After my first trip to Mexico in 2016, visiting the Yucatan Peninsula and central Mexico with friends, I knew I wanted to go back. Two years later, I convinced my mother to join me on a short trip to Mérida, capital of the state of Yucatán. We weren’t exactly escaping the January weather, travelling from Arizona, not Canada, but we were thrilled to take a mini-break to experience a new city. Though we didn’t have the chance to see everything on our list (we hope to go back to see the flamingos in Celestún), we couldn’t have asked for a more vibrant city to visit. Spoiler alert: we still talk about the incredible Italian food (yes, Italian) we ate there.
Every Day a Free Event
Culture is celebrated in Mérida and visitors are invited to get to know Mayan, Yucatán, and Mexican culture through free events happening each day. These events are one of the unique highlights of the city, animating travellers and locals alike to come out in the evenings to mingle and enjoy the mild weather and spirited music. Of course, my favourite was the the folkloric dancing, performed several times a week by a group of professional dancers wearing incredible costumes for each dance representing the regional traditions of Mexico. We both thought these dancers were comparable to the Ballet Nacional Folklórico de México we saw in Arizona.
Another highlight was seeing a game of Pok ta Pok, the pre-contact Mesoamerican ballgame in which the ball must pass through a stone hoop while players manipulate the ball using anything but their arms and hands. I was so pleased to see a demonstration of this ancient sport, having seen ball courts depicted in my archaeology classes and having to imagine the difficult maneuvers of the participants. I call this a sport, but it may have been more of a ritual, and in some cases the losers, or the winners (depending on the event), would be sacrificed. Fortunately, the players we saw went home after their skilled demonstration, keeping Mayan traditions alive every Friday night.
Museums: From Mayan Archaeology to Contemporary Art
There was no chance of visiting all the museums Mérida had to offer, but we did our best. On the Paseo Montejo, the grand avenue of colonial mansions, is the early 20th century Palacio Cantón, now the Regional Museum of Anthropology. We welcomed the cool interior of the palace while admiring the excellent collection of Mayan artifacts recovered from archaeological sites.
On the Plaza Grande, the main square, there are several museums. One is the Casa de Montejo, dating to 1540, and although I can’t pretend that the permanent exhibition was particularly memorable, there was a wonderful temporary exhibit of linen fashions by a Mexican designer that had me wishing I could walk out with at least one of the outfits. On the opposite side of the square is the mint-coloured El Palacio del Gobierno, free to enter and housing a collection of paintings and murals in an arcaded building dating to the late 19th century. Visiting in early January, they still had their Christmas decorations on display!
Just off the main square is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACAY), which, in my opinion, is worth a visit. You may not find the most famous names in contemporary art, but the collection is fun and quirky, and includes indoor galleries and a lovely central patio. See below for my favourite piece at the museum, Desprendimiento (Detachment) by Alfredo Castañeda.
We also visited the Popular Art Museum, mostly because I needed to use the washroom, but it was a small collection of delightful folk art from all over Mexico. If you are familiar with Mexican folk art, you will know that some of it is quite whimsical. Entry is free, and the museum is off-the-beaten-track, though we really didn’t find crowds at any indoor venues.
Day Trips: Izamal, Chichén Itzá, and a Cenote
In Mérida, you are frequently approached by friendly locals. Though it seems they just want to chat and give you a few tips about the city, you soon realize that they are sending you to specific shops or that they own a tour company. No problem. My mom and I needed to buy hats (we left ours in the car at the airport) and tour operators are a great way to get out of the city without the hassle. We booked a day trip to Chichén Itzá with a locally-owned tour company, but we decided to visit Izamal, one of the pueblos mágicos (magical villages), on our own.
Izamal
Admittedly, the day of our trip to Izamal, we struggled to find the correct bus station in Mérida. Eventually, we caught a second class bus (without air conditioning) to the small city 72 km away. Izamal, the Yellow City, is actually a colonial city built on top of a Mayan city. Though the Spanish decided not to destroy all vestiges of the Mayan settlement, they wanted to demonstrate their dominance and built a massive Franciscan monastery, dedicated to San Antonio de Padua, on one of the Mayan constructions. Completed in 1561, the bright yellow monastery is the centrepiece of the modern town.
We wandered the vibrant city, stopping for lunch at Kinich, a beautiful restaurant with a protected outdoor space working to preserve traditional Yucatán and Mexican cuisine. Here, you can see women making tortillas by hand. We had a pitcher of horchata (one of my favourites and tasty, unlike Spanish horchata), rice with fried plantains, and a regional dish called queso relleno, that I do not remember well, but it is a pork dish. The fried plantains were delicious, but I would go to this restaurant for the ambiance alone!
