Oh the Joy! We just made reservations for the weekend of the 24th in Mérida. When we were over there last week, we bought tickets to see Vicente Fernández at the bull ring that night. It will be a birthday present for me even though it's actually over a week after my birthday. When you get this old, what's a week?

We had a hard time getting rooms and ended up paying more than we wanted to. Carnaval (Mardi Gras) ends on that Thursday and I guess most people are staying through the weekend.

We went to Carnaval a few years ago with the Loose Chickens on their way to Panama. We had a great time even though I stupidly stepped off a high curb into a street drain and badly sprained my ankle. Just for the record, I did this without having had a drink.

If you ever get the chance, Carnaval in Mérida is incredible. Parades every day and night, most streets closed with bandstands on every corner and lots of booths for food and drinks. People in costume, on stilts and in their best finery. Lots of dancing, lots of music, lots of open smiles and happy faces. Mérida is one of the safest cities in Mexico or in the US for that matter. You can walk the streets in most parts of the city with no fear, late at night, during Carnaval, on a Wednesday... whenever. Don't wait until the last minute for a hotel reservation though.