Campeche, the Pirate City...ARRR!

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!

One Week to Go...

We spent August 4th hanging about Mérida in between road trips. Emma and Lukas played games in the pool while we packed some clothes and belongings for the next day's trip to Campeche.

In the afternoon, we visited the anthropology museum at Canton Palace, and this time we made it there while it was still open. The museum was filled with mayan pottery, carvings, and artifacts, all housed in a stately marble mansion built in the early 20th century.

The exhibits were really interesting, collected from ruin sites all over the Yucatan, and the bonus was that we could look at them all in the air conditioning. The kids were somewhat concerned about the skulls and burial tombs on display, so we steered them over to the jade masks and sculptures of Mayan warriors instead.

The rest of the afternoon was an exercise in futility as we learned once again that you should never put your complete faith in a travel guidebook, even when it's not even a year old.

We thought we would check out the exhibits at Casa Catherwood, another beautifully restored mansion, then grab a meal at their restaurant. Clearly, the address indicated in the guidebook was wrong because we had to circle the block several times before figuring out it was across the street. And the hours indicated in the book were apparently wrong too, since the doors were locked and no one was in sight.

We gave up on that, and pulled up a park bench in nearby Parque Santiago to regroup. We decided to eat at Villa Maria, another place recommended by the guidebook. We drove several blocks across town, following the map to the address and... yep, you guessed it... Villa Maria is closed down and doesn't exist anymore. Ugh. No luck today.

So we gave up trying to eat someplace new and returned to Casa de Frida, where we had enjoyed a nice Mexican meal during the first week of our trip. The kids enjoyed their standard quesadilla fare, while Jenn and I were served HUGE poblano peppers stuffed with apples, pears, and spiced beef. Really delicious (and the margaritas were good too).

So that's it. We packed, we went to a museum, and we ate. Nothing more for that day? You're right Robin, that does sound kind of boring!

At least the next few days to come were more exciting...

Celestún

Lately, posts have been coming slower since the internet connection here has been hit or miss. Ahhh, life in Mexico!

Tuesday morning, we put on our swimsuits and headed out to Celestún, which is about 56 miles west of Mérida. Celestún is known for its inlet of extremely salty waters, which is an ideal feeding area for pink flamingos.

The route once again took us through Uman, where we have a habit of getting lost due to its lack of road signs. This time, we managed to find our way through with only one stop for directions, so we must be getting more accustomed to the surroundings.

Celestún sits on the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and has some impressively beautiful beaches. We arrived around noon, so decided to have an early lunch at La Palapa, a beachfront restaurant blessed with a cooling breeze and a nice ocean view. Pulpo was the specialty of the house, since octopus is the main fishing industry for the area, but Jenn ordered camarones coco (coconut shrimp) and I stuck with chicken. The cervezas were ice cold and as usual, the kids can never get enough Jamaica tea.

After lunch, we lounged on the beach for a short while, but the winds were picking up and the sand was starting to fly. Our main reason for the trip was to see the flamingos, so we headed to the bridge and hired a private charter boat.

We enjoyed a pleasant ride up the river in search of the flamingos and also to take a tour of the mangrove reserves. You notice immediately that the water is a rusty shade of red, which is due to the tannins from the roots of the mangrove trees. The red glints of sunshine on the water give it a truly ethereal quality, and you almost have a sense of being in an entirely different world.

Our first stop was a jungle trek, where we saw giant termite nests and learned about the wildlife. Emma was concerned about a poisonous tree that our guide pointed out to us, but we assured her it wasn't going to follow us home. Of greater concern to us was the mosquito population, since we left the repellent in our bag on the boat. Always prepared!

We cut through the mangrove forest to a viewing dock out over a salt flat. A woman's big straw hat blew off her head and out across the flats, impossible to retrieve without sinking in. From the dock, we were able to observe about a hundred flamingos across the water, although in the winter months during mating season there are usually thousands.

They're certainly not the most active creatures to watch, but it is incredible to see so many out in the wild. Here, by the salt marshes, the water is more golder in color, and the kids could find lots of fish swimming below. It was a peaceful, breezy spot to sit in the shade and observe the wildlife around us.

We said goodbye to the flamingos and hiked back through the forest to our boat. Along the way, our guide pointed out a unique tree with thick, abrasive leaves, which the Maya would use for brushing their teeth and washing their skin. It's amazing how civilizations can adapt their natural resources to fit their needs when necessary.

