Home shopping

We really didn´t feel like doing too much today, so it was a lazy start this morning. We walked around Mérida a bit, being approached by about 8 different schoolkids to fill our a tourism questionnaire. We went to the Plaza Grande and inside the Catedral de San Ildefonso. Just near the altar is a statue called Cristo de las Ampollas (Christ of the Blisters). Legend says that the statue was carved from a tree that was hit by lightning and burned all night without charring. It also was the only object to survive the destruction of the church in a town called Ichmul. Unfortunately, this is just a replica as the original was destroyed during the Mexican Revolution, ironically enough. We also had a quick look around Casa de Montejo, the old home of the town´s rich founder, and the old Palacio del Gobierno where artwork portraying the downfall of the Mayans to the Spaniards.

We then headed to a media arts show that was going on and heavily advertised around the hostel and the city. It was a bit disappointing but there were a few interesting things to see. Next we walked along Paseo de Montejo, a huge tree-lined boulevard with lots of colonial mansions from the olden days of the wealthy Spaniards. Along the wide sidewalks are random modern sculptures scattered about, making the stroll even more interesting. By this time we were incredibly hot and tired, and we just happened to be right in front of Wal-Mart. I don´t think I´ve ever shopped at a Wal-Mart before, but Nigel suggested we have a look for something to do, and it was a fantastic idea because it was air-conditioned! We roamed around for a while, not really looking at anything, then bought some groceries to make ourselves a healthy dinner.

It was really hot trudging back to the hostel, especially with our groceries, and we were dripping by the time we arrived. We both had a cold shower, then sat out on the patio and enjoyed the cold beers we bought. After a while, we chopped our veggies and made a great tuna salad for dinner. We had bought some delicious nectarines and kiwis for dessert, but were too stuffed to eat them. Since evening rain didn´t come tonight, it was hotter than usual outside so we spent the rest of the night reading in our hostel room under the ceiling fans.