An early morning start and an eight hour bus trip from Palenque to Merida on the Yucatan peninsula. This one was more civilised, a first class bus with American movies in Spanish with not subtitles.
I've got to say that buses in Mexico are a pretty good way to get around. Comfortable, reliable and safe. Maybe the safety comes from the fact you are searched as you enter to departure gate and then security comes on board and photographs or videos each passenger in their assigned seat.
Merida is a very cosmopolitan place with a great feel. Our accommodation is second to none and there is an abundance of restaurants to choose from. Our best meal so far was a Yucatan dish called Chicken Pibil (Maranited chicken slowed cooked in banana leaves and accompanied with rice, red onion, lime and refried beans.
This morning's trip includes an 11 klm bike ride between villages on the outskirts of Merida. I have been looking forward to this as I have been missing my daily bike rides. I am not sure Lauren is as keen as she was when we booked this. She keeps asking how long it will take to do the ride. Someone is going to have a sore butt.
First stop is to check out the local markets, open butchers, fish stalls, fruit and vege and of course pokie machines, casinos they call them. We are heading off to working hacienda factory where cactus is pulped into fibre and then made into rope. There are only a few of these in operation through-out Mexico, but in the past they were wide spread and provided many Mexicans with work and shelter and the owners with untold wealth.
On returning to the village we were treated to a very enjoyable with a local family. This was a lot different to our lunch with the weaving family.
