A pause before another night parade

While on the top level of the Lucas de Galvez shopping area, I saw this church in the east.  It is nameless for now, probably until I find a better map of the city that indicates which church is where.  All that I know is that it is to the east.

When we were finished touring the maze that was the Lucas de Galvez Mercado, we decided to walk to the south western end of the old city.  On our way, we arrived at the ending point of the parade which was in the Parque San Juan which was filled with a number of small children’s rides.

As with all parks we have found in the city and with all town squares, the main feature was the church.  This church, the church of San Juan (St. John) dates from the early 1700’s.  That makes it one of the newer churches in the city – newer and almost 300 years old!

One of the interesting things about this church was the door knockers at the centre of each of the two main doors that open to give this view of the main chapel at the front of the church.  It is interesting how Mayan imagery was used within a Catholic church.

We continued our walk and came upon an archway that exits to a very old part of the city, the part of the city where most of the lower class live, the low-paid workers that keep any city functioning.

In the small open green space between the church and the gate is a fountain that sadly wasn’t in operation.  I guess that it is only used in the summer when people need relief from the heat.

What I found interesting about this fountain was that even though it had a Greek look, it was black.  Black is viewed differently here in Mexico with Black Mary’s, Black Christ’s and Black Saints displayed everywhere. 

We walked in the heat looking at the old and shabby buildings that served as homes and small businesses.  Occasionally we saw some of the homes repaired and painted up showing that its owners were better off than their neighbours.

Small shops where a dusty yard would be a mechanic’s work space with a few cars in various stages of repair as well as small corner stores and shops let us know that this is home for common people, the Mayan and the Metizo of Merida.  This truck which looked as if it could barely make another kilometre was being used as a delivery truck for these two amazing doors.

And this shop, Kara Kafé is all cleaned up ready for customers.  We passed this as we headed back to the city centre.  The main bus depot for Cancun was only a few blocks further so the need for being attractive to catch the eye of the customer is important, even if it’s only to sell fast food (comida rapida).

We made it back to the centre and back to the hostel in time for a tea break and a rest.  Later in the afternoon we would walk back to the market area to enjoy barbequed pork (a la Pastor).  It was a good way to spend the morning and afternoon while waiting for the Saturday night parade in Merida.