Next, we motored down river for a boat tour through the mangrove forests. It's easy to spot the mangrove trees with their roots visible above the water. Rare birds like to nest in the branches of the mangroves above.

The final stop of our water excursion was a visit to a freshwater spring in the jungle, referred to locally as an 'ojo de agua' or an 'eye of water'. Here, you can actually see the water bubbling up to the surface.

Normally the water is crystal clear, but again the mangrove tannins have had their effect on the spring during the warmer months. Since the water was rather dark, most tourists had lost interest in swimming, and we were set to bypass the spring as well. But the kids were disappointed, and since they had their bathing suits on, the vendor selling snacks nearby assured us the water was fine. And since the ruby red waters were beckoning, Jenn and the kids decided to take a dip for a short while to cool off. Yet another spectacle, as everyone stopped to see the crazy gringos swimming in the jungle. It wasn't until we mentioned the alligators that Lukas would finally come out of the water (don't worry, there are no alligators, at least that we know of).

Afterwards, we headed back to the boat for the return trip, and to wrap up our visit to Celestún. It had been an enjoyable trip, and a fun day with lots to do and see.

Friends in Cholul

Thankfully, a shorter post since Monday was spent locally, regrouping after our crazy expedition the day before. Jenn took Emma out to the market to pick up food and much needed supplies. I stayed at the house to catch up on work and emails, then Lukas and I hopped in the pool for a swim. We dried off in the sunshine on the rooftop, lazing about in the hammocks for a while.

Late afternoon, we took the kids to play with Aliza's two girls at her house in Cholul. They played with toys and swam in the pool for a couple of hours, while we sipped homemade Jamaica tea and chatted until nightfall.

Aliza's story is an interesting one. She left Mexico City at 18 to study agroforestry at USC Berkeley, then crossed the states to pursue her masters in New Haven. She was a professor for a while before settling down and building her huge house in the Yucatan. There she raises free-range chickens and grows organic fruits and vegetables on a sizable parcel of land. She pointed out the difficulties of farming in the Yucatan since the terrain is mostly rocky, so she composts and creates her own soil.

It's a widely held belief that millions of years ago, the Yucatan Penninsula was submerged underwater in the gulf, and only rose up to become dry land after a huge meteor struck Earth offshore here (that's right, the one that supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs). Despite the difficulties, Aliza has a love of agriculture and has made it her life's work.

After our visit, we headed back for a light dinner and relaxation at home before hitting the sack. More to do in the morning!

Cenotes of Cuzamá (or: The Long Journey Into the Depths of Hell)

WARNING: This post is much longer than normal, but every detail just HAD to be documented. It might be worth a read.

Sunday seemed like a good day for a trip out to swim in the cenotes of Cuzamá. We had read in our guidebooks about the quaint horse-drawn rail carts, organized by locals to give visitors a scenic ride through the long abandoned henequen plantations, as they wind their way to stops at each of the three beautiful cenotes in the area. Even a local woman at the market had recommended the cenotes as a must see.

We should have taken it as a sign of the day to come when we stopped for gas at the Pemex station only to have the seemingly friendly attendant try to rip us off. He happily chatted to me about our destination as I handed him a 500 peso bill, attempting to distract me as he did the old switcheroo with a 50. I had seen what he did, and pointed out that I gave him 500; he looked at me blankly for a time, and I looked blankly at him, and finally he shook his head and handed me change. Fortunately, we've learned to be prepared when it come to gas stations. This type of exchange doesn't happen all the time, but occasionally a gringo can be taken advantage of if they're not on the ball. It's always best to pay close attention to EVERYTHING the attendant does down here.

Finally on the road, we journeyed through small villages like Kanacín and Acancéh before getting closer to Cuzamá. At one point on the open highway, we were mooned by one of the eight young Mexican men riding in back of a pickup in front of us. I guess some greetings are universal.

As we reached the entrance, the midday sun was blazing hot (surprise, surprise). We gathered our things (towels, cameras, bag of snacks, snorkel masks, small children) and headed over to see the man in the red cap who was overseeing things with his clipboard. Jennifer put our name on the list while I went to the nearby tent to buy a bottle of water. As I approached the stand, I became aware of a large number of flies buzzing around and the growing smell of horse manure. In fact, as I looked around the tent at all of the people sitting at tables, it was apparent that the flies were EVERYWHERE. The mostly Mexican crowd, awaiting passage to the cenotes, sat emotionless like zombies, all waving towels or rags around their heads in a futile attempt to clear away the flies. But the flies just kept coming back, over and over again.