After lunch, we toured the ruins of the Kinich pyramid. Since the pyramid is in poor condition, people can climb and visit the pyramid as they wish. As we started to climb up (confession: we did not reach the top) we saw our very first coatimundi, a long-nosed and long-tailed mammal. Sadly, it was chained up in someone’s yard and was quite distressed. Since then, we’ve seen several wild coatis in Arizona.
Chichén Itzá and Xcajum Cenote
My best recommendation when visiting the Yucatán Peninsula is to use locally owned and operated tour companies. My friend and I learned this the hard way in Tulum, taking a tour with a company that stuffed us on a bus, rushed us through the archaeological ruins of Cobá, took us to a horrible cenote, and left us with the distinct and very uncomfortable sensation that the Mayan people were themselves a tourist attraction. Awful! In Mérida, my mom and I met a gentleman on the street and he let us know that he ran a tour company. We booked our Chichén Itzá day trip with him and ended up with a private tour (something that also happened in Tulum when we got a recommendation from the owner of our hotel for a tour company). Our driver took us straight to Chichén Itzá where we met our guide. He took us around to see the main features of the settlement (including a ball court) and explained the lifestyle, rituals, and traditions of the pre-contact Mayan people. Being a popular archaeological site, the area was buzzing, but having our own guide made the visit much more enjoyable than had we been with a large group.
From the archaeological site, we went to Xcajum cenote. Not the most popular in the area, but much less busy than some of the more well-known natural sinkholes that dot the peninsula and offer a refreshing escape from the heat. Cenotes were once used as water supplies and sometimes as places for sacrificial offerings. Now, they are attractions for visitors. At Xcajum, there was only one other family enjoying the fresh water of the cenote. Hailing from the U.S., the family had not received their luggage on arrival, and the mother recounted her difficulties in finding a swimsuit in Mexico, as the tiny bikinis were not her style.
Gastronomy
When we planned our trip to Mérida, we had no idea we were in for a culinary surprise. We enjoyed several first-rate meals, sampling local and international dishes. Despite suffering from some gastrointestinal distress during our trip (though we were careful about what we ate), the food was just too good to give up eating. Having been to Italy multiple times, we were both shocked, but in complete agreement, that the Italian food we ate in Mérida was fantastic (perhaps a result of Italian immigration to the area). Hidden away on a pedestrian walkway next to the theatre is Il Caffé Italiano. Dining al fresco and watching the passersby, we had ravioli in white wine sauce and spaghetti alla provenzal. Toward the end of our trip, we went to another Italian restaurant and were equally impressed by the quality and flavour of the food. La Tratto is located on the lively Plaza Península where you may benefit from a live concert while you eat. Here, not feeling quite so ambitious about food as we had at the beginning, we split a dish of linguine with bacon, mushrooms, basil, and a balsamic vinegar sauce. Not to be completely conquered by Montezuma, we finished the meal with tiramisu.
Other excellent international cuisine we enjoyed was at Pita Mediterranean Cuisine and Bar. If I remember correctly, the owner was from Lebanon (though I could be mistaken). We ordered pitas. I had the New York steak and my mom had the falafel, both exceptional.
Personally, I wasn’t overly impressed by the recommended restaurant for Mayan specialties, La Chaya Maya. It is well-known, and the food was fine, but it felt quite touristy. Unfortunately, a restaurant with a gorgeous patio (Pancho’s) seems to have closed permanently. For good Mexican food at a budget price, try Cafetería Pop, a restaurant that has been around since 1971. A more upscale, trendy take on Mexican food can be found at Cartas a Frida where we ate goat cheese stuffed mushrooms with a blueberry sauce and shrimp in a tamarind sauce (we were divided on this restaurant, but I liked it).
I’m certain anybody can find wonderful food to enjoy in Mérida, whatever their tastes. When travelling in Mexico, I always recommend trying the aguas frescas, sweetened water with fruit or other flavourings. Agua de jamaica (hibiscus) and horchata (cinnamon and almond milk) are some of my favourites. Also, try some quesadilla fillings you might not find elsewhere, like huitlacoche (corn smut) or squash blossoms.
Hidden Gems
Whenever you visit a new city, you inevitably stumble across something you weren’t expecting. These are always fun discoveries. On the Paseo Montejo, we came across Casa T’Ho Concept House. This beautiful building has been transformed into an upscale boutique-cum-gallery-cum-café. It has been meticulously designed and it is obvious each item in the shop was selected with care and attention.
On our last day, we made another discovery, finding that there was a small gallery adjacent to Coqui Coqui hotel and perfume shop. The gallery had a grungy feel: crumbling opulence with peeling paint as a characteristic rather than a detraction. There was a beautiful patio with a restaurant (we didn’t get to try) that seemed to conjure a feeling of sadness or nostalgia for the past.
I genuinely hope to return to Mérida one day, not just to see the things we didn’t have the time for, but to experience the charm of the city once more. I hope you will also get the chance to go!
