Merida

We made it to Merida on the 13th January where we’d base ourselves for a couple of nights to do some tours. Merida itself is a colourful and pleasant place, we arrived during ‘Merida Fest’. The main square was lively with a live music stage and plenty going on around the fringes, a great opportunity to people watch! On our first full day we headed to Celestun Biosphere Reserve, famous for its pink flamingos – Elanas favourite! We took a boat trip up the mangrove lined river and got to witness hundreds of the majestic birds in their natural habitat, it was quite a spectacle and Elana was in awe!

The skipper knew how to handle a boat and took us at speed through some narrow channels adding further excitement to the trip! Prior to heading back to shore we stopped at a fresh-water lagoon beside the tidal river fed by a cenote which bubbled-up through the ground, normally they’d be an opportunity to swim in the fresh waters but a crocodile has been spotted frequenting it in recent times so we politely declined! The water was very brown but only from the tanin leached from the local vegetation.
Flamingo excitement over we took the short drive to Celestun beach (the other side of the sandspit creating the lagoon) where we ate, sunbathed and frolicked in the warm seas for the remainder of the afternoon, Bert was in his element digging holes in the sand for the majority of the afternoon!Read more