Wondering why, when & where?
Welcome and welcome back! Three weeks have passed (which is one too many, I know, but we've been stuck at work and I had no mental capacity to write this) and we're back with our CR/Mexican adventure. I have already told you everything about Costa Rica (basics, beaches, trips and everything else) so we are about to move to Mexico - quite literally.
After landing in Cancun, we picked the car up and drove to Playa del Carmen where we stayed for 2 nights. After that we got in the car again and drove to Merida where we stayed for 58 nights and then got on the bus and went back to Cancun where we stayed for another 3 nights, then one night in Toronto and in a blink of an eye we were home. But let's not get ahead of ourselves - let me go step by step: car, location, Airbnbs, ...
At this point, I need to warn you that I will mainly be talking about Merida. It was our home for two months and even if we did some trips I cannot describe life for example in CDMX simply because we did not live there. So everything you'll be reading here will most probably be Merida/Yucatan specific.
To get to and from Playa del Carmen we needed a car - that's when a car rental comes in useful, right? :D Anyway, we only rented the car for a couple of days. We knew we didn't need a car in Merida and we also knew we would probably rent a car for some trips. For the way back (Merida to Cancun) we chose to go by bus (cost-cutting and more of a local feeling :D). Overall we rented three times - to get to Merida and then once for a day - trip to Progreso and then for our little road trip, I think it was 5 days, so all together we had a car for fewer than 10 days - big change when compared to a month in CR :).
How did we know Merida was the place to be? Well, we just knew. We had known it two years before that when we were there for the first time. We had known it, we just did not know it was going to be for this long. In 2017 we had only spent one and a half day there (you can read all about our first stay in Merida here) but we had fallen in love with it so there was no other choice to even contemplate. When browsing various expat-related websites we became 100% sure that that was the place we wanted to go to - a city where you have a great internet connection, where you can buy groceries few steps from your door, where we could have more interaction in Spanish (again big change when compared to a month in CR :)).
When it comes to Airbnb we decided to book 2 different places (each for one month) mainly because we did not want to be stuck in one place in case the place wasn't what we expected and also, we thought it was great to have two different starting points when exploring and getting around the city.
Both Airbnbs we chose had a pool and were not far from the centre and from the point of view of exploring the city, they really were perfect! We found "our special spots" from both our homes. Btw pool (doesn't matter if plunge or bigger) is a life-saver when you return home from a walk or shopping trip and it's 30+ degrees.
Useful tip: If you're looking for a place in Merida, check if there is a market nearby - it's a huge plus if there is. We always went to the market to get fresh fruits and vegetables so having one just 5 minutes away was perfect!
Useful tip: Also it's quite clever to check if the place where you'll be staying is located in a street with a one-way road or a larger road. The houses in Merida are not "sound-proof" the way you could expect and most of them have a living room right behind the entrance door. Which means that if you are watching TV you will hear the cars and/or buses that pass by. Ideally, look for a house with a front yard.
Useful tip: Check in advance if the electricity is included in the price. In the first house, we stayed in it wasn't, in the second one, it was. So it depends, but better safe than sorry (or surprised).
Despite not having a car, it was amazingly easy to get around in Merida as you have Uber there (very cheap!). Also, you can walk to most places if you're staying downtown. If you manage to score a house with bikes there, it may come in handy as well. So, you definitely do not need a car. However, if you decide to have it, there's street parking everywhere, so no problem there as well (some houses have a garage or front yard parking).
As for the food and eating out, it's simple - again. You have Uber eats if you want to stay in, you have markets where you can get fresh fruits and vegetables (cheap again!) and you also have a "special food markets" where you have different stalls selling different goodies and nibbles (these are either location or day/time-wise specific) and of course, you have Walmart there. You definitely won't go hungry in Merida (or Mexico for that matter). (I am planning a special, food-related post and if things go well I guarantee you will not be able to read it on an empty stomach. ;))
Here's our little map so you can look forward to what's coming next. Except for the trips and food, I will also do a list of Merida's must-see places and of course, a post about those little things that are the same but not the same at all.
I believe it's going to be a couple of interesting posts so keep on coming back (for more :)). C U in two weeks!