One day last week (in January) the high temperature in Memphis was 19° F. It was gray and overcast outside, with several inches of snow on the ground, paralyzing the city for several days. Today it is 90°F and sunny in Mérida. We should have come a week earlier.
We flew into the Cancun airport, which was a near disaster. Chaos reigned in the immigration hall. It was an absolute free for all. We were in a scrum with hundreds of people just trying to find and get into a line. It took us over 30 minutes to fight our way into a line for automated passport control. Once in line it took us another 20 minutes to get through and out the other side.
Several planes must have landed at about the same time, overwhelming the system. The authorities were not prepared to deal with a surge in travelers. Or didn’t care. How hard would it have been to make the lines longer, and with better signage?
Luckily we exited the airport ten minutes before our bus to Mérida was scheduled to depart. Just in time to stop in the convenience store. Drinks? Only warm six packs. No single drinks. Nothing cold. Good thing we filled our water bottles in Charlotte. Snacks, sure. We paid $5.17 for a can of semi-stale Pringles to eat on the bus trip.
Outside Terminal 3 we hopped on an ADO bus heading to Mérida’s Paseo Station. The bus was pretty clean, had reclining seats, a footrest, and somewhat useless drink holders. The overhead space was good, with plenty of room for large backpacks. The USB chargers worked great. A bathroom was at the rear. Basically this was the bus equivalent of premium economy on a plane.
Stephanie learned an important lesson on the bus ride. Always check to make sure the sink has running water before soaping your hands. Otherwise you’ll end up with two hands covered with half dried liquid soap, desperately using sanitizer to wipe them off on your shorts.
Entertainment was provided on the bus. Spanish language versions of We Bought a Zoo (a 2011 movie featuring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson) and Bad Education (a 2019 movie with Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney), as well as a few episodes of the Charlie Sheen sitcom Anger Management, played on the television up front. Stephanie had to suffer through this. At least I had headphones and podcasts to drown out the sound.
Five hours after getting onto the bus we pulled into Mérida’s Paseo Station, found a nearby food court, and had burgers and beers before taking an Uber to our Airbnb.
Those familiar with the Yucatán Peninsula may wonder why we did not take the new Tren Maya from Cancun to Mérida. The train just began operations and still has a lot of kinks to work out. A lot.
The ticketing website, at least in early 2024, is a disaster. You can buy tickets a couple of days in advance for the few available routes that are running, mostly in the morning. That is not much help when you arrive at the airport in early afternoon. Not to mention that the train station at the Cancun airport is still under construction. Worse yet, train tickets are about 40% more expensive than bus tickets.
For now, an ADO bus is a much better option for getting around the Yucatán Peninsula. But that might change in the next few years once Tren Maya is fully operational and its growing pains are over.
Mérida’s Centro Histórico is one of the largest Spanish colonial era centers in México, with Plaza Grande at its heart. This is a focal point for tourists as the Mérida tourist sign is found here. The plaza is likewise popular with locals as it has tree lined walkways with plenty of benches and seats, and free wi-fi.
On Sunday afternoons Plaza Grande transforms into a street market with dozens of vendors selling everything imaginable. Tacos and drinks? Check. Clothes and hats? Check. Totally random souvenirs? Check. Cigars? Check. In the afternoon a street is blocked off for a traditional dance show performed in front of the Palacio Municipal de Mérida.
Catedral de San Ildefonso is the most prominent building on the plaza. Built in the late 1500s, it is one of the first buildings in the Americas to feature a dome. The cathedral is open daily in the evenings and worth a visit. The inside is pleasant and functional, not ornate in the slightest.
Next to the cathedral is the Pasaje de Revolución, a long covered walkway separating the cathedral and what used to be the Archbishop’s Palace but is now the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán (MACAY), a contemporary art museum. Today the passage is largely used as exhibit space and as the entrance to MACAY.
MACAY is open several days each week from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The artwork is spread over two levels. Permanent galleries featuring the works of Fernando Castro Pacheco, Fernando García Ponce, and Gabriel Ramírez Aznar are found upstairs. Sculptures are on ground level.
As foreigners we paid 60 pesos each to enter (about $3.50; it is less expensive for locals). The artwork was somewhat interesting, obviously modern and contemporary. I think we spent about thirty minutes in MACAY, and we went through pretty slowly because the galleries are air conditioned.
Around Plaza Grande are two other free galleries worth visiting. Museo Casa Montejo is located in a large hacienda. It is now set up as half hacienda, half art gallery. Definitely worth a twenty minute walk through.
If you see a line forming out the front door, go around it. There is a Citibank branch office in the back of the building. That line is for a Citibank ATM in an alcove at front entrance. So don’t get in line, unless you need cash.
Across the plaza is the Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Yucatán, the green building, a state government office with a free art gallery in the courtyard and up on the second floor. The paintings, by Fernando Castro Pacheco, depict the history of Yucatán. It’s another twenty minute walk through.
The art gallery is best viewed at night as the lights make the paintings shine. During the day harsh light and shadows caused by sunlight streaming through many sets of glass doors really dampen the experience.
Plaza Grande is a great place to start exploring in Mérida, and you can pretty much see it all in about two hours.
One of our first tasks here was to find and purchase Va-y-Ven bus cards. As best we can tell, this is the newer public bus system with bright, clean, air-conditioned Mercedes Benz buses and – perhaps most importantly – an app that clearly and precisely shows the bus routes and stops.
To get on the bus you must have a Va-y-Ven card preloaded with pesos. We got our cards at Super Aki. The bus routes are limited, so check to be sure they work for you before going through the trouble to get a card. Based on our Airbnb location the bus routes are okay, not great. Good enough to buy a card for occasional, but not regular, use.
The card itself costs 25 pesos. We each purchased a card, which was unnecessary as we could have shared one. For no particular reason, we loaded each card with 100 pesos. You must pay with cash when loading or recharging a card.
As best we can tell, an individual bus ride is 12 pesos. A second ride within the first hour, such as a connecting bus or a return, is 6 pesos. I think I read that a third ride within the first hour is free, but we never had that situation arise.
Other than poking around Plaza Grande and buying a bus pass, our first week in Mérida was spent going to four different grocery stores in search of Monster Tea + Lemonde: La Macarena Petronila; Super Aki Centario; Walmart Mérida; and, Soriana Hiper Canek. No luck.
But we found plenty of Tecate Light, our beer of choice in México since our visit to Puerto Vallarta a few years ago.
Garrett and Stephanie
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How much is a peso?
About a nickel, give or take.