Merida, Yucatan... "The White City"

A year ago we visited the city of Merida for the first time, we were flying home from Europe and stopped in Cancun; since we were very close, we decided to explore The White City. We heard so many nice things about it so we took the bus and went for the adventure.
Our stay in Merida was very short, only four days; enough time for us to get the taste of this beautiful place. We went back home with the idea of returning and, here we are now experiencing the life of La Ciudad Blanca.

We are house sitting a beautiful colonial home in the Historical District and taking care of three loving doggies and kitties. This might sound like a full time job but, the truth is that "the children" behave very well so we are very lucky; plus they love to be around us and that is a good feeling.

We have been in Merida for a month and we have no regrets about it; the city has a lot to offer, the only negative about this gem is the weather. Summers are hot and humid but JJ keeps telling me that humidity is good for the skin and he reminds me about all the money we could save in anti-wrinkle creams if we were to live here full time ha ha!
We came to the conclusion that having a pool is more a need than luxury; it feels very good to be able to cool down during the day and even better after getting home from taking a good walk.
We knew about the hot summers in Merida, that is why we decided to visit at this time of the year and find out if we would be able to handle it; we don't mind hot weather because we're use to it by living in Las Vegas for so many years but, humidity is really the challenge in this area... I am sweating as I type this article ha ha!

Merida is a mix of history, culture, colonial architecture and full of traditions; it also offers all the amenities of a modern city, including those we're use to in the states. That's why Merida is home for a group of expats who feel very happy to be part of its community.

 We enjoy walking around the historical district while appreciating the architecture; stopping at the parks that are located in each of the neighborhoods to take the fresco and have a little bite makes me smile all the time :O)

Life in Merida is never boring, there is always something going on around the city, specially in the Historical District; live music, cultural events, theaters, etc. We love going out in the evenings to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the many outdoor restaurants while listening to a guitar player; feeling a cool breeze on our faces after a hot and humid day is priceless.

Well, this is so far how our adventure in The White City is going. I'm happy to say that we are not disappointed and that we're having a great time; I just wish the weather was a little more friendly but, there is no perfection in this world so we always try to see the positive sides. The purpose of our trips is to experience life in different places and, eventually we will decide which is the right place for us to call home... To be continued...

Safe travels my friends!

The last leg of our Mayan adventure.

I've been wanting to write the continuation of our road trip on the Yucatan Peninsula but, we have been moving from one town to another exploring some of the places we always wanted to visit in this area. We're back in Merida where we will be staying for two months so I would be sharing our experiences in this beautiful city on the following posts.

After we left Tulum, we stopped in Playa del Carmen; we heard so many good things about this beach town that we were very interested in checking it out. We found Playa to be a very well developed and not such a small village anymore, it's actually quite the opposite; It's a very busy city with an international mix of cultures, full of outdoor shopping malls, international cuisine and with all the amenities you might look for.

Playa, as people call it, is a beautiful Caribbean destination only 45 minutes from Cancun; the easiest way to get here is by flying direct into Playa del Carmen international airport or flying to Cancun's international airport and take a bus ride (ADO) that would leave you right in downtown

This time we stayed in a B&B that is located within a 15 minutes walk to the middle of the action; Green Oasis Home Boutique is owned by a French family who decided to make Playa their home about three years ago. This place is right next to a golf course in a very quite area but, close enough to walk to downtown; returning to the B&B after a long walk on the crowded tourist area and, jumping in the pool to cool off felt like being in a real oasis.

Playa has a main strip called La Quinta Avenida (The 5th avenue), this is the area where all the restaurants, shopping malls, hotels and bars are located and it goes for at least a mile long; it's the place to be seen.

I personally found Playa to be very Americanized and with not much charm, it could be that is so modern and commercialized that it gives it a very vain and cold feeling; the best is that we all like different things and lots of people like this place for different reasons.

It is also very pricey, pretty much like in the states; something I didn't like was eating at the restaurants and getting the tip added to the total amount of our bill, why do they have to decide how much you have to tip? The worst was that they didn't even let me know that it was already included.

We were surprised to find so many visitors for what is consider the slow season, this time of the year is hot and humid but it seems that tourist don't get bothered by this kind of weather.

Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful Caribbean destination with all the amenities we are use to but, JJ and I realized that we couldn't call this place home.  So we keep on our adventure, exploring new places and feeling very fortunate to have this amazing opportunity.

The island of Cozumel is only about a 45 min ferry ride from Playa del Carmen, this is the biggest island in Mexico so as curious and adventurous as we are; we took the ferry and spent three days exploring this amazing place.

We stayed in a charming hotel in the downtown area and only a block away from the boardwalk, Flamingo hotel was a great choice for us, nothing fancy but very comfortable and within walking distance from the port.

Cozumel is a beautiful island that has all the modern amenities but keeps the charm of a small town. We spent most of our time walking around and exploring the surroundings, the very well kept boardwalk goes a long way along the coast; it is a must do if you plan on visiting this place, the views are just amazing!

The downtown area is very walkable with plenty of outdoor restaurants and little cafes, it has a very good vibe and invites you to relax on the main square. Here is were all the locals and visitors spend most of their time, specially in the afternoons when it's the best time to go out for a cup of coffee, an ice cream or a good dinner... or perhaps all of them.

This Caribbean island is about 30 miles long and 9 miles wide so we wanted to discover what was on the other side. We rented a convertible bug, my dream teenage car, and took off for the adventure.
We spent a whole day driving around the island, making stops in different points to appreciate the beauty of mother nature; the only negative we found about Cozumel is that most of the nicest beaches are taken by private hotels or beach clubs so there's no way of accessing them without having to pay or to buy food/drinks. Other then that, we had a great time!

About a 30 minutes drive from Playa del Carmen, there is a fishing village that we were introduced by watching the t.v show International House Hunting; we were very intrigued and since we were in the area, we spent two days here to check it out.
Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo is only about 22 miles south of Cancun; this is a very laid back place that still preserves the simplicity of a Mexican Caribbean village. 
There is a good amount of expats living here full and part time, specially those who enjoy a more relaxed life style; there is not much to do in town but, if you're looking for a place where you don't have to worry about dressing up or rushing to go get stuff done, this is your perfect destination.
We liked finding a good diversity of international cuisine, we love to eat so that was a big plus for us... give me food and you will always see a smile on my face!
We stayed in a very unique hotel right on the beach, about a 15 minutes walk from downtown; Rancho Sakol is the perfect place for a quite getaway, here you would sleep in a hanging bed; there's no t.v in the rooms so be prepare to be in touch with nature and enjoy a more simple life style.

 Our last stop before returning to Merida was the well known city of Cancun, to be honest by the time we checked in at the hotel; JJ and I were feeling a bit tired so we decided to rest and get our energies back. We visited this city last year so we didn't feel the need of exploring it, it was to hot and humid so I think our bodies were asking for a break.
Overall, we are very happy with our adventure; now we have a better perspective of what to expect from each of the places we visited. We heard so many good things about all of them but, my advice to you; never move to a new place without putting your feet on the ground and making sure that you would be able to call it home.

Safe travels my friends!