Melting.

104 degrees. Our first day in Merida can be summed up in that temperature. After breakfast, our group headed out for our orientation tour. The streets were busy with cars and bikers enjoying their weekend. Our first stop was Fiesta Americana, a nicer hotel with access to ATMs for the group's peso shortage. A few blocks down was a well known slice of home. Wal-Mart stands in the middle of the city and a sizeable one at that. Excited about the air-conditioning break, we headed right in and spent a good amount of time and pesos there. After leaving Wal-Mart we wandered through Merida's colorful streets with sculpture along the sidewalks done by German and Mexican artists. Our group came upon a small bookstore with an invitingly cool flow of air coming out of it. The store was bright and lively inside and out with hand-painted masks on every wall and the store's outside being bright yellow. On our way to the main square, we came across a live band surrounded by 50 or so couples dancing in the heat. These weren't 20 or 30 years old either, but couples well beyond middle age. They were having a great time. We left the dancers still dancing and made our way to the main square of Merida. It was a vision of energy with all the hustle and bustle of street vendors and passerbys. The focus of the main square was the beautiful cathedral standing in all its glory. In need of a short break, we continued on to the Cafe Habana for coffee and a light lunch. Here we did a quick sketch of a map of Merida and reviewed what we had seen so far. With a fresh boost of energy after our break we continued on our way to our next destination, the market. Anything you may need can be found at the market, from fresh produce to toys or even pets. Ducks, dogs, guinea pigs, you name it, it's there. We left the market after a thourough walkthrough and headed back for our Millsaps home. Our day was a full whirlwind tour of the nearby area of Merida. We saw many new and exciting things plus some straight up bizarre things. Merida is a lovely city with much to offer. We are all looking forward to what else it may offer us.

Christina