Tag: Spanish

This past year, I’ve been blessed to visit Portugal, Spain, Malta, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, and Hungary. All far away destinations with rich history and natural beauty. It’s been a great year.

Surprising to many of my friends, before last week, I had never been to our southern neighbor, Mexico! This is all the more surprising considering I speak fluent Spanish, used to be a classroom Spanish teacher, and majored in the language in college!

Sometimes the greatest gifts are looking you right in the face, waiting to be discovered at your doorstep!

Mérida, Mexico was one such gift.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. On the news, Americans often (sadly) see Mexico as its crime-infested, dirty neighbor. It deters many people from visiting anywhere but the areas most catering to foreigners with all-inclusive resorts that barely interact with ordinary Mexicans. That may be totally fine for some chill vacations, no hate. But it’s not how I prefer to travel.

I knew I wanted a city with some tourist infrastructure but an actual Mexican city. After talking to a friend who had visited Mérida, I became curious. I found out that the city is not only incredibly safe, it’s actually much safer than my current home of Atlanta or my hometown of Washington, D.C. I walked around at night without any issue whatsoever and I wasn’t even staying in Centro, the main tourist area.

The city is absolutely beautiful. Its colorful architecture and sunshine lift your mood immediately. The city is filled with beautiful historic homes as well, dating from the prosperous era in which it served as a center of the henequén trade. Here are some pictures of ordinary homes and the massive mansions that dot the city and make it so beautiful:

Speaking of the henequén trade, I actually got to visit Hacienda San Eduardo where they still make fibers out of this plant. It was beautiful to be out in the countryside in addition to my stay in the city:

If you’ve been to Mérida and haven’t experienced the Mayan culture of the Yucatan, you haven’t really visited this part of Mexico. It is incredible to not only see the rich architectural and social history of this people, but also to recognize that this is a living civilization. Many people in the Yucatan, especially in smaller towns, still speak Mayan! I bought several bilingual books in Spanish and Mayan to explore the language. Much like Jews have preserved our ancient civilization, so too have Mayans. We both like to build massive prayer structures centered on sacrifice (the Temple in Jerusalem, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Xcambó, and so many other Mayan sites). We both preserve ancient sacred stories.

The Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatan are incredibly impressive and well preserved. Most people know about Chichén Itzá. It was beautiful and gigantic. Fortunately, I got to visit late in the day after most of the tour buses had already left and it was relatively empty. It’s true that this site has its fair share of commercialization, but I simply put my headphones on to walk through the line of vendors and was totally fine.

What fewer people do in their visit to the Yucatan is visit lesser-known Mayan sites such as Uxmal and Xcambó. The latter predates Chichén Itzá by about 2000 years, making it about 3000 years old! Uxmal was incredibly impressive for how well preserved its architecture was, the massive size of the complex, and the fact that there were fewer tourists there (and no people trying to get you to buy stuff!). I highly recommend a visit to both! It’s a spiritual experience to see such amazing human accomplishments from so long ago. Check them out:

In addition to visiting Mayan ruins, I had the chance to visit villages along the way with some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Motul, Dzemul, Muna, Yaxcopoil, Izamal (the yellow city!), and the pink Mayan salt flats of Xtampu. Rural Mexico is especially beautiful. The people have a deep kindness to them. The nature and architecture is as beautiful as the people. Here are some more pictures!

Mexico’s greatest resource is not its ruins nor even its nature. It is so clearly its people. It’s the Oaxacan woman on one of my tours who gave me her number and invited me to visit. It’s the gentle octogenarian bookstore owner who encouraged me to keep traveling and kept shaking my hand, grateful for me visiting his store. He said he wasn’t allowed out at night anymore since he was getting older, so he really appreciated the chance to chat and he couldn’t stop smiling. If you find yourself in Mérida, visit his bookstore at Libros Ruben Ojeda and you’ll find some true treasures!

The friendliness was also the staff at my hotel. They went out of their way every day to make me feel welcome and give me travel recommendations. Sometimes we’d chat for an hour at a time, just about life. On my way out, they gave me a hug and said I was a wonderful guest. I’ve traveled a lot, but nobody has ever hugged me who worked at a hotel. That’s just the nature of Mérida and a warm culture. That warmth extended to an antique store owner who composes her own Mayan-inspired poetry – and spent the better part of twenty minutes reciting it for me in Spanish! Visit her store and maybe you’ll get the chance to experience this magic too. It’s called Galería Alfaro Antigüedades.

One of my last nights in Mérida, I found myself at a Cuban restaurant. I’ll probably write a separate blog about my trip to Miami and its rich Cuban and Latin American culture, but for now I want to share this anecdote. I was at La Bodeguita del Centro, a delicious Cuban-inspired restaurant. I had read online that there was going to be live music, and the owner told me the singer would be starting as soon as I sat down! It was a slow night, only me and a Canadian couple at the table next to me, who I ended up dancing with!

Before long, I was requesting salsa songs and having a blast as the incredibly talented Cuban refugee singer belted out hit after hit.

Then, she walked down from the stage and pointed me, gesturing to come closer. She grabbed my hands and told me to salsa dance with her. We danced to my favorite salsa song “La vida es un carnaval” by Celia Cruz. I felt like I didn’t have a care in the world. Everything was just right.

As the translation of the chorus goes: “Ay, there’s no need to cry, because life is a carnival, it’s more beautiful to live singing. Oh, Ay, there’s no need to cry, for life is a carnival, and your pains go away by singing.”

I could feel the pain slipping away as I belted out the song with her. The stress, the worry. Who knows what this woman has been through, escaping the dictatorship in Cuba. Building a new life for herself in Mexico. And yet here we were, two humans just dancing the night away.

That is the spirit of the Caribbean. It’s the spirit of Mérida. And it’s the spirit of Mexico. It’s a place full of wonder, of mystery, of ancient civilizations and modern cultures coming together.

I’m so glad I went to experience life a bit with my southern neighbors. I’ll be back! ¡Hasta pronto!