Paseo de Montejo is the main boulevard through town, stretching from the outskirts of Centro Histórico to the Monumento a la Patria. It is one of the few streets in town with wide tree lined sidewalks. Every Sunday morning the road is closed to vehicle traffic for walkers, joggers, and bicyclers. The beauty of this street comes from mansions built in the early 1900s that are still standing. Some are now businesses, others are museums.
One afternoon while enjoying a walk along Paseo de Montejo we stopped into Quinta Montes Molina, a large house built in the early 1900s. It is still owned by the family and maintained with the décor and furnishings as it existed a century ago. Even though admission is a bit pricey at 120 pesos per person (about $7), Stephanie and I couldn’t resist as we both have an interest in old architecture.
The entrance on the main floor leads into a long wide hallway that divides the house in half, with three rooms on either side: parlor; office; dining; and, three bedrooms. The kitchen and multiple storage rooms are located downstairs – along with a gift shop that you will pass through on your way out. We probably spent about 45 minutes wandering through and admiring the house and grounds.
From there it was a short walk over to La Cubanita for lunch. I can’t resist a good Cuban sandwich. Great food, inexpensive, and huge portions. Be prepared to share or take leftovers. Highly recommended.
After taking in Paseo de Montejo, do yourself a favor and walk a several blocks east to Parque la Plancha. It is a huge family friendly park built on the site of an abandoned railyard.
The main section of the park is centered around a large pond and a fountain, with a wading pool, shaded playgrounds, multiple walking paths, an amphitheater, open air food court, and several train cars for décor.
Across the street are several more shaded playgrounds, walking paths, and a water feature that puts on a show at night with colorful water fountains pulsating to music.
This is hands down the nicest, most family friendly park we have ever seen.
Another park that is much more dated, but just as kid friendly, is Parque Zoológico del Centenario. This place is half kiddie playgrounds and rides, half zoo.
The kiddie side, Centenario, is geared towards little kids, probably under age eight. There are several shaded playgrounds, small fair rides, a food court with several eating options, and a lot of vendors selling trinkets and snacks.
The zoo side is what I’d call a chain link fence zoo, mostly birds and small mammals, though there is a giraffe, zebras, and several lions and tigers. Also found are a few smaller primates, a llama, deer and sheep, lot of birds, turtles, and a small aquarium.
We spent about an hour walking through the entire park, though with kids you could easily be in there a lot longer. The park is free, which is somewhat surprising since it could use some funds for upgrades and repairs, especially on the zoo side.
Our time in Mérida perfectly exemplifies that we do not want or need to visit the popular tourist attractions everywhere we go. We do what we want to do, not what some guide book or website suggests is mandatory.
The Yucatán Peninsula is most prominently known for its beaches, cenotes, and Mayan ruins. Okay, admittedly we are going to visit the beach before returning to Memphis. But we decided to skip the cenotes and Mayan ruins. One out of three isn’t bad.
Cenotes are essentially sinkholes where limestone caves collapsed revealing underground rivers. The water maintains a consistent temperature of 72° to 75° F year round. Coming from Memphis, that is really cold. If it were hot outside, we could easily swim in the cenotes. But with air temperatures mostly in 75°to 85° F range, no thanks.
Half day tours to visit several cenotes generally cost about $75 per person, not including the cost to enter each cenote, as many have a separate admission fee. If you have a car, or are proficient with local travel, you can get to and from many cenotes on your own for several dollars each way. We thought long and hard about both a tour or going on our own, but in the end decided to pass.
Our decision was strongly influenced by the fact that we went river tubing through caves in Belize several years go. So while cenotes look like fun, for us they’re not $75 fun.
Mayan ruins are also a very popular tourist destination. Perhaps the most well known Mayan ruins are at Chichén Itzá, several hours from Mérida. As best we could determine, Chichén Itzá is usually overrun by tourists from the beaches and cruise ships. It was never a serious option for us.
Closer to Mérida are the ruins at Uxmal. Again, we strongly considered going to Uxmal but did not, largely because a few years ago we visited Mayan ruins in Belize, at the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve.
As an aside, here’s a story in the “stupid American” category. At the Mayan ruins in Belize an older couple from Texas (and they were very proud to be from Texas) asked our tour guide how and when the Egyptians traveled to Belize to teach the Mayans how to build pyramids. They were serious. Swear to God. If you want to play “stump the local tour guide” at Mayan ruins, that’s a good question to ask.
Garrett and Stephanie
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nice to see Mexico! Thank you