Friday, 17 February 2017: Merida

Thankfully Justin is better and ready to get back in the game.  After breakfast in our hotel, we drove into town to explore.  Our hotel is on Paseo de Montejo which is known as the Champs Ellysees of Mexico.  The 19th century mansions tucked in the elegant tree-lined street, now host boutique hotels, restaurants, museums, etc.  I saw perhaps the most impressive Starbucks I've ever seen.  

We found a place to park 10 or 12 blocks out of the actual city center.  Our walk in to the Zocolo (city center) led us passed markets and stores where the locals shop.  This is one of the parts of our travel that I enjoy the most.  It was stinking hot today so once we were in the city center, we made sure we found a spot in the shade to sit to take in all the sights.  The architecture of Merida is impressive and their public art is plentiful.

Mid-afternoon, we took the short hour drive to Progreso.  We wanted to check out that beach town and the neighboring communities on Chelum and Chuburna.  We met with property manager, Marti and drove around to get a feel for the towns.  We explored the beaches that are almost overtaken by a 7km pier.  We've heard that the construction of the pier has interfered with the ecosystem and the beach is deteriorating in some spots. Everything that comes in by boat for the Yucatán comes in here at night.  It is a shame that the engineers messed up on this one.

El Bull Pen for dinner.  The owner, Jill and Martin have some very American choices on their menu.  We passed on the hamburgers but we did have a Cobb salad to go with our lobster and shrimp.  Martin is from Mexico City; Jill used to teach middle school in the Denver area.

They are quite happy to make a go of their restaurant and hotel business and get away from the hub-bub in the states.  We are hearing that from almost everyone we meet.  Jill talked specifically how she likes the fact that she can go into her kids school and walk straight into the classroom without passing through security checks.  

I still do my happy dance every Friday morning.  Today I asked Justin where we would have gone this three-day weekend if we were still in Germany.  We weren't able to come up with a spot that would have been warm enough for us so it is just as well that we are in Mexico where that isn't a problem at all.