usually a precursor to a torrential downpour. Within a minute we were taking cover under a shop awning watching the world go by. We stood there for about 10 minutes until the rain let off before taking shelter in the Cathedral and then in to the Contemporary Art Gallery, both being free.
Next we decided to head up to one of the main streets the Paseo de Montejo. It was a long walk in the hot sun, and we were starting to run low on water. We'd also not had much to eat and it was getting to 2ish by this point. We weren't sure what to expect from the street. It's a wide road, with a lot of traffic with a few pretty buildings and museums on each side. We didn't venture in to any though we did stop for a pastry just to keep us going, before dipping in to Walmart again to grab a bite to eat.
Along the walk I'd started to feel a bit off and as we left Walmart it had also started to rain, so after that we decided to head back to the hostel to catch a breath before going to salsa class. When the rain stopped we nipped out for something to keep us going. We got an ice cream and a very tasty croissant from Opio Kitchen & Coffee cafe nearby - it was only 25 pesos and very tasty.
 |
| Kate ordering some Gelatos! |
At 7:30 we went to the salsa class. We had one instructor, who had his own partner, and two other girls joined the group. As we had never done it before he started with the basic steps. Our dance moves were made all the more interesting by the wet floor which turned the tiles in to an ice rink. We learned 4 moves separately and on our own before putting them together. After that we joined our partner and put the dance together. We was a lot of fun, and really, really hot in the humidity. I stepped on Kate's feet a couple of times, and I'm not sure but sometimes I think she was doing her best to knee me inappropriately. Either way, we'll definitely be trying another class at some point!
 |
| Kate showing off her moves - not sure that's Salsa though... |
After the class Kate had planned to take me to an Italian restaurant nearby (Yes! another Italian, we seem to be having more Italian than Mexican!). It was called Oliva and it was a couple of blocks away from the hostel. It was a very small restaurant, with only 4 or 5 tables. There was only another table taken so we had plenty of choice. We sat down and ordered almost immediately as we were pretty hungry. I got Pasta Verde, which was a pasta dish featuring broccoli, and Kate got Lasagna. Both were really good and I'd definitely recommend the restaurant. For dessert we were tempted in to a creme brulee which was also really tasty.
 |
| Getting some great pasta at Oliva |
With our appetites satisfied we went back to the hostel to catch up on blogging and more importantly - on sleep!
Comments
Post a Comment