My trip to Mérida is booked! It was hard to get a nearly perfect flight, so I’m going later than planned, leaving February 19th and coming back February 28th.

I wanted to fly around my work schedule, so that meant I could only fly on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (giving me Monday as a buffer to settle in or in case there is a flight delay). I’m leaving on a Friday and coming back on a Sunday, so nine nights total. The other thing was that I didn’t want to have to overnight in DF (Mexico City) or get back to Mazatlán after dark. Finally, I really preferred not to fly out before 8AM. Price ended up being my last consideration, but I did okay. I think it will come out to between 500CAD and 550CAD with the exchange rate.

I used Sky Scanner for the first time and it was worth it because it found flights on discount sites that weren’t available directly through the airline. I didn’t save any money, but I got a better choice of dates and times. My flight is with InterJet, but I booked through Travelocity.

So I leave Maz at 3:05 p.m. local time, have a 1.5 hour layover in DF, and get to Mérida at 9:10 p.m. local time. I’ll take a taxi to my destination. My hosts (more below) are prepared that I might not get in till 11:00 p.m.

For the trip home, I leave Mérida at 8:25 a.m., have a 3.5 hour layover in DF, and get home at 2:35 local time.

After speaking with a few friends who have tons of experience flying out of Maz from Isla, I’m planning to leave my truck here, take the lancha to Maz, and grab a cab there to get me to the airport or investigate the possibility of a bus.

I will get eight full days in Mérida, of which I will work for three. Mérida is on the same time zone as work, so that means I’ll be working 8:00 to 4:00 and so those days will be pretty much a write-off, but I should at least be able to enjoy a few evening hours out.

Now, for housing. I really wanted to rent an apartment in a neighbourhood I might want to move to to get a feel for what life could be like for me in Mérida. I’d spent some time on TripAdvisor learning about the various neighbourhoods in Mérida and made a list of the neighbourhoods to investigate. One of the neighbourhoods at the top of my list had nearly the perfect place. All-in, it’s 32CAD per night. The only thing I’m not happy about, based on the pictures, is that it’s a boring white house like my casa here in Maz. I had hoped to find something more architecturally interesting. But it’s fine for a week. I’ll be choosier when I’m looking for a long-term residence!

A couple of people asked me why I’m not driving or taking the bus. Here’s why:

Mérida is 2,500KM away. It would be like my driving 63% of the way back to Haven for just a week!

Just for kicks, I checked out the bus option. It’s 26 hours and 2,000MX each way. So 52 hours of travel time for 4,000MXN total. For 2,500MXN (200CAD) more, I can get there and back in about 18 hours total travel time. Air travel is a wonderful option! 😀

There is tons to do around and outside Mérida, but I won’t be focused on cramming in too much tourism since I plan to move there full-time! Really, the purpose of this trip is to try out life in the city and focus on practical matters so I can hit the ground running when it comes time to searching for an apartment to rent long-term.

Next project, wrapping my brain around my summer in Europe…