Day 22: Sacalum to Merida

January 3, 2024

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We passed through Sacalum, which is easy to do, and set off basically straight north in the direction of Merida. We took small roads, which were great, except for the occasional rocketing car or motorcycle. In the early morning the road was shaded and very cool, but we only vaguely thought of putting on a windbreaker. We knew things would soon heat up.

Until about 8:30 a.m. the trees along the road offered a good selection of some of our well known birds:

And here, new (for 2024 anyway) are some Muscovy ducks, which are native to this area.

Looking rather contemplative at this hour.

In the boom years of 1880 to 1915 haciendas proliferated in western Yucatan, growing the Hennequen plant, which when shredded and dried produces quality sisal rope. The Spanish American war interrupted the flow of the same product from the Phillipines, and the price received in Yucatan increased a lot. This created great wealth, and for a while Yucatan was the richest state in Mexico. Although the Hacienda owners lived very well, paradoxically there was trickle down to the common people, with improvements in education, health care, and sanitation. With the coming, I suppose , of nylon rope, sisal took a nose dive. Today we see abandoned, very large, haciendas all over the place. They are ruins now, except for some that have become either high end hotels or museums.

Here is a hacienda that is running its cenote.

Former sisal production can always be spotted from the chimneys, which serviced the steam equipment that shredded the hennequen.

Here is a field still planted to hennequen. Not sure what they do with it. The plant is similar to the agave, from which Tequila is made, and Hennequen too can be used for liquor.

Our road, as with most in Yucatan, was strewn with garbage, but it had flowers as well. It's a constant battle between the garbage and the flowers for one's attention. This one is Brazilian Red Cloak.

Another battle is to keep the jungle from engulfing the road. Workers use machetes, as well as Stihl trimmers.

Dodie is amazing at spotting birds that are hiding (from me) in plain sight. Like this Kestrel atop a power pole.

This sign caught my attention because La Sagrada Familia is of course the name of the Gaudi church in Barcelona.

Always on the lookout for theological glitches, I noted that Joseph is usually taken to be lots older than Mary. But in this image he has been de-aged, to create a more normal looking family. Jesus is also looking strangely blond, an unusual choice from an artist who was no doubt Spanish.

We continued sailing along our small roads toward the north, even finding a bike path beside the road for a time. But nearing Merida our way had a new overpass. Dodie balked, since there is no modern highway construction that we normally approve of at first. We continued low and straight, and presently ran into the reason for the overpass: the new Mayan railroad. We backtracked and ok, went over the top.

We passed another obvious hacienda, this one called Tahdzibichen, and could tell we were nearing Merida by the reappearance of OXXO, which generally is not seen here in the west, except for mainly in Merida.

24015 On the small screen we thought this could be a hawk, but it's only a Rock Pigeon.

We crossed under the "periferico", the beltline highway of Merida, glad that it was not a big overpass, which we have seen at other crossings.

After the periferico we entered the outer reaches of the city. Coming from the south, Merida does not impress the visitor. It starts off bleagh, and evolves into a crowded mess.

The crowded mess is getting revved up. Public transit here takes the form of many huge and decrepit Mercedes collectivo busses.

We are getting there. Street surfaces are quite bumpy, and the streets are crowded with traffic.

We can easily take the lane, because the lane is going nowhere.

We have made it to the centre. That is the cathedral on the left.

We like the idea of staying by the central square (Plaza de la Independencia) and we have been trying the hotels that are on it. In the past two cases we got a basic hole in the wall, with no space and no A/C. This time we had high hopes for the "Zocalo". But no, it's the same as the others. Of course, it's in a very historic building so that is something. and a big plus, an ice cream shop and a bakery next door.

The bikes have no hope on the winding up and down stairs needed to get to our room, but Dodie negotiated a spot for them behind the reception desk.

These Zocalo interior shots are deceptive. Sadly, the place is run down and inconveniently laid out.

The photos in the Booking listing are accurate, but very sneakily shot. This is more representative.

To have a place to write the blog, I could go out to a little courtyard. But the seating is a little dicey!

We left our little room and went out to the square, where we immediately bagged almost a dozen pigeons (out of about a thousand).

The square remains nicely done up for Christmas, with the cathedral in the background.

The cathedral was begun in 1561 and completed in 1598, making it the second one built in the Americas. It is said to have Andalusian influences. The cathedral was built atop a former Mayan structure, using materials that were part of it. Our guide app has some stories about what is and what was on the facade. Tomorrow we'll go for a closer look.

The inside of the cathedral has some pretty special vaulting. The design was derived from the Spanish Cathedral of Jaen.

Back out in the square, we watched a Great-tailed Grackle tackle some seeds

Looking around the square, there are lots of historic buildings, like here - the Municipal Palace.

In shooting our entry into Merida today, as usual I recorded exactly what I saw, and I saw a pretty crowded mess. But it is possible to find beauty here too. Tomorrow I will give that a try. On the other hand, the first place we go could be the market, and to be right that will have to be wild! We'll see.

Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 891 km (553 miles)

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