El Castellano Hotel Merida

... here. The conquistadors were not that bright it seems, as they built the ´modern' day Mexico city on a lake. Now I´'m no engineer but even I could have told them that would cause problems down the line. Loads of the buildings are on a massive lean as they sink slowly into the spongy soil. I went up a tower to get a better view of the city, but there wasn´t much to see thanks to all the smog. In the evening it was time to try some Mexican cooking. Once I had explained that I don´t eat ...

... orrore.<br>Per il resto del giorno ci limitiamo a camminare lungo i viali del centro, al momento di salire in camera ci accorgiamo della fatica di essere a 2200 mt, l'ostello è subdolo tu credi di dover salire al terzo piano, ma loro hanno due piani non conteggiati (dove c'è la cucina e l'altro con la sala tv) così in realtà devi arrivare al quinto. Dobbiamo organizzarci bene, perchè una volta scesi, se ti accorgi di aver dimenticato qualcosa, sono tutti cavoli tuoi risalire!!

... it will be absolutely spectacular. Hopefully Jette will let us come for holidays there once its finished! It was good to see what all her hard work has come to, I think it was especially difficult for her as she has been here on her own, and latins are so masculine that they wouldn't like taking orders from a girl. We had lunch at the property and then came back to the house to check the old swine flu update and kill some time on the net trying to calm everyone at ...

... Canadians and a few Mexicans gathered to witness this moment in history. My first impression was one of disappointment as the group was smaller than expected and there was no large screen TV in sight. The small screen TVs scattered around the room offered only small grainy image.<br><br>After procuring the prerequisite coffee and croissant it was time to mingle. Now mingling with strangers is not my strong suit but my drive for information got the ...

... a donkey (didn´t have to seem that much trouble with it). The cenotes were very beautiful and fun to swim in. The roots of some trees went down into the cenotes to get to the water (sometimes wurming its way through the bedrock apparently). It was really magical to swim in them, I can understand how the Maya saw them as the portals to Xibalba (the underworld). Seeing the trees in the cenotes reminded me of ¨The Fountain´, a recent movie you ought to ...

... on whether this was a sign that the mustache has helped him blend in or not... It´s been amazingly hot in Merida. We both believe it´s the hottest place we´ve ever visited. That said, we´ve been told that people don´t start to go to the beach for another month or so-- when it gets really hot. We learned to take it easy during the middle of the day (and now understand the desire for siestas a bit more). This area of the Yucatan grew ...

... was given by the Mex.people), with the bus he went with on his 5 visits to Mex. We went to eat, drink Polke-Taquila-?, see stones shop (I bought silver earrings) and hear music. On the afternoon we went to Teotican, climbed on both the moon and the sun temples and walked a lot. The guide, Monika, is fantastic - she works with Eco and other Israeli companies. It was a very good organized tour. 8/4 - Frida, National palace etc. The house of Frida, with all her ...

... before finding another cleaner place right in the historic centre. Loved Merida with it's wonderful architecture, friendly locals and balmy heat. We visited the Mayan sites of Chichen Itza and Uxmal from Merida and enjoyed both hugely. We should have done our own thing in Chichen Itza but a wee lazy streak had us booking an organised tour with the same people who were taking us to the less accessible Uxmal. Again, the tour was too short as Chichen is a vast ...

... game - the nuts and money pass through half a dozen hands, before the vendor then physically climbs over rows of spectators to squeeze some hot sauce into the bag. On Saturday afternoon on the side streets near the Zocalo PEDESTRIAN traffic was literally reduced to a standstill in places. Except for the inevitable 4 ft tall bowling ball of a woman who would use her momentum to continue breaking trail, upsetting the laws of physics and bruising tailbones. "What the ...

... now to visit Mexico countryside are limited, it takes 4 hours drive to Acapulco and it is quiet costly. Instead we opt to remain in Mexico city, albeit very weary of any tour guides offering us trips! In all we are a quiet sceptical of Mexicans (perhaps unfairly???), cos so far: 1. Alex disaster (above) 2. First meal out we get NO change as our waitress has assumed it a tip, ALL OF IT! 3. Taxi to artisian centre, conned us by charging us double the rate! 4. A substantial number of ...