Campeche and Merida

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Originally uploaded by theslaad.

We arrived in Campheche in the mid afternoon and got the taxi driver to drop us at another hostel in the same chain as we had been using. It wasn´t great, but in quite a good location and we were able to have a private room. In our guide book, Campheche is in the highlights section for the Yucatan, but it didn´t really tell us much about it or give us a map! So we decided to take the tourist tram for a little sightseeing trip around the city. We saw lots of important churches (we suspect they were interesting) and the nice old walls. It made a nice change to be near to the sea again. There is no beach at Campeche but we could sit on the promenade and enjoy the sea breeze and look at the huge pelicans.
Campeche was nice enough, but we felt an afternoon was enough time there, so we caught anohter bus to Merida on Saturday.

Merida is quite a big city, but like all Mexican cities it is quite manageable as it is built around the central square and cathedral. We decided to splash out a bit on our hotel, as the last few had left quite a lot to be desired. The hotel Dolores Alba is a palace in comparison to where we stayed in Palenque. Our room is huge with a/c and a tv and it overlooks the swimming pool.
Sunday appears to be a very social day in Mexico. The roads surrounding the plaza were pedestrianised and we went for a walk up to the local museum. On our way we passed a band playing for lots of people of a certain age, who were having a great time salsa dancing. The museum was quite interesting, with quite a few artefacts from nearby Chichen Itza. In the afternoon we relaxed and then sat out at a couple of street cafes watching lots of people and listening to the various bands that were playing either at the cafes or along the streets.
Yesterday we decided to indulge ourselves with a day by the pool. We´ve been looking at where to go to the beach, and it all looks at bit pricey, so we are taking advantage of our pool whilst we are here in Merida. It´s good because it doesn´t get too much sun during the day, so we don´t have to worry too much about sunburn, but that does mean that the water´s a bit chilly.

Today we have had a look at a couple of local markets and a craft shop. We´re going to the art museum later and then will probably have a dip in the pool!

Chichen Itza tomorrow! Yay!