Sundays are generally super quiet in Mérida, especially on a hot day like today. But then every day here is a hot day. Sunday is also a day for family. If you haven’t jumped on the AutoProgreso to the coast, like many families do, you may find yourself meandering amongst family groups from shop to…

What better place to uncover the bones of a city than its general cemetery (if you pardon the pun, that is). We’ve always been fascinated by and drawn to cemeteries, particularly in Latin America. For here they really do know how to commemorate and celebrate the dead. In Buenos Aires you have the elegantly over…

After the fruit market you’ll find yourself increasingly surrounded by shoes of all types (Nike knock-offs, that sort of thing – not much leather in evidence) but what we were looking for were traditional Huaraches, hand-braided leather sandals (stitched to soles made from old car-tyres). After asking around we were finally taken to the Huaraches…

Shopping in Mérida, the smells, the colours, the tastes, the sounds and the sights all challenge the senses –  particularly in and around the city’s largest market, Mercado Lucas de Galvéz.  The downtown streets around the mercado are packed by mid-morning with everyone (and I mean everyone) masked-up and going about their business. There’s so much…

After a day of rain, the clouds cleared and another blisteringly hot sunny day dawned. Mérida bakes in the midday and afternoon heat so we headed early to Progreso, about an hour away on the Gulf Coast where it’s much cooler and often with a stiff breeze – perfect conditions for marauding gangs of sea…

Another riff on ‘Don’t look up’, but in this case, ‘Do look up’. For high on some street corners you’ll often see a red and white plaster plaque with a whimsical image. Animals, people, household Items, unique events or legends that relate to that very place.  When the Spanish colonised Mérida they laid the city…

Walking around the Centro Histórico district you’ll mostly see charming low level square casas, often arranged higgledy piggledy, calle after calle. I love their individual expression of colour and style – most conforming to the pastel brights against limewashed weathered walls, whilst others rebel and shout out to the world ‘look at me!’  – I particular…

When arriving in Mérida you’re instantly taken with the brightly coloured casas that line the calles of the Centro Histórico district – the ornate doors and grilles, the vibrant coloured walls, the shadow play of light on the whitewashed limestone – it’s a feast for the eyes. Occasionally, if you’re fortunate, a door will be…

I realise I’m waxing lyrical about Hacienda Mucuyché but I was so impressed with the site and of course Cenote Azul Maya. It’s a must do experience if you’re ever in the Yucatan. Staying happily this side of touristy (at least when we were there), there’s also a large cenote-water swimming pool with poolside restaurant…

What makes Mucuyché different from the other haciendas in the region is the presence of two cenotes. Cenote Carlota is a vast half open cave with 7-metre crystalline blue water and named after Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Saxony and Empress of Mexico. Empress Carlota – Spanish spelling – was…