Exploring Merida

By Jeremy Carter - Guest blogger traveling in Merida, Mexico. Today marks one week that I've been in Merida, and this city never ceases to amaze me. Although I'd visited before (but only for three days) I was prepared for a bit of culture shock. So far, the only shock has been from the weather (which I'm coping with thanks to a new appreciation for cold showers). Instead, I've found this to be an incredibly progressive city. Two nights ago I attended a play at a small black-box theater near downtown...a neo-expressionism work about author Marguerite Yourcenar and her lover/translator. The quality rivaled -- even surpassed -- that of many shows I've seen in the States. Tonight I'm attending a more traditional work at the same theater. In addition, this month there's an international film festival at a historic, restored theater downtown, with works from all parts of the world. Add to that chic restaurants, clubs and department stores and you have a place not at all unlike any other city of 1 million people in the US. In other news, yesterday we visited the ruins at Uxmal and Kabah. Our tour guide, Enrique, gave us fantastic insight into each of the sites and Yucatan in general. We also learned that there's a law being proposed that would privatize the ruins. Not only would that put these sacred and historic sites in the hands of private organizations and individuals, it would most likely drive up the admission fees, which are currently extremely reasonable (for example, a visit to Uxmal costs a very reasonable 45 pesos, or around $4.50 US.) Anyway, I'd always resisted taking guided tours of such places, instead preferring to explore on my own. However, my opinions have changed, as we learned so many things we wouldn't have found out otherwise...and learning them from a local was a definite bonus.