Sidecar

        Merida is the capital of the state of Yucatan in Mexico. It is home to several thousand people. The winding streets are almoat impossible but its managable. When you walk down the narrow streets, its hard not to be knocked of the sidewalk and into the streets by rushing cars and large buses. 

        Hotel rooms are relatively cheap. The most expensive one would be the Double Tree Inn, and thats about $190 a night, the one we’re staying in is about $45 a night for all three of us. Its called the Dolores Alba, there’s a nice swimming pool, a lobby with a good WiFi signal, and cable TV. 

                    Cenotes are underground caves that have freshwater in them. They were formed when the meteorite that killed all the dinosaurs hit the yucutan (partially) and sprayed rock all over the place and created holes in the ground. Overtime, rainwater seeped in through the ground and it filled up with water. Cave ins are unusual. The cenotes are made of limestone.

 So today we went to the town square and it was very crowded because day of the dead is in two days. I think that all the shops are pretty cool with all the Mayan glyph necklaces and stuff. The amount of shops and stuff selling little keychains with little Jaguars and Quetzals are plentiful, but i think they should work on size and all. I mean like you go into one of the shops and you see all these cool hats an rings and necklaces and bookmarks and, while I’m with 2 other people the store is crowded enough. But then a family of five walks in and your squeezed in like a can of sardines. But I’m being observant. No critisizm here. I mean walk into Aunt Agathas downtown and you’re walking sideways trying not to knock all the books off the shelf, or when you walk in the Himalayan Bazaar and you see these beautiful intricate artwork from halfway around the world and you’re practically ninjaing (yes that’s my new word) the things that stick out trying not to knock anything fragile or expensinve off the shelf.

          Another nice thing I noticed was the little street carts on every single corner, selling things from spiced corn to packs of cigarettes. The problem with all this is that the streets are so narrow and crowded that its almost impossible to get by. But it’s managable. 

Sorry about it being late. :/

Today we rested and rested and rested. We checked out the van and it looks nice. There’s a mini microwave and a decent sized foam bed. There’s a large table where you can put stuff on (duh) and alot of floor space. You can put a 2 person seat but we probably wont use that. It took my dad and the guy who was selling it to us 3 hours to get it ready.

Hi I’m Joe. I’ll be traveling with my parents at www.wanderinghomestead.com to Central America (not South America). We will be starting out in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.