Coming up for six months here in Mérida and only now do I feel like making a post about it. Not that I’ve been out and about all that much, but I’ve spent the last few months digesting it slowly and getting a feel for it. Much of what I want to write I’ve written before scattered through the posts, so this is party an exercise in drawing it all together.

First, a few facts ripped off from Wikipedia. Mérida is the largest city and capital of Yucatán. It’s the oldest continually occupied city in the Americas, and has the oldest cathedral in the Americas looking out onto the main square. The Spanish ripped up a few Mayan pyramids to use the stone to build it. The average temperature is 33° and it rises to 38° in May.

Mérida is the epicenter of where that big meteor (  Chicxulub Crater )  landed and killed all the dinosaurs,a few million years back, so that’s quite a claim to fame I’d say.

There is an international Airport, but it only flies to Miami and someplace in Texas, plus a few internal Mexican flights. I’m told there is no train service, not even freight, yet each night when it is still and “quiet”, there is a hooting that can only come from a train.

The city is laid out on a grid system, making it very easy to navigate. There’s no need for any “you pass a Shell garage, then just over the hill, turn left by the post box” type of stuff. Also it is flat as a pancake, so ideal for pedal bikes. You can hire them of a Sunday, when they close the main drag and you can pedal up and down in saftey.

The city had its hay day when string was king back in the nineteenth century, and so rich were the string kings that Mérida is said to have had more millionaires than anywhere in the world. You might dismiss this as a “pub fact”, but for the amazing houses that line Paseo Montejo, and go on to the area around the gringo hotels and consulates. I’ve never seen such an opulent city in my life, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. The closest would be some posh bits of London, like Holland Park, but without the noise, traffic or edge that you’d feel there.

Montejo was built to be a sort of Champs-Élysées by the string barons, French stuff being very hip, as they filled their big houses with French furniture and works of art. Montejo is about a km long and lined both sides with trees, benches, and wi-fi. Here’s a photo of Montejo

The trees are painted white to stop creepy-crawlies creeping or crawling up the trunks.

Both sides of the street are occupied by mansion type houses, that all look like museums, and in fact many of them are, the rest are banks, government buildings, offices etc. I don’t think there are any homes left. Here’s a photo of one of the buildings.

Almost all buildings on Montejo are in fine nick, but a few streets back and you can find some negelected ones. I’m told they can be picked up pretty cheap, for a few hundred k American, then spend the same again to fix them up. Labour here is cheap, so for less than half a million US I’d say you;d have a decent palace to come home to.

Here’s a run down one, if you feel like making an offer.

I think you’d need more than a lick of paint here, but it would be well worth the effort.

That’s Merida in a nutshell, though I know I’ve hardly scratched the surface of this city. Still I’m now planning to stay here another six months at least. I’m on a tour of Central and South America, but in no real hurry, there’s still plenty to soak up here.

We are in carnival week now, though I have heared no noise from it yet, I would assume that the fun starts on Saturday. They have put up gazebos all down Montejo with either “Coca Cola” or “Sol” written on them, and there are freezers every hundred yards to be filled with ice. This seems to be quite an operation, and I’ve seen crews working into the night getting stuff ready.

So, camera ready I’ll be venturing forth and hope to capture a few snaps of the events.

¡Hasta la proxima!

So, it’s valentine’s day, or at least it will be in two minutes, and in most of the world it already is. Those with a loved one will be expecting the obligatory £3 card from Tescos, those without will be in “don’t care” mode,  but best of all will be for those who get a unexpected, but half-hoped for anonymous card. That’s the tradition, and a fine one to.

Well, whatever basket you fall into, I want to wish you happiness, and all the good things that love can bring. This is a day to remember the love you have now, the loves you had that didn’t work out, the lost loves, the crazy loves, the gentle loves and the mad and bad loves. To this end I decided I’d put together a few of my favorite romantic songs, some remind me of people, some of feelings, and some are just great great songs. So, open that bottle of cheap red wine, get that Bournville out of the fridge, keep the Kleenex handy and have a listen to my list.

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Let’s start with something upbeat. I’ve always been a fan of The Beautiful South, and confess I wore out my casette tape of Carry On Up The Charts. I’m also a great Zombies fan, and I love a cover, if it’s done well. Here’s a fantastic version of “This Will Be Our Year”, as performed on the “Des and Mel Show”. This is a sort of lover’s version of Queen’s “”We Will Rock You”.. well, sort of.

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I had to have a Carpenter’s song, just because she has such a great voice, the songs are sound, well arranged and produced, so what more do you want? I could have picked “Close To You”, “For All We Know”, or even the sad “Where Do I Go From Here?”, but I didn’t, so you get “We’ve Only Just Begun”, because I like the optimism of it. Apparently this is in great demand for weddings. You don’t say!

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Everything But The Girl, one my old favorites. Good for any sophisticated dinner party of yesteryear, to show your friends what a great CD player you had, when such things were expensive and novel. Some wonderful songs they did, and had the sense to reinvent themselves, but this is an old one, and it’s a cover. Originally by Crazy Horse, covered by Rod the Mod, and here by EBTG. Enjoy.

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Ah, so love is about loss also. You can’t have one without the other, in the immortal words of Elkie Brooks,”endings are beginnings”, and to illustrate the point, here’s a jolly little video, by Julieta Venegas. Julieta is Mexican, and I’m told she always “does Merida”, which is about once every two years.  This is one from a few years back, and it’s a lovely tune, and a fun video. It will help if you know what it’s about…..

