Mérida, Mexico

Getting closer to the coast! We've hit the Yucatan penisula. Mérida was again a bit of a stopover just for a day and two nights as opposed to us particularly wanting to see/do something there but we found ourselves in a hostel with an amazing pool here which was much required! And another interesting little town.

We did a free walking tour in morning, which actually just ended up being a walk around the main square or Zocalo as each historic town has, and visiting the buildings on each side. The guide was talking mile-a-minute and going back and forth between Spanish and English so much that sometimes you couldn't keep up with which language he was actually speaking! I found myself somewhat exhausted after and hour and half of this - trying to decipher what I could in Spanish and then listening properly in English! Too much for the old brain.

That evening also happened to be a Friday which worked out well because every Friday they play the ancient Mayan game Pok-ta-Pok in the main square that you can go and watch for free. This was the game I wrote about in an earlier post where we saw the court used for this at the ruins in Oaxaca and Palenque, so we were very intrigued to see it played in real life.

The game is set up with a free standing hoop in the middle of the court, similar to the hoops in quiddich from Harry Potter. There were teams of about 4 or 5 and a ball a bit bigger than a baseball but made of unknown material. It roughly starts with someone from either team throwing or rolling the ball to the other side of the court and then after that it can only be touched with their hips or knees. So proceeds a somewhat ridiculous display of men sliding all over the concrete to hit the ball with their hips while it's on the ground until eventually someone makes it get some air so they can stand and thrust at it instead! How they didn't all have grazed knees and thighs I don't know!Once the ball gets higher off the ground they are then trying to get it through the hoop. It seems each team member can touch the ball once on their side of the court until it gets to the other so it's similar a bit to volleyball in some ways. Neither team managed to get it through the hoop in this round. So the following round, things got more heated. Literally.

The ball was lit on fire and so began a game reminiscent of hot potato. Same rules as before but played with hands instead of hips and knees. A lot more goals were scored in this high paced version! All in all, a fun game to watch but no desire to join in and have burnt hands at this stage...Read more