Campeche

Wednesday, February 18, 2015
We woke up at the less than desirable campground.

What kept going through my head about this campground was the fact that these people actually live here, we are just temporarily camped out on their front lawn. We also woke up to the fact that it was pouring rain outside and was warmish or even coolish outside. A totally new weather situation for what we've been used to for the past months here in Mexico. Before we left the campground, even in the rain, the owners grandson came out and gave us a little art stickers from Campeche. That was very thoughtful of him.

Once out of the campground, Google maps did not do a very good job of guiding us to the main roads. There was construction that Google was not aware of. Ken had to manipulate in and out of the area on instinct alone. We went through neighborhoods that the people were very well-off and also neighborhoods where people were not well-off, twisting and turning, uphill and downhill. Finally Kenneth's good driving sense got us into the main part of the city.

Campeche was founded in 1540 by Spanish conquistadors. This city and it's municipality has a population of approximately 260,000 according to 2010 census. It is a municipal and state capital. The central historical is still protected by walls that were erected to protect it from pirates and buccaneers back in the 1600s.  The state helps to preserve the quality of the architecture and this earned them UNESCO world heritage site status in 1999. I have to talk more about the wall because it is interesting and very different from anything you see it anywhere else. It was used to ward off the attacks of buccaneers and pirates both English and Dutch. Names like Francis Drake John Hawkins, Lawrence deGraff, Cornelius Joel and Henry Morgan were some of the names of pirates that were responsible for the attacks on the city for 160 years. Then in 1686 the government decided to start to fortify the city.

The irregular shaped hexagonal wall was completed, it was 2560 m in length. It had eight defense of bastions on the corners which the inventive people of Campeche have now turned into botanical gardens, libraries, museums, etc. Wikipedia help me with all the facts about Campeche.

We spent the latter part of the morning in the beginning of the afternoon looking at hotels which would suit our needs for the next few days. We looked at The Mission Campeche, The Lopez, The plaza colonial and The Socaire. We ended up at the hotel that was number one on Trip Advisor the Socaire. Our hotel room has very high ceilings an air conditioner, old antique furniture (which we love), a modern bathroom with all the amenities. The hotel is right in the heart of the city surrounded by walls.

Thursday, February 19, 2015
Eating our breakfast out by the pool was a nice touch.

It was a little windy but the old, wall architecture showing through made up for the weather. This whole interior part of the walled, old city is amazingly restored. If it is not restored than the old is made to look amazing and arty. The is the look given to the walls surrounding the pool. It is not really hot enough to go into the pool today but I am sure they have very hot, humid weather here.

Coffee was next on the agenda, The Italian Coffee Company, which is a chain in Mexico similar to Starbucks in the States and Canada. Our planned coffee experience there was because of the amazing courtyard. The arches in the courtyard had been Moorish arches but where changed to Gothic arches during a renovation. The courtyard is a peaceful retreat from the city, a quick trip back in time. We also made an our of the way diversion to see the adorable, schnauzer type dog.

I went off on my own to visit a few galleries and stores for women. This walled city appears perfectly safe, as does the entire Yucatan Penninsula. The street that is made into a plaza for art was the first place I checked out, going into buildings and snapping pictures of courtyards.

I found a few fabric stores that were huge. Looking for quilting material, I did not find much of interest. I did find some batik looking fabric that could be used for batting. I also found felt that could be used as batting or a double batting material. The women here in Mexico must sew a lot. I saw three fabric stores. These stores also have other crafting supplies, a bit like Michael's in Canada.

Ken and I went to a restaurant with traditional fair for lunch - Restaurante Bastion De Campeche. Papadzules was my meal which is a traditional dish from the Yucatan Peninsula. I can almost guarantee you will not be able to guess what is in it. Papadzules presents like enchiladas.  Hard boiled eggs are cut up and rolled inside corn tortillas with a sauce of pepita (pumpkin seeds) and covered in a cooked tomato-chile sauce. To me the pepita sauce was most unusual, I had to ask the waiter what it was. It was like a stiff batter of falafels but did not taste like that. It was a bit bland but yet flavourful. Ken had a different type of dish that was traditional, he loved it. It was black beans, cheese and a green veggie with chicken wrapped around it. This was coated then deep fried.