“Andar Conmigo”, means something like “walk with me”, and it shows how people may meet, become friends or lovers, then go on and meet someone else, in a sort of dance or a chain ( you might be forgiven for thinking it’s a bad AIDS advert ( whatever happened to AIDS?? ), but no, it’s actually I great song and video ). Watch out for the guy at the end, who looks so much like Simon Western, but I’m sure it is not.

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Lost love time again, or maybe just old love, who knows? Elvis Costello, a distinctive style if there ever was one. Before you ask, I don’t know anyone called Alison, except for a girl in junior school, she was called Alison Rogers, and I only remember her because she wore rubber knickers, and one day she was playing the recorder when she pissed herself, and I saw her knickers fill up with piss til they burst. But like a trooper she didn’t stop the show, she carried on. That would be Thorpe Helsley junior school if you’re reading this Alison, then this one is for you.

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The amazing Dolly Parton. What’s not to like about Dolly? Wonderful voice, and a lovely person, I’m sure.

The song is “Just When I Needed You Most”, its Sod’s Law in action at it’s worse. Written by
Randy VanWarmer, who sounds like he must be an oversexed lorry driver, oh them funny Americans, what?!

Pray silence, for her Dollyship.

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So that’s about it. Please don’t expect me to get sentimental again, this year. That’s your lot, it’s back to being Mr Cynical. To finish, here is Frente, with a version of “Bizarre Love Triangle”. I know New Order songs have titles that are nothing to do with the song, but who cares, this is my blog, and it’s a great version. Good night, and sweet dreams to everyone.

Oh, go on then, here’s the New Order version, sing along to this… I will.

I thought it worth a few lines about the transport system here in Merida, and as far as I know it is similar elsewhere in Mexico. It’s been many years since I had to “rely” on public transport, and in fact I’ve never been able to rely on it as long as I can remember when in Blighty.

Most of what I need here is well walkable, I live close to the city center, but there have been occasions when I needed to venture and have not been able to cadge a lift with anyone. The buses work extremely well.

First of all they come in three main types, and two of the types come very often. They come so often that if you ask about a timetable you only get a blank stare. They stop about midnight, and I’ve never been up early enough to notice, but I’m told they start at about 5-30 in the morning. You’re covered, and if you need  a taxi any time, an average trip of a few miles is about £1-50 and I’ve never been charged more than £2-50 yet.

First sort of bus is the “camion”. Literally this means “truck”, but here in Mexico it is also a bus. They are smelly, noisey old, bumpy with hard seats. That’s the bad news. Good news is they come every few minutes, they go like the clapers, so you are not on them for long and they cost a flat 5 pesos wherever you go. That’s 25p in real money. There must be routes but I don’t know, they just come along often with the route stuck in the windscreen with those plastic letters that car dealers use, except it tells you where the bus will go. You just flag em down in the street, and get off where you like. Easy eh?

Next up is the “colectivo”, which is a modern people carrier and much more sophisticated. The cost depend on where you are going, for instance I nice trip to the coast, about 40 minutes set me back 14 pesos ( 75p ).

These also stop where you like, and sometimes have the destination on them in Windolene ( if you remember that, it’s the stuff people put on their windows when they move into a house and have no curtains yet ). They are comfy, have aircon and people are more likely to chat to you, since you can hear yourself speak on them.

Here’s a picture of one.

Sorry it is blurred, but it was going fast.

And here’s a bottle of Windolene.

Finally the long distance buses run by ADO. These are luxury coaches with lots of leg room, aircon, a toilet, and a poor quality DVD to watch. A typical four hour trip might cost you 250 pesos, or about £12-50 in real money. They work to a good timetable, are clean and reliable, the driver wears a jacket and tie, which is always a sign of quality don’t you think.

Here’s a very sexy picture of an ADO bus that I pinched from their website.

This is a publicity photo, but they are almost as nice as this in real life.

Well, that covers buses here in Mexico, and damn fine they are to. It only remains for me to leave you with this….

A friend recently asked me how I enjoyed living in the Third World, and to tell the truth, which I always do, I enjoy it just fine. I have all main services, super fast and reliable internet, cable TV, a nearby WalMart where I go for my First World goodies and great security as the main streets are full to bursting with short men swaggering around in police uniforms with sub-machine guns. I would hazard a guess that these guns are only for show, and will not be loaded, I think.

Doctors and hospitals? There seems to be a clinic, doctor, hospital etc on almost every block, the waiting rooms look empty when I pass, and there are usually big posters outside bragging where Dr Gomez got his shingle from, often this is from the USA. I’m told you can stroll right in there and slap $20 or so on the table and they’ll come to attend you with all the kindness that only cash money can buy. Should you need the knife, they’ll often they have a room in the back where they can cut you, or go to one of the many hospitals and you get a sweet deal. No waiting hours on end in A & E for your free treatment here, no sir.

Schools, schools are everywhere, seems anyone can start one up, which is a great thing. These also have posters outside, trumpeting their exam results, teachers diplomas, bi-lingual environment, sporting success etc etc etc. It’s pick and mix for your kids here, no mega comprehensive, just small schools everywhere. Now that’s choice.

I was reminded of Mexico’s “Third World” status when I took a recent walk in the park. Most parks in the city of Merida have wi-fi. You see a lot of people surfing the net in the parks and boulevards. I remember remarking to a friend that this was fine, but it’s always your batteries that let you down, well I should have guessed, that that is also figured out here.

There’s an electricity outlet under the bench. I wonder how long that might last in the UK until someone vandalized it in some way? Not long I’d venture to say, but then again, we don’t live in the Third World, do we?