8th – 15th October, 2023
A solar eclipse.
This is one of the reasons that I planned my trip this way. I had heard that it was due to happen when I was plotting my itinerary in 2022, and – with Dia de Muertos also just a couple of weeks away – it seemed like the Yucatán peninsular of Mexico was where I should be at this point of my journey.
We actually had a solar eclipse in the UK back in 1999, and back then I thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing so I think this will be a highlight of this trip that I will look back on in years to come.
And this eclipse was also a different kind to the one I remember back when I was thirteen years old and sat on a cliff in Dorset. I am not quite sure of what the science behind it is – perhaps something to do with both the Earth and Moon having elliptical orbits, if I were to guess – but this type of eclipse was what they call a ‘halo’, so it didn’t completely cover up the sun and plunge us into darkness. It was a very different experience, and quite eerie. My surroundings were still lit by the kind of yellow light that you get at midday, only greatly dimmed. I even needed to reapply some mosquito repellent, because some of them had come out again, the change in the light of day confusing their cycle.
And, as you can probably see, I chose the site of another Mayan ruin to watch this event from. This one is called Uxmal, and it is sixty kilometres south of Mérida.
I came here early in the morning, rising at 5 a.m. to ensure that I would get a seat on the bus and into the site on time. This turned out to be a good idea because when I arrived at 7:30 a.m. – half an hour before the site opened – there was already a queue forming.
I managed to be among the first fifty or so people to enter, meaning that I got to have a quick walk around whilst the place was reasonably empty and take some photos. Uxmal is an impressive place and I am glad that I came here for the eclipse, but one thing I will say is it came with an expensive entry fee of almost 450 pesos for foreigners. And of that, only ninety pesos actually went to INAH – the body that runs most of Mexico’s archaeological sites – whilst the rest is just a fee that the local government have slapped on because they know lots of tourists will pay it and it is easy money for them.
Although relatively unknown internationally – perhaps due to its proximity to Chichen Itza – Uxmal was a big player during the Mayan Classic period and is now widely considered the best example of the Puuc-style architecture common in this region. Perhaps one of the reasons it isn’t spoken about as much is that there has been a disappointing lack of research done here. This place is a favourite among locals – who want to avoid the crowds of tour buses that swamp Chichen Itza each day – so it seems that INAH have focussed almost all of their resources on restoration and maintenance, and very little on excavation.
Overall, I did enjoy this site. It now holds the special status of being the place where I saw the Yucatán Eclipse of 2023, but I did find the amount of Gringo Tax I paid a hard pill to swallow when the people running this place had done very little to enrich the experience for me. Unlike most archaeological sites in Mexico, this place doesn’t have any informational displays for its visitors.
To put it into perspective, the price paid was a similar price to what people pay to see Stonehenge back in the UK – a price I also don’t agree with as I don’t think these monuments should be exclusive to those with money – yet at least when you go there the price comes with access to audio guides available in a variety of languages and a museum. I understand that most Gringos who come to visit Latin America are privileged, but sometimes the extra charges imposed upon us just seem to be slapped on in a manner that is just a bit thoughtless and lazy.
Moving on; some of you have probably noticed that it has been a while since I last posted and are wondering where I have been. Well, the answer to that is Mérida.
This place is not as well known internationally as Cancun, but it is the de facto capital of the Yucatán peninsula. When I arrived I still had some days to wait for the solar eclipse and I didn’t want to move east until it had passed. Mérida was a great place to pass some time as it had just enough attractions to keep me entertained, whilst also being quiet and laid back enough to be a pleasant choice for one to lay low for a while.
As usual, the main plaza is the place to be in a lot of Latin American cities, and in Mérida, this is especially true as there are lots of free events here that happen in the evenings. I discovered this during my first few days when I went to meet a friend there and we heard music coming from the cathedral and went to investigate to find ourselves watching dancers performing.
The women were wearing mestizo garments. I had previously seen examples of these in one of Mérida’s museums. They are popular here and very representative of what modern Mérida is like as a city; a place where the pre-Colombian and colonial cultures have finally – after years of strife – fused into something new. The white material and cut of the design are more Spanish-inspired whilst the colourful patterns are reminiscent of Mayan culture.
