In and around the market, Merida

I spent a fair chunk of my time in one of the markets in Merida. I love wandering around these sort of places, get away from the sights into the hustle and bustle of daily life. The market was fairly big so I kept getting lost many times over. It wasn’t quite like the markets in many parts of China for example, but you could still find tons of things, from gambling sites to jewelry to thousands of knockoffs and more.

I feel like by now I have a good sense of when’s a good time to have my camera out in sight and when to keep it hidden. Sometimes though when I get interested in a certain way I just forget about the camera in my backpack. Here are photos from the few moments I did have it out.

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Gambling seemed to be in demand in many markets around the Yucatan peninsula. Merida being a bigger city had more machines than usual. The guy outside kept eagerly looking at me across the street. I felt it was alright to take my cam out and snap the scene. He didn’t seem to mind.

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Merida

Despite having spent months in Mexico I haven’t really spent all that much time in bigger cities. Merida is one of the few where I did stay for a little while. It’s in some ways my favourite place I’ve seen in Mexico. As I’ve mentioned in my previous Merida post it makes me feel like parts of the city are stuck in the past. This street is a good example of the impression Merida has left on me. It’s close to the market area, a fairly narrow street full of run down beautiful colonial buildings. Many of them are falling apart and there are a lot of similar buildings around the city. Their condition does give it a certain character and appeal like it’s not trying to impress you, it’s just is what it is. This particular photo has also been my wallpaper for several months now.

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Streets of Merida

After a long month we’ve finally left Campeche. The next stop was supposed to be the state of Oaxaca with a pit stop in Merida, Yucatan. Until 24 hours ago I thought this would be my last night on the Yucatan peninsula. But plans have changed quickly and instead of boarding a plane to Oaxaca we’ve moved to Yucatan. The plan for now is to work here for about a month.

I’m currently in the biggest city in the region, in Merida, as we plan things for next week. It’s a big change from small villages in Campeche where I’ve spent most of last month. It’s quite amazing how a groups of people can live so close to each other but have such different lifestyles. It’s only been a day and my impression of Merida is still forming. So far it makes me feel like the parts of the city I’ve seen are stuck in the past. Hence, the analog/vintage look of the photos.

I haven’t had much time to wander around and get lost in the city but hopefully the coming days will change that.
All the best to  you reader, wherever you are.

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