Merida is a city located in the Yucatan province of Mexico. It is a big city with a small colonial-style center and it gets very hot (37-38 degrees Celcius) year round. Our visit to Merida was one of the most exiting from a ‘city camping‘ point of view. Before arriving in Merida, we looked up the lay-out of the city and found several big-size swimming pools throughout the city. Finding a swimming pool open to the public, is one of the most difficult parts for a traveling triathlete arriving to a big new city. Running and biking we can do anywhere, but swimming is always a bit of a search to find a good spot. Besides that, we had some work to do for several clients so we needed a good wifi connection to up-and download websites, photos and video.

One of the best things of a big city is that there are almost always several Starbucks coffee places around. Starbucks has fast and free wifi, airconditioning and good chairs and tables to work at. We doubted where to city camp: in front of the swimming pool or in front of the Starbucks. It turned out that the swimming pool was located next to a big intersection of roads: very busy and noisy to sleep at night. And it did not look very safe. Our Starbucks close to the swimmingpool on the other hand, was located along the Circuito Colonias/ Calle 31 along a more quiet avenue in a richer part of the city and offered a tree-lined Calle 22 to park Nina. We even plugged in our electricity cable at night to get our fan to work. We really needed a fan to be able to sleep in such a climate.

We stayed in Merida for three days and we went to the Estadio Salvador Alvarado every day to train. This outdoor sports center is open to the public, no fees charged to work out. It has an 8-lane athletics track that is shared with the local soccer club who play at night in the center of the track. There is a 50-meter swimming pool where the Yucatan state swimming selection trains. It also has a 1,5km trail around the premises where you can run on a solid sandy underground. There is an outdoor gym where you can lift weights, three outdoor basketbal courts and two tennis courts. At the swimmingpool there are cold-water showers we gladly used early in the morning after a training or late in the evening to wash off the hot day in Merida.

For three days we camped in front of the Starbucks, we worked and finishes several client jobs in nice airconditioning and we trained hard early in the morning or at night. To go short: Merida was a nice stopover on our way to Isla Holbox! Please find below the training location we found:

Location: 
Estadio Salvador Alvarado
16 11, Itzimná, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
Open: 6.00am to 10.30pm seven days a week.
Access: free of charge.