Merida and Mayan Ruins - Visiting Mexico

It’s mid-February and I’ve already gone and come back from my first international trip of the year! I spend MLK Junior Weekend in Merida, Mexico – both since it was a long weekend and also because it coincided with my birthday! Merida has been high on my “to visit” list for about a year and a half now. It’s been very well known and trendy in the travel-writing circles, as it is an artsy, colonial city that is well situated to visit some of the top Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. It’s the Yucatan’s “cultural tourist” destination, vs the beach and booze stereotype of Cancun. It’s also one of the safest cities in Mexico. Like, woman walking alone at 11pm safe.

I was there for 5 nights and 4 full days – I got in Friday evening and left first thing Wednesday morning. I flew into the Merida Airport from DC with a transfer in Houston, so you can get there without going through Cancun. Also just FYI I will mostly be using English translations of the Spanish names of locations and places. Although that is another option. So here is the great, the must do, and the unexpected of my trip to Merida, Mexico.

The Great
Uxmal

Uxmal is one of the Yucatan’s best Mayan ruins and it is absolutely fantastic. The archeological site is unusual in that it’s not built near any water source – not even a cenote – and I assume that is where they are tons of carvings of Chuuc, the god on rain, on the buildings. The main – and first pyramid you see is the Pyramid of the Magician (or Soothsayer – translations vary), which unlike most pyramids has a rounded oval base, and rounded sides. There is also the Quadrangle of the Nuns and the Governor’s Palace – both of which have fantastic decorations on the upper levels of their external walls. They are more like three-dimensional mosaics, rather than carvings or bas-reliefs. It’s extremely cool.

One word of caution though – vet the company and tour guides thoroughly before you sign up for a tour though. My “certified tour guide” started the tour by going on about aliens and ancient contact and conspiracy theories and after I complained to his boss, I was kicked off the van and left in a gas station. (I got an uber and it worked out) So – just make sure they are legit and have good reviews if you sign up with a tour company.

The Food
It is hardly a shock that the food in Mexico is fantastic, but I did want to give the food in Mérida a shoutout. Everything I ate was so good. The breakfasts at the B&B I stayed at, late night empanadas, a random vegan place I went to, all of it was good. Ironically the worst food I had was in one of the most “oh check this out” restaurants in Merida. And it was still a B. Yucatán food is different than the Mexican food I get in the US  and the Cali-Mex I'm used to. There was a lot of tomato sauce, rather than salsa and a pumpkin seed dip that came with chips. And possibly because I'm white and not great with heat – nothing I had was particularly spicy. But I had the best empanadas of my life and there was significant Lebanese influence on the food. One thing I particularly liked though is the empanada and tamal masa dough always had the local green veggie, chaya (aka tree spinach) mixed in. It was both very cool and also really pretty - I'm going to have to figure out how to do that with my masa doughs at home.

The Government Palace
The Governor’s Palace is a beautiful light green building off the Plaza Grande and one of the unexpected but best places I visited. But not because of the building – which is still a state government building and has security at the entrance. The Government Palace is also an art gallery showcasing murals and paintings from Merida artist Fernando Castro Pacheco. The paintings and the murals were painted by Pacheco in the 1970s and are focused on Mayan history, from pre-colonial to colonialism, to the various revolutions, and the “Caste War” which were a series of Mayan uprisings that lasted for 70 years. My favorite were the staircase murals which focused on Mayan cosmology. The paintings blend the figurative and the abstract in a way where the more you look at the painting, the more you see the subtle details. It’s very much a cohesive corpus of work which allows you to see visual motifs the artist returns to. Highly recommend, and since it's public art in a building off the Plaza Grande, it's both right there and free.

The “Must See”
Chichen Itza

One of the “official” new wonders of the world, Chichen Itza is the most famous Mayan site. You’ve seen pictures of it. It really is worth a visit though. For one thing, pictures do not to the scale of it justice. Secondly, the carvings on the building and platforms are incredible. Come for a pic in front of the pyramid, stay for the series of platforms with incredibly detailed carvings. Which, yes, are quite gruesome at times. They are so detailed and beautiful and in incredible shape in many places.

One thing that is super fascinating is that much of the art motifs are actually originally from the Toltec Empire in Central Mexico and aren’t traditionally Mayan at all. The eagle symbol is a prominent example. Yes, it gets busy and there are a lot of people selling you things, but that is a manageable annoyance, not an actual problem. And there are a number of side areas away from the main plaza that only a few other tourists visit and is shady. Chichen Itza really is a must see site in the Yucatan.  

The Unexpected
Timoteo
Mérida is known for artists, and there are galleries in museums, including the City Museum of Mérida where I found the work of the sculptor Rodrigo de la Sierra and his sculptures of Timoteo. Which I promptly became obsessed with. It's funny and cute and also so thought provoking and I freaking love it. De la Sierra’s work can be found elsewhere so this isn't Mérida-specific exactly but it's a highlight of my trip to Merida so I wanted to share. To get an idea this is one of my favorite sculpture, which is entitled “Good Intentions” 

 Mexican Wine
Who knew? Many countries have a few places that make surprisingly good wine. I've had a few wines from Mexico before, but while I was in Merida I spent an afternoon snacking, writing, and enjoying wine in a wine bar called Bacchus. The owner was a sommelier (CMS – which is the hardcore one) and I tried several wines, whites and reds, while I was there. They had other stuff but – why be in a Mexican wine bar and not go for Mexican wine, at least at first. The whites I had were decent but I had a fantastic red blend from the Valle de Guadeloupe, which is the main known Mexican wine region (as much as any is known). Not much is being exported to the US - I've only seen Mexican wine maybe twice at specialty shops. But - it's surprisingly solid and worth checking out if you do run into the opportunity or are in Mexico.

Conclusion
Merida is definitely worth visiting and for how long is entirely up to you. I was there for 4 days while I saw a lot of what I wanted, there are more things I’d like to check out. I don’t need to go back, but I might add a two day stop there to another trip to Mexico at some point in the future. That said, you only need a long weekend, 2-3 days to see the highlights of the city and also do at least one day trip – ruins, flamingos, cenotes, or some combination thereof. Whatever the length or the trip and your interests though, Merida is well worth a visit.