In January 2016 we will be headed to Merida, a city of over one million people on the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico.
The Yucatan Peninsula lies between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea near the Tropic of Cancer. Cuba is only about 950 kilometers across the water.
In a break from our Mediterranean travels, Merida has a tropical wet and dry climate. When we will be there, January, February and March 2016 temperatures will slowly climb from an 87 to 93 degree average with humidity of about 80 percent. These are the coolest months of the year in the city.
We have rented a house in the Ermita district of Merida with a “plunge pool.” The idea is to go to market and visit sites early in the day, then return home for lunch and a siesta. In the late afternoon we’ll take a dip in the unheated plunge pool to cool down before venturing out later in the evening for strolling then return for a late dinner. At least, this is the plan now. But plans have a way of changing once we are immersed in the culture.
We also plan on taking Spanish classes for “residents” two days a week. (We qualify as residents due to our three-month stay.) Our hope is to meet some folks who live in Merida and might tell us of some “hidden delights.”
Once again, we will not be renting a car but rather taking buses, trains and walking, walking and walking. And unlike some of our previous small houses, this one is not on a hill relieving us of carrying groceries up some 100 steps in the heat.
We will arrive on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the beginning of 2016 and are looking forward to having you along for this new adventure.
MedFlies 
Looking forward to it, Jill!
Here from various sources that there is a lot of drug war activity that area……need flack jackets?
Not Merida Neil. Safest city in Mexico. Yes.
Highly recommend reading Zecharia Sitchin’s book The Lost Realms before you go, has the best history of the Olmecs’ development of Mesoamerica in general as the earliest people (originally from the Gold Coast of Africa). They were gold miners and they are the ones that left those 8 ft. tall sculpted stone faces/heads that are so famous there.
Jill, I used to go to Merida when we lived in Miami. It was only 2 hours away. It was a delightful colonial city with amazing archeological sites nearby.
What a good choice for your continuing adventures. We look forward to reading your Journal again.
Fondly,
Leni
So glad you will share our travels.
Buen viaje! I’m trying to learn to speak my message into my phone and it does not like foreign languages so what I really want to say is have a great trip to meriida. We enjoy your blog and want to hear all about MER IDA. Bernie spent time there 25 years ago and visited my sites in the near Merida. We enjoyed lunch with you in Santa Fe and we hope to keep in touch so goodbye for now Addio’s
Your voice recognition did pretty well. Just a few problems with Spanish words. Amazing. Nice to have you on the online trip.
Bring sunscreen. And plenty of it.
Hi Richard, And mosquito netting?
I can’t wait! You two have a style that draws my quiet admiration.
So good to hear from you Paul and thank you.