Casa Balam is a spacious and comfortable house, about a 20 minute walk south of the Plaza Grande. We had no trouble communicating with the owner, or her friend Fabiola who lives in Merida. They allowed us an early check in, as our plane arrived at 2:00 and we were grateful for the chance to rid ourselves of our luggage. Even though the area seems to be void of businesses we found four nearby that were all excellent finds: Cafe Lavé, Cafe Orgánico, Kombucheria and Kukā & Naranjo. We also wanted to check out the chicken place, Pollo Brujo, but never got there. The breakfasts at Cafe Orgánico are not to be missed--especially the chilaquiles! The 100 peso breakfast at Kukā & Naranjo needs to be signed up for the day before, but is the best bargain in Merida. We found that travel by Uber was very cheap, which was appreciated by this 80year old with a bad hip!