Mérida is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, which in itself may not be a reason to visit. But the fact that the centre of this city of about a million people is literally bustling with life is worth a trip. Believe me, Mérida really does have a lot to offer, with concerts, theatre, dance performances or classes, parades, workshops all taking place every night. TIP: on Facebook, click on the "Events" box, enter Mérida as your location and you'll get a huge amount of stuff.
From Laguna Bacalar we decided to continue more into the Yucatan interior to get to know a bit of the not-so-touristy Mexico. Originally I wanted to see the Mayan ruins of Calakmul, but in the end I had to admit that an X hour drive through the jungle on unpaved roads would be unnecessarily demanding. Both energetically and, most importantly, time-wise. So I incorporated completely different ruins into plan 2, plus a few more interesting places on top, so in the end a much more convenient version, and mostly to the satisfaction of everyone involved :)