Merida; the cultural capital of Mexico?

 We visited Merida all too briefly, but during our one night stop over, we managed to catch a re-enactment of the ancient Mayan ball game; whereby the players had to hit the ball through a basketball style hoop, with their hips or thighs. The games was steeped in ritual, apparently with the captain of the winning team being sacrificed at the end of the game. The re-enactment was beautiful; with an ancient Mayan tongue being spoken, copal incense being burned, and of course, a conch shell being blown. Locals and tourists alike turned up to watch the game. It was a beautiful setting and a lovely atmosphere. Merida truly seems to have a lot going on, and a lot of places to buy hammocks, blankets, Mayan clothing, and generally everything Mayan/ Mexican.

We had taken an ADO night bus from Palenque to Merida, coming in at just under 100 pesos and a good shout as it was comfortable enough to get some sleep; thus saving travel time and hotel expenditure. From Merida, we took a 3 hour bus to the town of Piste to visit chichen Itza; again coming in at just under 100 pesos, this time with Oriente bus company.