¡Estamos en Merida!

This is the capital of Yucatan state, and a much bigger town than Campeche or Vailledolid. It{s also more of an in your face kind of city. People who work for craft shops stop travelers on the street and make reconnendations about places you should visit, then they try to guide you to the handicraft of panama hat shops they work for. We know how to show no interest; they quickly decide we are losers and leave us alone Whew! Restauranteers are just as aggressive. We walked past an outdoor cafe earlier. A waiter tried to guide us to a table, practically pulling out chairs for us. The place was crowded, I don{t know why he was so anxious. When we walked on, he called,

-What are you looking for?

-Vegetarian, I said. He left us alone then.
For the record, there are many places where you can find veggie options in Mexico. There was a health food store a few blocks from our hotel in Campeche, and we got several good sandwiches to go for lunch. There is also a nice veggie place here where we had dinner a little while ago. Mine was rice and mushrooms, Kate had stuffed squash with a regional sauce.

Merida has a beautiful square, with a big cathedral. There are buildings with murals, and we are about to check out a nearby bookstore. It is sure a fast paced place, esp. after the two very laid back towns we just visited. These are initial impressions, more to come. Oh yes, we actually have an apartment here for four nights for far less than the cost of a hotel room in the US.

Things may shut down here for New Years. I am guessing I will be able to check in tomorrow,
the 31st and 1st may or may not be harder. If I donot post until the 2nd or so, assume its the issue of finding a computer. But do not be surprised if I do.
Oh yeah, the Mexican keyboard behaves somewhat differently from the US one. If you find typos, that is a large part of why. I will edit when I have a chance.