There are many volunteer placements in Merida. We have been placed in the orphanage from 3-6 monday to friday. Other placements include working in a hospital, salvation army school, and in a centre for girls who have been abused. When we were in the orphanage we were mainly taking activities with us so the children could play as there are not many resources there. The majority of staff at the orphanage only speak spanish, we only came across one person who spoke english throughout our two weeks, but we were not in her group. It may therefore be difficult if you are on your own and do not speak spanish, but as long as you have a phrasebook most of the children pick up what you want them to do just by looking and through actions. Working with the children is very rewarding and opens your eyes to a new way of working as even the smallest things can make the biggest difference. The orphanage has some funding from the government, but relies mainly on charity and donations. There are children there almost from birth up to 18, although the disabled children do stay a few more years.
The accomodation is provided by original volunteers, it is around £35 per week for the room. The accomodation is a shared house which accomodates around 12 people, everyone who stays is a volunteer with original volunteers. There are bunk beds and singles. The accomodation is self catering, with a large kitchen/dining area, but there are shops and cafes relatively close by. There is a tv and sitting area. There is wireless internet access and also a house PC with internet access. There is a large back garden and roof area in which to sit outside/sunbathe. Tila, the placement coordinator provides spanish and english lessons during the week. The english lessons are given to local mexian people, and so it is good to be aware there may be people in the house during a stay here. At the time of our stay there was a dog living in the house, which previous volunteers had taken in and Tila allows to stay, people who may be scared of dogs should be aware of this, although he is harmless, and very friendly when he has been in the house on his own all day after everyone has been away at the projects! He may not be at the house during your stay as he has a tendency to try and escape as he was a stray.
The main town centre and local shops are all within walking distance. it takes around 15-20minutes to walk to the main square in town which is where most shops and restaurants are, as well as the catherdral. Buses are regular, one stops at the end of the road next to the volunteer house. Buses generally cost 6pesos and are easy to get on and off of since buses will stop to pick you up when you signal and will let you off when you stand, there does not need to be an actual bus stop. To get to the orphanage we took two buses there and back everyday, which was very easy after the first couple of times.
If you are flying into Cancun, the best way to get to Merida is on one of the ADO buses, which costs around 400 pesos for a single. It is a 4 hour drive, but it is better to get a bus rather than a taxi as this can be expensive and unreliable. If you arrive late and there are no more buses that day, you should book a ticket for the next day and stay in a hotel overnight. On the way back, go to the ADO bus terminal in Merida and book a bus back to Cancun a few days in advance.
The first weekend of being here there was a grand carnival which was fantastic. Each day is different as one will be very traditional and the others vary. We also got to see their different cultural clothes. The following weekend there is a street party so seems there is a lot going on within this town. In Merida their are restaurants and bars more down town which are very cheap compared to UK however, there are expensive places if you wish to eat there. Also there is a cinema that has english subtitles which is very useful. (In some clubs, you pay an entry price, e.g 50pesos, then tip your waiter when you want to leave e.g100pesos and all your drinks for the night are free.)
You are not on your own here as you do live with other volunteers in the house and you are able to socialise with them and see where they have travelled etc. The other volunteers in the house can be helpful with telling you places to go and not to go, and where you can find things. Also, there may be a volunteer who has been in merida longer going with you on your placement so you wont be by yourself the first few times you go.
All locals here speak spanish so can be hard at times if you dont understand the language but we have a phrase book which helps a lot and spanish lessons are available.
Visit the beach at Progresso. Its 15pesos on the bus, and you catch the bus from a few streets down from the accomodation. it takes around 40minutes to get there.
Go to the museum which is just down the road, it costs about 45pesos and has many mayan artefacts and alot of the information is written in english.
Go to the main square and have a look around the shops and visit the cathedral, which is the oldest in mexico.
There are many mayan ruins around the Yucatan peninsular, the most famous being Chichin Itza. We were fortunate to be able to visit chichin itza on the 21st of March for the equinox, which is an event not to be missed, so if you stay here then you should try to go. We hired a car with a couple of other volunteers as this is cheaper than going with a tour group. We went to chichin itza in the afternoon, as the equinox is'nt until 4:30pm, but there is a ruin site called Dzibilchaltun, which is about a 20minute drive from Merida, and we went there at 4:30am to see the sunrise before travelling to chichin itza.
We also visited a cenote, which is a fresh water pool you can swim in. They are all over the Yucatan. They are relatively cheap to get into, we visited an underground one on the way to chichin itza for about 60pesos, but there are some closer to Merida.
Things to do, things not to do
Take plenty of Insect Repellent!!
Change your money into pesos, not dollars, eventhough original volunteers tell you to use dollars. Pesos are more widely used in Merida, the only times we saw dollars being used was at chichin itza and at the airport, and even then they will accept pesos just as easily.
There is no requirement for a visa when visiting mexico, unless you are transferring in america on your flights. (original volunteers should advise you about this). We took a direct flight from gatwick to cancun.
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