An eternity passed while the woman behind the counter searched for my bottle of agua, and soon I was swatting away flies, twitching in some kind of tribal ritual dance, trying in vain not to be eaten alive. There was a little girl behind the counter looking blankly at me, flies landing on her face and arms. She made slight movements to shoo away the flies, but clearly she too had come to the realization that there wasn't much point to it. The flies were always there.

When I finally got my water, I pretty much ran out of the tent. I found Jenn and the kids huddled together at a table out in the sun, positioned between a large horse plop and a bucket of cans stewing with more flies. We waited and watch as men loaded and unloaded rail carts from the tracks, hitched up horses, and shuttled off passengers. There was a large crowd of people waiting for a ride on the rails, and we began to wonder if maybe the weekend might not have been the best time to come on this adventure.

The sun beat down brutally, and still we waited, swatting flies, dripping with sweat. The only shade was either under the tent (filled to capacity with people and flies) or outside the bathrooms. We positioned Emma and Lukas by the bathrooms for a time so they could get some much needed relief from the sun. After more than 45 minutes of waiting, Jennifer approached Señor Red Cap to see where we were on the waiting list. He told her we had about another 30 minutes to go. Wha-?

Jenn took the kids to sit in the car for a while, and then I did the same. After another 35 minutes, I talked to the clipboard guy and was told we'd be up in maybe 20 minutes. "But you told us last time...?"

By this time, I was mentally and physically drained. We were all getting irritable, the smell was sickening, and Emma was on the verge of tears. We talked of giving up and leaving to visit another cenote about a half hour away, but Lukas refused to leave. He wasn't going to miss the horse ride we had told him all about. That quaint, scenic ride through the plantations with the promise of crisp, cool refreshment at the journey's end.

Like gluttons for punishment, we waited. Again. The 20 minutes passed by and the men at the cerveza stand motioned us over. They asked why we were still there and what we had been told. They spoke Spanish, but they seemed to think that something wasn't quite right here. Were we being taken advantage of?

We watched as a large group that had arrived after us were seated on the next trolley cart. What the-? Jenn marched right up to the clipboard dude, demanding to see the list. After some back and forth, it turns out there are two lists: the regular list and Señor's 'personal' list. It seems you can buy your way onto the personal list. So much for going the honest route. If I had KNOWN about the personal list...

Jennifer demanded that we be seated on the next cart (you don't want to incur the wrath of a blond white woman from Jersey), and so we were on our way within the next 5 minutes. Finally, some relief in sight!

The rail cart has room for four in the middle under a canopy, while two more can sit on the rear and another can sit up front with the driver. We shared a cart with three girls of maybe college age, one of which spoke English. She explained to us that they had been on the tour to the cenotes before and that access to the third cenote was quite treacherous. It wasn't recommended for the children. The driver was willing to take us all to the first two cenotes and allow us extra time there so we could bypass the more dangerous third cenote. We agreed that would be the wisest choice for us, and then we were off.

While in theory a ride on the rail carts might seem like a pleasant idea, it actually has two major problems. The first one is that it is drawn by a horse. And with the horse comes HORSEFLIES. We spent most of the journey clattering along, flailing our arms about, swatting flies off ourselves, each other, and the children. At one point, Jennifer was swatting flies with Lukas' hat, and in the confusion, hit the driver across the face with the strap. Ooops.

The other problem is that there is only one set of rail tracks to and from the cenotes. That means if you're traveling in one direction and other carts are going back in the opposite direction, someone has to get off the tracks to let the others through. That, more often than not, was us. This entails stopping the cart, unloading all the passengers, unhitching the horse, and manually lifting the cart off the tracks to let the other carts pass. Then load the cart onto the tracks again, hitch up the horse, load all the passengers, and then finally proceed. Although novel at first, this gets tiresome after the fifth time.

The ride is bumpy and at times there might be a sharp curve, which means hold on tight or you're going to lose your camera, your hat, your child. After banging along endlessly, swatting flies, holding on for dear life, we finally reached the first cenote.

When you finally arrive at the cenote dripping with sweat, the only thing you can think of is GETTING IN THE WATER. You are about to DIE if you don't. You don't CARE what it looks like, it could have trash floating in it, you just need to be wet. Thankfully, the cenote is pristine and the water is crystal clear. This is TRULY an OASIS! The water is icy cold, but you just slip right in without a thought because you are just that hot. Finally, relief!

