Moving along the Gulf Coast toward the Yucatan, I came to Campeche and have liked it enough to stay several days. It’s the first place I’ve actually liked in it’s own right. Puebla I liked because it was less hectic than Mexico City. I liked the music in Veracruz, the cuteness of Tlacotalpan and the people I met in Catemaco. Campeche is just plain agreeable to me. I have been in no hurry to leave, though the time has come, and I am going to merida tomorrow.
Campeche City feels just the right size. It’s the state capital, so it’s the center of things here. It has city features like nice stores and at least one WalMart. The historical Center is big enough and there are interesting forts, museums, etc to occupy you for a while. It’s pretty cheap. There’s usually a breeze off the gulf to mitigate the heat. It’s just fine.
The historical center is about ten blocks by ten blocks, with other stuff a city bus ride away. Like some other places, such as Tlaco, most of the buildings are painted in pastels. Here are three street views. First is the street my hotel is on. The other two are of a walking street. All over town are archways and other remnants of days gone by.
Here are a couple more.
As has been the case, the central plaza, or zocalo, is photo-worthy.
There have been ongoing programs this month for Campeche’s 150th anniversary as a Mexican State (though the city’s origens go back to the 16th century, not counting indigenous people before the Europeans). there are cultural programs all around, mostly at venues around the historical center. The Campeche State folkloric dance troupe was in the plaza the other night. (I don’t know how this came out in italics, but I’m not going back. One take, every time.)
Typically Mexican, one dance number was with trays of alcohol and glasses on their heads.
Here was a folksinging show just near there.
You get the picture.
There are many forts, as Campeche had to defend itself constantly throughout the 17th-early 19th centuries from pirates and Europeans.
The best Mayan ruins near here are in Edzna, about a 40 minute colectivo ride from Campeche. Like the others, it was built over centuries. Edzna’s heyday was in the 10th century AD. I was thinking there would be tourists in there, but there was me, a German guy in my colectivo, and once inside, count ’em, four young Mexican women. Here are the pics.
The entire area covers many square kilometers. with some walking, you can find other areas which have not had the centuries of dirt and foliage removed.
I’ll leave to those of you interested to learn Mayan history. It’s way complicated, but way interesting, too.
That’s about it for now. You’ve seen most of the pictures I have that aren’t even more of the same thing. I have a market picture. Gotta have a market picture, I guess.
I go in here every day to eat. The cheap grub is always in the markets, and a big eater can fill up nicely for under 5 USD.
Okay, that’s really it. On to Merida tomorrow. Bye.