Why is Merida so GREAT?

Disclaimer: This blog isn't for everyone. Read as you will.

The first moment we arrived in Merida was not one for the books, or at least not the good books but it does make for a good story.

Picture it Covid-19, October 2020, we fly in from Vietnam via Canada. 36hrs. 15hrs on one flight alone. Anyway we arrive in Cancun and go instantly to the ADO bus station and are bused into Merida. We arrived around 8ish maybe, honestly the hours sorta blended together there at the end. We thought we were smart, booked an Uber and waited for a ride to our reserved Airbnb home. The Uber arrives and we are off...to the wrong home.

Yep, it's late and the driver puts us out at the wrong house and then took off. I know for a fact he pretended to not understand us, maybe. Life lesson learned as we dragged our bags down the street to get cell service at the OXXO because the Telcel sim card we purchased died after 16 minutes on the ADO bus.

We get another Uber and arrived at the home, ordered food and crashed like the 36hr flight we had been on. All that to say, I wasn't happy for the first 24hrs or so with Merida. Wasn't happy at all, not even the taco's made me smile. The house was nice though.

After a good day and night of sleep, we finally stepped outside and fell in love with Merida.

And I tell this story to answer the question that so many ask. What's so great about Merida? What so great about a city that people fall instantly or 24hr instantly in love with. I figured I would give a go at the answer.

Positive Energy but not from Merida.

Positive Energy from leaving America or any country really but for African Americans from America, it's just the free breathing that comes from leaving a land of oppression. It's the free breathing after realizing there is another way of living. One that involves a slower pace, a feeling of safety and freedom of being you in your skin. The energy that comes from new opportunities, new chances, new soil to plant roots in.

And I say this after over a year in SE Asia, loving life. Not every moment but the majority of them.

Positive Energy from Merida.

Yes there is energy in the city of Merida, from the people, the new and old buildings, the barely paved roads in some neighborhoods and the over abundance of parks. But it's there. And freeing. Maybe it's the heat, that cleanses the city every day, followed by a gradual cooling and rebuilding over night. Maybe it's the breeze, that flows in the early morning hours and late evening hours. Maybe it's the sense of belonging by those that live here. Smiles are abundant. Real living occurs here. You can see it, feel it and it feels like what you should have always had. In your past, the other one.

Energy.

Now I'm not saying it's a fairy tale, heck I'm not saying that there are some things that aren't that great here. Nor am I promising you that you will even like it here. You may not. And that's okay because you can live here, leave from here, come back to here and decide if "here" is for you. Freedom.

But really it's the complex inner things and thoughts that make Merida great for those who choose to live here. And those things are ones you have to find in self. Merida gives you time to do that. Time to walk a pathway you didn't know was there, explore a neighborhood that feels familiar while being totally new. Take the time to explore you and Merida. Kat