After exploring Campeche and the Campeche Malecon, we wanted to find things to do in Merida Mexico, the next city on our trip. We actually docked in Progreso Mexico, another lovely small city on the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Progreso has what may be the longest pier in the world, at a little over 4 miles in length. We were at the very far end of it, and it was a military pier as well, so we could not get off the ship to walk on the pier. But, the view was lovely from way out there.
From Progreso, its about a 45 minute drive along well maintained highways to Merida Mexico, which is a large interior city. Like Progreso and Campeche, Merida was a colonial city of Spanish merchants in the 1500s. Prior to the occupation by the Spanish, this area was the heart of the Mayan civilization. Merida is surrounded by Mayan ruins and built on Mayan ruins. Also, many of the old buildings are built of stones from earlier Mayan buildings.
Gran Museo del Mundo Maya
One of the highlights of Merida was the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, or the Museum of the Mayan World. It was fantastic.
The art installation in the lobby represented the impact of being out of harmony with the land, and the resulting lack of resources the land will provide. The artist painted it on dozens of 55 gallon drums. The piece was striking and thought-provoking.
The Gran Museo is home to a mix of artifacts, replicas, and interactive exhibits, with easy to understand interpretative texts alongside.
One of my favorite things was trying to use the interactive electronic Mayan abacus to do math. Math is not my strong suit, and this just proved it. But it was fun.
We spent a little over an hour in the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, and it was well worth it.
Merida Centro Historico
After the museum, we wandered around the historic city center of Merida. In particular, I was impressed with Paseo de Montejo, where the wealthiest of the colonial merchants and politicians lived. From the cathedral, to the municipal palace, to the Case de Montejo, this section of the city fairly reeks of history. It is the perfect place for you to walk around, visit the old buildings, have a coffee or cocktail, and relax.
What’s in a name?
We learned an interesting fact: the fiber we call sisal was known as Henequen in colonial Mexico. It is from an agave plant. Henequen became known as sisal because it was exported from a port town named Sisal. Back in the day, it was known as ‘green gold’ for the riches it brought to the merchants who exported it. Henequen production was the main agricultural work of most of the Haciendas in the Merida area. There are now distillers growing this agave for the production of a tequila-like liquor. For whatever reason, this trivia was particularly memorable. Go figure.
These were some of our favorite things to do in Merida Mexico if you’ve only got a day or two. Now you should go wander around Merida, and let us know yours! We are off to explore Uxmal next.
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