Thursday morning we began our trip to Campeche City, which is a two hour drive southwest of Mérida. It once was a colonial trading port and is now the capital of the Mexican state of Campeche.
Campeche has a long and exciting history. Spaniards settled here in the 1500's because of its strategic waterfront location, but it was plagued by pirates for nearly 200 years. In fact, it was raided repeatedly by some of the most famous pirates in history, like Peg Leg, Jean LaFitte, and Lorencillo. After two centuries, the citizens had had enough, so the authorities constructed a huge stone wall around the city, essentially turning it into a fortress.
The ride down was actually a smooth one, since we finally found the main highway and bypassed Uman altogether. The only hitch was getting stopped at a police checkpoint once we were within the borders of Campeche state. Sure the officers held machine guns, but they were fairly pleasant, and once they saw we were gringo tourists with children they let us go with a quick obligatory peek in the trunk. No bodies, weapons, or illegal contraband stashed in there!
Eventually, we located our hotel and even a parking space around the corner, which is a challenge since the streets are really narrow. Hotel Lopez turned out to be really charming, which was surprising since it was so affordable.
A comfortable room with plush bedding and a sizable bath, tastefully decorated, and marble throughout. Immaculately clean too, so this was going to be a nice change of pace from the 'rustic charm' we had grown accustomed to at Casa Walker. And instead of six doors to lock up at night, we'd only have to lock one... what a treat!
We checked in, dropped the bags, and walked to the main square to start seeing the sights, of which there were many. Along the way, we noticed immediately the colorful facades of the houses lined up on each cobblestone street in the colonial center. The town cathedral is one of the oldest on the Yucatan, and it took over 200 years for building to be complete.
One of the first things we checked out was Casa Seis, a restored 19th century home, complete with period furnishings and decor. Nice, but just a few rooms, not really much to spend time on, and hot.
Probably not worth the bother to find the 50 cents to pay the admission. I mention it, however, because there were long red stone benches in one room to the rear of the courtyard, so we sat down for a bit to look at the guidebook and figure out where to go next. Well, either it's been freshly painted or it's a dirty trick on visitors, because all of us had red backsides when we left. Red powdery residue all over our clothes, plus the kids' hands from playing on the bench. And we had literally JUST STARTED exploring the city. As if being the only white people in town didn't make us stand out enough, we had to see the sights as the notorious gringo family with red backsides. Life is cruel.
We hauled our hot, sweaty, newly painted butts over to the city's seaward bastion, the Baluarte Nuestra Señora de la Soledad. Within the stone walls is the city's Mayan architecture museum. We spent some time looking at the artifacts, but by this time we'd had our fill of Mayan museums and decided they were much more interesting to see at the actual ruin sites we'd been visiting. Besides we were eager to climb to the top of the wall to see the view.
The bastion afforded us a great angle to view the city, and the kids got a chance to be on the lookout for pirates. They got a real shock when they rang the tower bell and heard how REALLY LOUD it was. Drawing attention to ourselves all over again!
Wandering the streets of the city center, you really get a sense of what colonial life could have been like. We headed back to the hotel to get showered and changed out of our dirty clothes, before going out again in search of dinner.
We decided to take a leisurely stroll on the Malecón on our way to the restaurant. It's a really nice fully restored waterfront walkway that runs the full shoreline of the city. Cannons every so often for those still battling with pirates, and beautiful historical monuments along the way.
There were lots of Mexican families out enjoying the cooler evening air, and plenty of folks jogging and cycling as well. Even a fitness class going on! In fact, on the surface, it would appear that Campeche was pretty fitness conscious, because we even found a sizable sports complex on our way, complete with basketball courts and tennis, actively being used in the summertime heat. That's dedication.
We enjoyed a tasty Yucatecan meal at Marganzo, made all the more pleasant by the friendly wait staff. A trio of strolling musicians serenaded our table with their guitarras, which further complemented the delightful atmosphere.
At the end of the meal, the check was presented with a complementary drink for Jenn and a tequila shot for myself. When was the last time I did a shot of tequila? Of course, I couldn't possibly disappoint our hosts by refusing...!
After dinner, we made it just in time to the light show at La Puerta de Tierra, which is the city's landward gate and bastion. We were given a quick tour of some hidden catacombs and allowed to climb to the top of the wall before watching a show about the history of Campeche. The story was told in Spanish, but we got the basic gist of things: first there were the maya, who were conquered by the Spaniards, followed by Catholic missionaries. Their cultures combined to evolve into the colorful tapestry which is modern Campeche City. Oh yeah, and pirates too!
We rounded out the night by relaxing on a park bench in the main square, with the glowing cathedral nearby. The kids played hide and seek in front of the cafe for a while, and then we headed back to the hotel, tired after another busy day, and eager to immerse ourselves in the comfort of our plush new beds. ¡Buenas noches!
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