Merida 2
5/10/2009 – 5/17/2009
With the wealth of institutions offering promises of improved Spanish at highly reduced rates in Merida, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to improve my still basic skills. Although rack rates at the many schools in Merida seem a bit expensive, a little bit of research and some good timing led to the discovery of a particularly great deal from the ECORA Centro de Idiomas. The staff was more than accommodating during the enrollment process and placed me with an excellent home stay opportunity with Senora Sofia Cassallas in the quaint colonia of Chuburna, just north of El Centro. Classes at ECORA were divided into grammatical instruction and conversation sessions, all of which were private for me, given the time of year. However, the greatest benefit of he week was most certainly staying with Sofia – all Spanish, all the time. Not only did she provide homework assistance, she brought me up to speed on all the Telenovela plot lines, fed me a lot and often, and acted as personal concierge and tour guide.
Central Iglesia in Chuburna Colonia
The Chuburna location was well suited for visiting many of the sites in and around Merida. The ruins of Dtizbilchaltun are a short, fifteen minute, drive north of town and were a particular highlight for me during the week. Although small, Dtizbilchaltun is a very complete site, offering a few ruins, a sculpture garden/walkway with fine examples from all over the Yucatan, the extremely thorough Museo de Pueblo Maya which illustrates and describes the Maya from historic civilizations through the Spanish conquest to modern life, an ecological interpretive trail, a 16th Century Indian Chapel, and best of all, the Cenote Xlacah which is easily accessible for swimming and an ideal ending to a hot afternoon. The ruins here are few but the House of the Seven Dolls is particularly interesting because it, much like El Castillo at Chichen Itza, is orientated such that the light of the rising sun of the spring and fall equinox passes directly through the central doorway.
Sculpture Garden, Dtizbilchaltun
Templo de las Siete Munecas, Dtizbilchaltun
House of the Seven Dolls
Ruins, Dtizbilchaltun
Ruins and 16th Century Chapel of the Indians, Dtizbilchaltun
Cenote Xlacah, Dtizbilchaltun
The closest beach town to Merida is the Puerto Progresso, thirty kilometers to the north. The beach here is narrow and bustling with palapa restaurants and botana bars along the malecon. Progresso is a nice afternoon or day trip to escape the city heat, but it is not exactly a tranquil beach retreat. It is quite windy in the afternoons and the scenery is dominated by seven-kilometer long pier that provides vehicular access to offload cargo ships.
Progresso Beach and Pier
Malecon, Progresso
Back in the City, all of the museums and events that had been closed or canceled due to the swine flu during our previous time in Merida were back in action. Merida is the proud cultural center of the Yucatan State with a formidable collection of museums ranging from modern art to natural history, most of which offer free entry. Additionally, almost every evening in Merida there is a concert and/or dance exhibition free in one of the parks. Mondays and Thursdays in the Parque de Santa Lucia there are ballets and celebrations of Yucatecan arts from 9:00 to 10:00 pm. Saturday nights there are usually musicians and dancers from 9:00 to midnight at the end of the Paseo de Montejo. Sofia and I attended a Celebration de Todos Los Mexicanos, complete with dances and costumes from many different regions as well as music ranging from Maya to Mariachi.
MACAY, Museum of Contemporary Art, Merida
Celebration of Yucatecan Music and Dance, Parque Santa Lucia, Merida
With the wealth of institutions offering promises of improved Spanish at highly reduced rates in Merida, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to improve my still basic skills. Although rack rates at the many schools in Merida seem a bit expensive, a little bit of research and some good timing led to the discovery of a particularly great deal from the ECORA Centro de Idiomas. The staff was more than accommodating during the enrollment process and placed me with an excellent home stay opportunity with Senora Sofia Cassallas in the quaint colonia of Chuburna, just north of El Centro. Classes at ECORA were divided into grammatical instruction and conversation sessions, all of which were private for me, given the time of year. However, the greatest benefit of he week was most certainly staying with Sofia – all Spanish, all the time. Not only did she provide homework assistance, she brought me up to speed on all the Telenovela plot lines, fed me a lot and often, and acted as personal concierge and tour guide.
Central Iglesia in Chuburna Colonia
The Chuburna location was well suited for visiting many of the sites in and around Merida. The ruins of Dtizbilchaltun are a short, fifteen minute, drive north of town and were a particular highlight for me during the week. Although small, Dtizbilchaltun is a very complete site, offering a few ruins, a sculpture garden/walkway with fine examples from all over the Yucatan, the extremely thorough Museo de Pueblo Maya which illustrates and describes the Maya from historic civilizations through the Spanish conquest to modern life, an ecological interpretive trail, a 16th Century Indian Chapel, and best of all, the Cenote Xlacah which is easily accessible for swimming and an ideal ending to a hot afternoon. The ruins here are few but the House of the Seven Dolls is particularly interesting because it, much like El Castillo at Chichen Itza, is orientated such that the light of the rising sun of the spring and fall equinox passes directly through the central doorway.
Sculpture Garden, Dtizbilchaltun
Templo de las Siete Munecas, Dtizbilchaltun
House of the Seven Dolls
Ruins, Dtizbilchaltun
Ruins and 16th Century Chapel of the Indians, Dtizbilchaltun
Cenote Xlacah, Dtizbilchaltun
The closest beach town to Merida is the Puerto Progresso, thirty kilometers to the north. The beach here is narrow and bustling with palapa restaurants and botana bars along the malecon. Progresso is a nice afternoon or day trip to escape the city heat, but it is not exactly a tranquil beach retreat. It is quite windy in the afternoons and the scenery is dominated by seven-kilometer long pier that provides vehicular access to offload cargo ships.
Progresso Beach and Pier
Malecon, Progresso
Back in the City, all of the museums and events that had been closed or canceled due to the swine flu during our previous time in Merida were back in action. Merida is the proud cultural center of the Yucatan State with a formidable collection of museums ranging from modern art to natural history, most of which offer free entry. Additionally, almost every evening in Merida there is a concert and/or dance exhibition free in one of the parks. Mondays and Thursdays in the Parque de Santa Lucia there are ballets and celebrations of Yucatecan arts from 9:00 to 10:00 pm. Saturday nights there are usually musicians and dancers from 9:00 to midnight at the end of the Paseo de Montejo. Sofia and I attended a Celebration de Todos Los Mexicanos, complete with dances and costumes from many different regions as well as music ranging from Maya to Mariachi.
MACAY, Museum of Contemporary Art, Merida
Celebration of Yucatecan Music and Dance, Parque Santa Lucia, Merida
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