The cenote was beautiful, in a huge cavern with fresh water bubbling up from deep underground. We swam across to the other side of the cave and back again while the kids took turns catching fish in a snorkel mask.

After our swim, we headed back to our cart to hit the rails again. Things were looking up when it was finally time for another cart to clear the tracks for US to pass instead. The ride was much more pleasant now that we had cooled off.

We arrived at the second cenote and began descending the long staircase into the cave. The elevated platform at the bottom was quite crowded with visitors and there were no railings, so Lukas and I hugged the cave wall while Jenn navigated down to the shaky platform below. As she helped Emma climb down a rickety ladder into the water, I thought for sure there was no way Lukas was getting down there with all those people. It just seemed way too dangerous. But eventually, the crowd thinned out and we managed to get him to the water below. Soon we had the cenote mostly to ourselves before another cart of visitors arrived.

One of the girls we were now traveling with dove into the cenote from the platform above, so Jennifer wasn't going to be outdone. It must have been a drop of at least 25 feet or more into the pool below (You can see her jump in the video clip posted at the bottom). Of course, since Jenn jumped, there was pressure on me to do the same. Thankfully, that was not recorded because an involuntary groan escaped loudly from my mouth as I leapt into the water. It was a pretty long drop.

With the pleasant cenote visits behind us, the torment could now begin again. As we boarded our cart for the return journey, the horseflies resumed their assault. Then, thunderclouds above dumped a deluge of rain. The canopy provided no shelter whatsoever, but at least the showers were washing away the horseflies. Could it get much worse?

Sure it could, because our driver had to remove our cart from the rails FIVE TIMES on the journey back to let other carts pass. That meant all of us standing on the sidelines up to our ankles in mud, buffeted by driving rain, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. (My video camera was still in its water case, so you can see a clip below. Not the same effect though, without hearing the thunder and the rush of the rain.) We were soaked through and through, our bags full of water, and the kids were shivering. As they say, when it rains, it pours.

It had been a two hour wait in the blazing sun, followed by a three hour trip on the rails. As we pulled back up to the entrance, huddled under dripping wet towels, Señor Red Cap asked, "Jennifer...how you like? Are you quiet now?"

What was there to say? It certainly was a day we will never forget.

Weekend Life in Mérida

We began Saturday with a visit to the Mercado Lucas de Galvez, which is the municipal market in Mérida. It's a bustling two-story building that takes up the entire block, and you know you're getting close to it because the streets are filled with people.

The lower level was jammed with both vendors and patrons, making it difficult to navigate through the aisles. At one point, we rounded the corner and wandered into the meat market, complete with hanging body parts of every variety, and leering animal heads. A pretty gruesome sight, so we did the best to walk in front of the kids and block their view as we shuffled them out of the area. Fortunately, they didn't seem to notice, since they were busy eyeing the toys and playthings for sale in the opposite direction.

We purchased matching embroidered shoes for Jennifer and Emma at just a couple of dollars apiece, before heading across the street to a craft shop for some browsing. There I picked up a guayabera while a vendor tried to convince Jennifer that she needed a jeweled beetle. This is a live beetle that has been trimmed with jewels and a gold chain to fasten to a button on your blouse or dress. It was a big sucker too, think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The vendor told Jenn that all the fancy women wear them, but she assured the man that she certainly is not THAT fancy. Nevertheless, the kids had fun holding and playing with the beetle.

We spent the afternoon at the house, then got nicely dressed for a visit to the anthropology museum. However, we had the timetable wrong for the weekend, because it had already closed when we got there. We had to settle for a few pictures in front of it instead.

From there, we decided to treat ourselves to an earlier dinner at Trotter's, an upscale steak and seafood restaurant. The ambiance was nice, the meal was enjoyable, and the children were well behaved.

Every Saturday evening, Mérida hosts 'Noche Mexicana', which is a weekly festival of music, dance, food, and crafts. We left the restaurant and headed to the end of Paseo de Montejo to be a part of the fun. There we watched some very entertaining musical performances, and enjoyed some tasty ice cream. I sampled the corn flavored ice cream, and you know, it was quite good!

It's really surprising that all this happens every week, and it's free of charge, giving families a great opportunity to get out and enjoy the evening together. It was really a nice way for us to experience some more of the culture of Mexico, as well as a pleasant way to end the day.