Mérida Local Custom Tips by Sandi-2004 Top 5 Page for this destination

THE MAKING, SELLING & USE OF HAMMOCKS

Merida & the Yucatan makes & sells hammocks like the one that was on the porch at our Mayaland Resort guesthouse. We had fun getting into it - a little tricky when you haven't been in one for a long time. Once in, it is very comfortable. From Chichen Itza to Merida we took the back roads through several small villages and saw the tiny houses that many families live in. Several people during our visit explained that the people in these villages (and many others) sleep in hammocks rather than beds. The hammock in the photo opens fully to wrap around the body. The website link shows them in use.

WEEKLY FIESTAS, COMMUNITY, KINDNESS

Not only does Merida celebrate life through its weekly music and dancing in the parks and the weekend fiestas, but also there is generally a kindness and sense of community here that can be easily felt by a visitor. Merida and the Yucatan as a whole is a very safe place, very little crime. I think that perhaps that is part of this sense of goodness among the people there.

Learn a little Spanish before you go, take a phrase book and speak whatever amount of Spanish you know when starting a conversation. You will get a warm and pleasant response.