Invest The World -- International Travel and Investment

Merida, Day 2, Part 1

8:00 a.m. Waiting for a few in our group to get back from Mass so we can go eat breakfast. Yesterday was full. D, C and I decided to go visit the seaside towns of this area, while P and N decided to visit the cenotes, pools created from sunken underground caverns.

We had breakfast at a little cafe across the street, in its small, tucked away courtyard. After breakfast, and a little bit of down time, we met our taxi driver, Jose, at 10:00. We first made our way north of town to visit Progreso. The trip took all of about 40 minutes: perhaps 20 minutes to clear ourselves out of the city, and then another 20 down the highway to reach Progreso.

Jose said that Merida actually had 1.1 million people, and driving into the more modern parts, I could believe it. There were large shopping malls everywhere, lots of stores and residential districts, though nothing that I would classify as a high rise building.

The highways out of town were typical of all the others I'd traveled along the Yucatan--multi-lane, well maintained, with light posts stationed every few hundred feet. Within no time we reached Progreso. Progreso, a city of about 100,000 people, is a port hub located on the gulf coast of the Yucatan peninsula. Apparently containing shallow waters, the city built a pier that is five miles long into the sea for ships. No cruise ship was present on the day we were there, although there appeared to be some freighters unloading shipments. At the seafront of the city was the malecon--the seafront street--and on the other side of the malecon was a fairly narrow strip of pale brown sand leading to the azure waters. There were few waves, and the water wasn't particularly clear, but it made for good shots. Opposite of the malecon were mainly restaurants and across the street onto the sand were tables with umbrellas for the restaurant patrons. Signs appeared to advise vendors to keep moving and not bother the guests, and sure enough, we never were approached by one--only restauranteurs inviting us to sit and eat with them.

We had Jose stop, and let us get out and walk. In no time sweat was coming out of every pore. Though there was a bit of a sea breeze, it did little to cool the 105 degree heat. While there were no gringo tourists that I could see, there were plenty of locals enjoying the water. None of them were lying out on the beaches: given their Mayan ancestry, they needed no tan, and more importantly, it was too hot. Men and women alike stayed in the water, often covered by shirts, trying to keep cool. Although I saw hotels advertised, I suspected most of the people here were either residents or lived nearby in Merida, because all they had with them were a few towels, a little bit of food and drink.

By the time we walked to the end of the malecon and back, I was soaked, and we were all hot. We got a few drinks at the Oxxo chain convenience store, and moved on. Next stop was the small village of Chelem, only about a ten minute drive away.

Chelem is nothing much more than a fishing village of about 20,000 people, with what appear to be numerous weekend vacation homes. Property here isn't expensive: you can buy a beachfront house starting at $80,000. Frankly, though, Chelem isn't much of a destination in itself, for a foreign tourist. It appeared to be mainly catering to weekend vacationers from the city. Homes were festively designed with signs showing the family names of their owners (presumably away during the week at work in the city), small, and tightly packed with no yards. Minimal maintenance, for maximum weekend enjoyment. There were also numerous seafood restaurants on the main highway.

We got out and walked the beach. Families packed in on the narrow beach and, once again, mostly waded out and played in the water.

After a bit of walking we got back in the taxi and went on to Chuburna, again probably only another ten minutes down the road. It's hard to describe why, but I liked this area better, and apparently I wasn't alone. While the village itself didn't appear bigger, there did seem to be more vacation homes, and there were far more people out in the water enjoying themselves. We pulled up to the beach and there appeared to be a condo hotel, although it wasn't clear if it was in use or not. I took off my shoes and walked along the shore with D and C, looking at the homes. Though all of the seafront we'd seen had a narrow shore, this one was the most narrow, and had appeared to suffer from erosion. The water lapped almost up to some of the houses, and sand bags were packed around some areas. Nonetheless, if I were a city dweller in Merida and wanted a weekend beach house, Chuburna would be high on my list.

From Chuburna, we went literally to the end of the road, just slightly out of town and found an almost-deserted wide expanse of beach. Were I wanting to come to the beach for the day and I lived around Merida, this area would likely be where I'd go. People parked their vehicles right on the sand. D and C didn't want to get out and walk any more in the heat, so I just took a few pictures

posted by Wesley Deaton @ 9:01 AM