The rest of the day we explored Campeche. We walked on one of wall surrounding the city, we went to an Artisanal Market and we went to Casa 6. Casa no. 6 Centro Cultural is the reconstruction of  a home from the 17th to 19th century. It is the type of home a typical upper class family of Campeche would have lived in. Definitely worth the visit. The stunning Moorish arches also sported stained glass.  We visited another georgeous office building with a central courtyard and a sweeping stairway.

Friday, February 20, 2015
Ken and Frank had a conference call with industry Canada about approval for the tower site for the radio station on Gabriola Island CKGI.

From my end it sounded like a professional, well thought out conversation and I wish them luck in their endeavour.

We both did yoga this morning as we are feeling kind of stiff and sore. We have not done yoga in a while.

On the way to coffee I come close to falling a couple of times and I felt really, sort of, out of it. We went for coffee at a different place today and I had a smoothie instead of coffee. Ken had a good coffee and it was very grande. I attribute my stumbling this to having not eaten supper the night before. I also think I'm tired this morning.

We walked around for part of the afternoon.  We were looking for the municipal museum. We found a municipal building but did not actually find the museum. On the north east entrance of the wall surrounding Campeche we found a very old church. The doors were not open that makes me think that the church is probably not in use anymore. It was likely built around the same time as the wall that goes around this city.

Near the end of the afternoon we decided to just lay here, laze about and watch TV. I was tired and had a headache most of the day. Once it was time to eat supper we walked down the street about a block and a half and bought slices of pizza and brought them back to the room. That was a nice way to end the day.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

We started the day driving east, back where we came from.

Before doing anything we decided to check out a campground called Club Nautico. It looked like a lovely space for an event but we weren't sure about the camping. We weren't sure if the clubhouse was going to be open and that's what houses the bathrooms.

We continued on going towards the Fort of Miguel. It houses the archaeological Museum of Campeche or the Museum of Mayan Culture. The building self was built in the 18 century and it's two floors high. The Museum was opened in 1986. The museum's mission statement is to spread a historical overview of the cultures of the Gulf and Central Highlands.   It houses mostly a Pre-Hispanic collection. There are ceramic utensils, obsidian stone tools, items of religious significance and also items having to do with funerals of the Mayans. This museum houses the famous Jade mask that was found  inside a tomb at the archeology site of Calakmul (more on that later).

From here we drove on the country roads to the ruin of Edzna. This is approximately  an hour's drive on a lovely, back country road from the city of Campeche. According to Wikipedia Edzná was already inhabited in 400 BC, and it was abandoned circa 1500 AD. The main temple is the most outstanding structure along with the ball court. There was an area that was covered protecting stone carvings that were still colored with pigment from long ago. You are still allowed to climb up on some of the structures. As with all of the ruins it's very awe Inspiring to think that you are walking on an area where people from so long ago also walked. What did they wear what did they eat how did they raise her children. Some of these questions have been answered in what archaeologists have found in these ruins, some answers are still a mystery.

As if all of that was not enough for the day, there was even more remaining in the rest of the evening. Once back in Campeche we went to our previous hotel but it was booked solid. We saw hotel The Mayan Campeche and decided that it would be a good place to stay and it was. It had a cheaper rate but a smaller room.  

We decided to go for a beverage because it had been a very hot day and we needed some cooling off. We went to the main square and hung out there for a little while. We saw that people were sitting around in chairs as if they were going to watch a play or something. We too decided to sit on a park bench to see what was going on. Yes, there was to be an event! We were privilege to see the most amazing light show we had ever seen. It was a light show that told more then the history of Campeche. It was projected onto a two-story building in the central with portales. It showed us a pre-Hispanic peek into Mayan culture, it showed when the Spanish came over in tall ships and it showed when the Pirates and Buccaneers came and tried to take over Campeche. It had a part showing when the wall had been built around Campeche.  It showed pictures of people from Campeche, likely well known figures. There was a giant sized picture of that famous Jade mask that was found  inside a tomb at Calakmul. They made it look like the eyes were blinking and staring. Overall, the light show was extremely moving and seemed to put life into perspective. It was very refreshing to see something so artistic but yet so close to the heart. The music had been very carefully chosen as it went along wonderfully with the light show.  Amazing!