Mérida and Campeche, hot as hell

Mérida takes its name from the capital of the Spanish region of Extremadura that we visited several years ago and liked it a lot, and so we were looking forward to discover its Mexican counterpart.

Well, having the same name doesn't automatically mean the same charm. According to our guidebooks, Mérida is supposed to be the colonial gem of Yucatan, pretty and full of culture, but in the two days we spent there we weren't too impressed. Sure, the town main square is nice and so are some of the adjacent buildings but beside that there wasn't much more to see. On the other hand, there are plenty of touts and scammers around the center who will start a friendly conversation about your travels and before you know, you are dragged to a 'fair trade' Maya shop and pushed to buy overpriced hammocks.

The lack of interesting things to see or do was a good thing in the end as we could go out only in the morning and late in the afternoon, during the day the temperatures were on their 40s - in the shade! That's what you get for visiting the hottest part of Mexico in the hottest month of the year...

Cathedral of Mérida

Casa de Montejo

Palacio municipal

University of Yucatan

Museum of Contemporary Art

We decided to break our journey from Yucatan Peninsula to Chiapas state in the town of Campeche. As it was just a one night stop, we didn't expect much (unlike in Mérida) from it, but it was a pleasant surprise. This Unesco World Heritage site has a beautifully restored city center inside the original city walls, and despite the omnipresent heat we enjoyed wandering around its narrow streets with brightly colored houses and impossibly high sidewalks.

Pan de cazon, typical Campeche's dish, with shredded SHARK meat

Public library

Streets full of colors

City walls

Not very disabled friendly

Templo del Dulce Nombre de Jesus

Cathedral of Campeche

Gulf of Mexico!

This was our last stop in Yucatan and we are off to the state that we have dreamt of visiting the most - Chiapas.