Mexico, Día Dos: Merida

I think travel is wonderful. I love it personally and I think everyone needs to get out and see the world, expand their understanding of other cultures and places. As homeschoolers, travel offers the opportunity to teach the kids about Mexico: it’s geography, history and language; the Mayans, their history, architecture and cultural importance; Yucatan Peninsula, it’s jungles and coral reefs. We can talk about everything from money and language being different to exchange rates and specific words. The kids are saying hola, adios, buenos dias, and gracias. But more than specifics of this trip and this exact area, I would like the kids to learn to travel, learn that the world is large and people are interesting. I’d like them to be comfortable navigating an airport or bus station, understand similarities and differences in manners, be flexible, open and willing to understand that different isn’t wrong.

Last year we came to the Yucatan Peninsula for the first time. The kids had an amazing time with all of the family on daddy’s side. We spent a week on the beach with all the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandpa and grandma Mary. This year, we decided to come down a little early and wander around the Yucatan Peninsula before heading to the beach to see a little bit of the area. I don’t remember how I found Merida but it looked interesting and I thought we could give it a try.

Our first day in Merida the kids woke way too early after going to bed in the wee small hours of the morning. We stepped out the back door to get a look around. We have double doors we can kick open, with or without screen, and hang out on our patio complete with hammock swing and large bench. Straight up a few steps leads to the pool. While we stood there one of the kids said, “There goes a bird.” OK no big deal, birds fly by all the time. But mommy looks because mommy’s are supposed to look. And there sits a giant parrot on a bunch of branches on the roof. Parrots are not what usually fly by where we live. Very cool start to the day.

So off to breakfast right across the street. Then we were going to walk a while because we missed the free walking tour of the city center. Before we got to the end of our block one of the guide buses drove by. Running while waving ones arms is pretty international and they stopped for us. So we headed off for a two hour guided tour of the city in Spanish and English. Merida is the capital of the state of Yucatan (the Yucatan Peninsula actually has three states in it) and is very old. Cathedrals from the 16th century sit beside contemporary office buildings. Most of the very old buildings have survived; there are banks and restaurants in 17th century homes, the oldest cathedral is build from the stones of an old Myan pyramid. Both B and D actually fell asleep during the tour – six hours of sleep will do that to you. After the bus tour, we went back to the hotel hoping for a siesta but the kids had woken up and were crazed. So we went swimming instead. It’s a very small pool but the kids had fun and there were a few other families there.

We went out after swimming for a late lunch and then walked around the main square. I’m not sure if they have a market all the time of if it’s because Christmas is coming (guide books said it was on the weekend) but they had a big artisan market with Mayan crafts and arts from the Yucatan. We got back to the room and the kids changed into PJs; they thought it was bedtime. The sun sets around 6 and we decided not to dissuade them. Neither of the boys packed books like we’d asked so it looks like everyone is getting Brown Bear, Brown Bear for a couple of weeks. The kids finally fell asleep and we went out and sat on the patio; opening the doors so we could hear the children; rocking the hammock swing and enjoying the breeze.

(Many more photos are up in the gallery and on flickr. Other days to follow)