July 18, 2021: Day Twenty-Seven

Today is Sunday.  On Sundays in non-corona times, they shut down the more glamorous part of the Pasejo Montejo and allow for bike-riding.  In corona times, they shut down the north-bound lane of the more glamorous part of the Pasejo Montejo to allow for bike-riding and allow the traffic to flow south like normal.

We decided that this would be as good a time as any to take a walk on the Pasejo Montejo.  Actually, we've been walking up and down this street ever since we came back to Mérida from Progreso.  They call the road the "Champs Elysée of Mérida".  I have also heard Mérida referred to as the Paris of México.  

Let me start by saying that I can see the resemblance, but any references to Paris are a bit of a stretch, if you've been to Paris.  If you haven't been to Paris, I think maybe the resemblance might be enough.  There are a lot of Haussmann-esque homes here, but unlike in Paris, they are isolated, they don't run for blocks and blocks and only the elite of the elite inhabited them.

Pasejo Montejo Merida, bike lane and side walk.

The Paseo itself is a six-lane (two for cars, one for bikes and one for parking in each direction) road with a tiny garden in the middle and wide sidewalks.  Keeping in mind that sidewalks here can sometimes be half a person wide and are most often not wide enough to walk side-by side, the easily four-wide sidewalks of the Pasejo definitely stand out.

But what really makes the Pasejo stand out are the ridiculously grandiose homes.  Each one is bigger than the one before it. Follow this link for some more pictures of these "palacios" most of which have been turned into museums.  The party ended rather abruptly with the development of cheaper products to make rope such as nylon and polyester.  This made the upkeep of these homes outside of the reach of the now-middle class hacienda owners and exporters.

At the time they were built, this area was unbelievably wealthy due to the production of henequen or sisal, which is a plant material used mostly to make rope.  This material, known to the Maya for centuries was "discovered" and put into massive production on "haciendas" (we called them 'plantations' in the USA) by more or less enslaved Maya who were joined by involuntarily imported Africans and other Caribbean indigenous peoples.  The lifespan of a hacienda worker is said to have been shorter than an enslaved African involuntarily imported into the south of the United States, but longer than the lifespan of someone enslaved in the Caribbean sugar plantations.

Henequen, or white agave.

Our food journeys today were remarkable for three reasons.  First, (we'll call it "brunch") was at a tiny place that actually used the word "organic".  I had chilaquiles, which is one of my favorite breakfasts.  It was the best food I've had since arriving in Mexico.  Second, dinner was at a restaurant right on the Pasejo Montejo which was quite good, but what made it notable was how many Americans were there.  There were at least five different tables of Americans and I suspected a couple others that were outside of my range of hearing to also be Americans (foreigners are pretty easy to pick out here).  We have not seen so many foreigners all in one place before - not even in the touristy areas.  Third, we tried a Maya aperitif called Xtabentún, that of course comes with its very own awesome folk tale.  Its a licorice and honey flavored drink.  Licorice isn't my favorite flavor, but with the honey it made a pretty good aperitif.  Still not as good a calvados, but tasty.  The folk tale makes it special.

And so ends day twenty-seven.