Merida - Feliz Navidad

Christmas eve day we walked down to the Plaza Grande, the main square, and took a look inside the cathedral. A Mexican man asked us in English if we were in line for confession. We said “no” but Deborah admitted we probably should be. This led to further conversation and before we knew it this gentleman was giving us an impromptu tour of the cathedral, and a very interesting one at that. We assumed he was just angling for tips, which we were certainly willing to give, when the tour led outside the cathedral and then next door to his little tienda, the entrance to which was somewhat obscured by the construction taking place on that side of the cathedral. So now after our uninvited but nevertheless enjoyable tour we felt compelled to buy something, which is of course exactly what he planned. After looking at the many things we didn't need including Panama hats (which aren't made in Panama, only here and in Ecuador), Guayabera shirts (a archetypical style in Latin America), and shawls made from cactus fiber, we ended up purchasing a loose weave shirt made from the same cactus fiber. After some mild negotiation we settled on a price of 300 pesos (about US$23) which we felt was more than fair for an informative tour and a climate-appropriate shirt. We said goodbye to the enterprising fellow who quickly headed back to the cathedral to drum up some more business.

Deborah put together a delicious Christmas Eve meal of fish and veggies and cheesecake which we shared with our landlady and her cats, who had been wary of us until we started offering fish. Most of the food came from, believe it or not, Walmart. Not a place we normally shop but in Merida it is actually the fancy store – much nicer than the Walmarts back home. We were surprised and impressed. Later that evening and well into the wee hours the sounds of fireworks echoed around the neighborhood, as I gather they do for most holidays and festivals in Mexico. With the warm nights here we leave the windows open so the celebrations don't make for the best of sleeping, but we certaily wouldn't begrudge the locals their festivities.

Merida Walmart - Not just for the trailer park crowd.

Inside the cathedral.


Start a conversation and he'll sell you a shirt.

Pinata in a church? Yes, the pinata was originally adapted to the celebrations of Lent, with seven points to represent the seven deadly sins. This one is aparently a bit more sinful.