Merida, Yucatan: From a 400-year-old veranda to a mystical cenote

We continue our Mexico road trip series with Chuck Bolotin, from Best Places in the World to Retire, as he, his wife, and two dogs drive through Mexico in a large, white van. Chuck writes that on their road trip throughout Mexico, they found Merida to be a fascinating place, especially when viewed from the veranda of a 400-year-old hacienda and a mystical cenote.

At each of the stops on our road trip through Mexico, there emerged a personal and unique theme for Jet and me. In Baja California Sur, it was the rugged beauty of the desert juxtaposed against the almost unimaginably blue and clear waters of the Sea of Cortez. In the little town of Lo de Marcos and Nayarit in general, north of Puerto Vallarta, it was the rich, verdant jungle, plunging into the Pacific in little bays bordered by volcanic outcroppings. In Jocotepec, it was our walled garden set amongst a working class Mexican town. Ajijic had easy, comfortable, moderate, relaxed living and friendly people. In San Miguel de Allende, the theme was splendor and pageantry.

In Merida, in the state of Yucatan, the theme was…