Discover Mérida: Uber’s New Car Rental Service for a Yucatan Adventure

Uber recently announced a range of new services, including car rentals and pet transportation. As part of this announcement, Uber showcased the "Uber awaits you, Mérida" experience, a tour of the Yucatan capital and its surrounding areas. This journey highlighted the region's unique flavors and notable locations. One of Uber's new offerings is a car rental service, allowing users to travel freely. Users can reserve a vehicle up to 90 days in advance and cancel the service 30 minutes prior to renting. Mérida, a city known for its tourism, offers a rich blend of cuisine and historic monuments dating back to the Colonial period.

The Museum of Yucatecan Gastronomy is a standout among local restaurants, offering both locals and tourists a taste of the region's traditional flavors. The museum offers a tour that explores the state's history through its materials, such as henequen and Queso de Bola cheese, a Dutch export product from the Porfiriato era. The museum area recreates traditional Yucatecan Mayan homes, complete with typical ingredients like pumpkin, local cucumber, tomato, cilantro, and pepper, which are still commonly grown in rural areas.

The tour concludes with a demonstration of traditional cochinita (slow-roasted pork) preparation, cooked in a wood-fired oven on brass trays. The restaurant's back area is dedicated to this demonstration, where diners can gather to receive a portion of the freshly cooked dish. The extensive menu includes snacks like turkey salbutes, salpicón tostadas, cheese empanadas, and "brazo de reina". Main courses include cochinita pibil, oven-roasted pig, black stuffing, and escabeche chicken.

For dessert, the restaurant serves "caballero pobre" and a unique papaya dessert, boiled with lime for a unique, firm yet soft texture. While some restaurants in Mérida maintain traditional Mexican cuisine, others, like Fronto, located in the boutique hotel Diez Diez Collection, experiment with traditional gastronomy to create innovative dishes.

With Uber's new car rental service, visiting places like Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Wonder of the World, is easier than ever. Attractions at this Mayan ceremonial center include the Kukulkan Castle, the Ball Game, the Sacred Cenote, and the Observatory. The city also features influences from other Mesoamerican cultures, like the Toltec. It is the most visited Maya site in the state. Just half an hour from Chichén Itzá, you can find…