I have seen my fair share of public performances in Latin America now and one thing that really struck me about this one was how enthusiastic the performers were; you could tell that they were not just doing this for the money or out of duty but were passionate and enjoying themselves. Here is a video here.
Another evening I went to see the ‘Juego de Pelota’, which happens most Saturdays at 8 pm.
This began with a short ceremony involving music, incense, and the players dancing around a fire.
And then, they began to play. I will be honest here and say that it is my understanding that we don’t quite know how this ball game was actually played. I do know, however – from the ruins that I visited – that the courts usually had two hoops on opposite sides of the court. Here they just have one in the middle and the players seemed to be treating it like a game of volleyball (only with the players not using their hands but rather their hips; something that does appear to have been traditional practice).
Despite it being very questionable about how ‘authentic’ this modern interpretation is, it was still an impressive show. It is no simple feat to get that ball into the air let alone through a hoop with the players only allowed to use their hips, yet in the space of thirty minutes or so they managed to do this twice. It involved a lot of diving and skidding across the ground. Click here to watch a video.
After a while, the game was changed a little and they introduced a flaming ball. This time, they did allow themselves to use their hands, and – once again – this is clearly not traditional, but still very impressive (click here).
Mérida does have a decent selection of museums too. I won’t bore you by covering them all but I will say that they are more on the provincial side so are smaller than the ones I have visited in places like Mexico City. Most of them are free and it is a good way to spend a day if you find yourself in Mérida with some time to burn. One that should get a special mention is the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, which is a bit far away from the centre and slightly more expensive but worth both the money and the journey.
One thing that I particularly enjoyed about this museum is that it covers not just the history of the Mayan civilisation during pre-Colombian times but also details about the Mayan people still living today. This is by no means the only museum that has attempted to do such a thing, but it will often be just a small section towards the end and feel a bit like a lip service. Here it is placed at the forefront and occupies a substantial section at the beginning of the museum. It also does not shy away from telling the story of the abuse that the indigenous people of the Yucatán suffered under colonial rule yet does so in a way that chooses empowerment over pity and highlights their strength as a people. Covering the plights of marginalised groups can often be a precarious subject but this museum has done a great job of getting the tone right.
Uxmal is not the only day trip that can be made from Mérida. One afternoon I went to visit a place called Izamel with a friend. Many of the locals refer to as a ‘Puebla Magica’, but I didn’t see any magicians there. It is certainly very scenic with its yellow colonial style buildings and cobbled roads.
What makes this town stand out is that it is home to vestiges of both pre-Colombian and colonial periods, both of which are majestic and overlook the town. When you arrive there is first the San Antonio de Padua Convent close to the plaza, with its iconic, rectangular atrium.
And then, just a short walk away, there is a Mayan pyramid called Kinich Kak Moo. It is actually a pyramid in two stages, but if you measure them together as a whole it is technically the biggest pyramid in the entire Yucatán peninsula by volume.
There is a great view of the town from its peak.
For my final day in Mérida, a friend I made called Ariel invited me to go on a road trip with him and some of his colleagues and we went to a place called Celestun by the coast. This is a place that a lot of people go to for boat trips around the mangroves to see flamingos but once we arrived we found the prices for these tours a little steep so decided to spend the day at the beach instead. I am glad we made this decision. I know this sounds a bit jaded I have seen plenty of mangroves and flamingos over the years and I am starting to feel a bit lazier now I am over eight months into this trip. Also, I have often found that you will often remember the people you meet over the things you see when you travel anyway. So, although this might not be very exciting for you to read nor do I have lots of photos to show you; I had a wonderful day having a few beers by the beach with good company. Mérida isn’t just a place with things to see but a place full of great people.
The next day I caught a bus to Valladolid, which will be my base for a few days whilst I go visit the ruins of Chichen Itza and Ek Balam (and maybe a cenote or two), but my time in Mérida is not over; this is the city I will be returning to for the Dia De Muertos celebrations at the end of the month.
For more photos and videos of my time in Mérida, click here.
Tej Turner 