Last Day in Merida

Our last full day in Merida was spent checking out all the architecture of colonial buildings in the Plaza Mayor. This is one of the main doors to the cathedral. Jay loved the knockers. Just like in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN....what nice knockers.....Actually I don't know anyone who could reach the really big knockers. The doors were about 20 feet high.

More of the hotel.


Parque Hidalgo and the Iglesia de Jesus as seen from our hotel patio. There are so many cool churches around here!

This is the clock tower of Merida called La Plaza de la Independencia built to commemorate Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. It is one of the city's signature icons. Yes, it is pink.
Perhaps the most famous building in Merida, the cathedral of San Ildefonso.

A calesa horse and buggy near the town square.

Inside the very plain, but beautiful cathedral of San Ildefonso. This is a photo of a photo of John Paul II when he visited the cathedral in 1993.
Pope John Paul II kneeled and prayed on this very spot. Cross that one off the bucket list.
Here you can see old stones for the bases of all the pillars which were taken from the stones of the pyramid which onces stood in this spot.
The organ loft.
This Cristo de las Ampollas or Christ of the Blisters is in a side chapel. This figure is said to have been the only thing that survived a church fire in the town of Ichmul. It was then moved to Merida.

The largest wooden Christ figure in a cathedral in the world. It had to be carved and assembled inside.


The Organ. It was imported from Germany in 1936.
The Governor's Palace.




Our favorite family pastime - feeding the pigeons.

Sydney is the "bird lady." They would actually land on her hand and she would feed them. Collin liked to feed them too but he preferred to chase them all away.

The pigeons were more tired than we were.
Cementerio General, Merida's oldest and biggest cemetery.





The cemetery was not in the best of neighborhoods. It was certainly against our (Jay's) better judgement to find the cemetery. We got lost a few times and found ourselves in places we should not have been with 2 young kids. However, the cemetery was really cool. It went on for blocks and blocks. A funny thing in hindsight: Jay didn't want us to wander too far off of the main road for fear of getting ambushed. Kinda cute, don't you think?

Some tombs were immaculate and some, like these, were in need of serious repair. The care of these tombs becomes a multi-generational task. Painting and repair from the elements is a constantly needed.
Later in the evening: we thought we had seen rain before, but this was something else!