Shiverin' me timbers in Campeche

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As our bus to Campeche was due to depart until 12 we had a fairly leisurely start to the day. A relaxed breakfast sampling the never ending supply of tropical fruit provided by the staff, a prolonged visit to the internet cafe downstairs and a final pack in our room. We took a taxi to the bus station were soon settling onto our comfy Primera Plus bus. The bus trip wasn't too long and by mid-afternoon we had arived in Campeche, taken a very short taxi ride to our 'Pirate Hostel' and dragged our bags into reception where we were greeted by a skeleton in a pirate's hat and a room full of seafaring memorabilia. After a couple of minutes we were also greeted by a member of staff who showed us to our room...across a gangplank over the courtyard! Our room is a tiny box barely big enough for the bed, with a pair of sliding screens leading to a toilet on one side and a shower on the other. On the plus side we appear to be the only guests in this part of the building and therefore have exclusive access to the flat rooftop overlooking the street below.
We quickly set off to explore the city. The staff gave us a map which provided us with an easy walking route around the historic centre. Map in hand we began to explore Campeche.
Campeche was founded around the third century and used to be the principal town of the Mayan district Ah Kin Pech which means 'serpent tick'. On March 22, 1517 soldiers lead by Francisco de Montejo invaded Champoton but were defeated by Mayan warriors led by the legendary Moch Couoh. Seriously wounded, Cordova died of his wounds. The battleground where this took place came to be known as 'Bay of the Bad Fight'.
In 1527 and 1537 further attempts to conquer the area failed led by Commander Francisco de Mentejo and his son. In 1540 Montejo's son returned better equipped and armed to massacre their way into the Mayan homeland. Successfull, they finally conquered Kin Pech and Acanul. In 1541 he founded the Villa de San Fransisco de Campeche.
Campeche became a lucrative port for the area and once the bulk of precious metals were removed, captured slaves became the chief commodity.
Once the slave trade was organized and prospering, the conquistadors turned to new avenues of wealth.
The Spanish discovered a dye in logwood, which grew in the forests near Campeche. This dye was considered a rare commodity and was highly prized in Europe and brought high prices on the European market.
When news spread that this dye was available in Campeche, it attracted the attention of others seeking to capitalize on this rich export. This wealth attracted thieves and pirates and the city was attacked and looted repeatedly until in 1668, when the city was fortified.
Originally, the Spaniards lived inside the walled city, while the natives lived in the surrounding barrios of San Francisco, Guadalupe and San Román, which still retain their original churches today.
We walked first to the Land Gate, at the bottom of our road. Built in 1732 La Puerta de la Tierra was one of the main gates for entering the city through the outer walls. After suffering from repeated attacks from the sea Campeche was fortified by French engineer Louis Bouchard de Becour. He was commissioned to unify all the defensive works that surrounded the city with a wall. At its completion, the wall surrounding the city of Campeche was 2,560 meters in length, forming an irregular hexagon around the main part of the city, with eight defensive bastions on the corners.
We walked through the Land Gate and viewed the market opposite. After studying our map we determined most of the places we wanted to visit were back on the other side of the city walls, so after strolling along the outisde for a while we found another doorway through to the walls.
We walked through the historic centre admiring the perfectly painted facades of the houses and decided there must be rules about what colour residents are allowed to paint their houses to stop them from clashing with their neighbours. We passed under a clock which amusingly said 'La hora exacta' on its face while it was more than four and a half hours wrong.
We reached the church on the corner, the Ex-Templo de San José. Built in the early 18th century by Jesuits who ran it as an institute of higher learning until they were exiled Spanish domains in 1767, it now serves as an exhibition space owned by the Instituto Campechano. The church is an impressive sight, faced with yellow and blue tiles and inkeeping with the colourful theme of Campeche's buildings.
We felt a strong breeze and I felt like I was near the sea. Not having researched particularly before arriving I hadn't realised Campeche was right beside the sea. I had assumed that 'on the coast' meant a short way from the beach, not that the city literally ended where the sea began! We walked in the direction of the breeze. We walked past some official buildings and reached the palm tree lined main road. The traffic wasn't very busy and we were able to cross to the promenade. The tide was in and there wasn't the tiniest hint of a beach. It seemed quite strange to walk a few metres off the main road and be at the edge of the sea. It was very fresh at the seafront. We sat awhile and then walked through La puerta del mar, the seaside counterpart of la puerta de la tierra. We walked to the main plaza. Campeche's cathedral is beautiful. In the beginning it was conceived as a small church with a thatched roof when Francisco de Montejo junior ordered its construction in 1540. Later on, in 1760 the chapel and the sea-side tower were built. Between the years 1849 and 1850 the land-side tower was built and finally in 1916 the luminous 4-face clock that is used until today was installed.
We strolled around the plaza and visited the cathedral before deciding to locate somewhere to eat. In the end we opted to buy tortas and eat them on the sea wall. We found ourselves a spot beside a cannon and sat to eat while listening to the waves lap against the city's defenses and watching pelicans and other seabirds flying ovehead from time to time.
We walked back through the town, passing a pretty yellow church with three bells, and more colourful Campeche houses. We relaxed back at the hostel fo a while before setting off again in the evening. We revisited the plaza and cathedral and went in search of a restaurant. We finally found a suitable place after several false attempts to get food, including going to a Chinese buffet where the staff actually laughed when I asked if there were vegetarian options! We had our dinner and walked it off along the seafront. The walkway was full of people, people jogging, couples strolling, children playing, and a range of dogs going for their nightly exercise dragging their humans with them. Many of the buildings were lit up and I noticed a few strangely pumpkin shaped carriages rolling past on the road, lit up with strings of fairy lights. Back at the plaza the cathedral looked rather spectacular lit up against the dark sky. Eventually we returned to our hostel for the last time and sat out on the roof watching a pirate attack on la puerta de la tierra as the sound and light show went on in the distance.

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Comments

[spidermiss]

Campeche
Makes me want to go to Mexico....definitely on my list! Happy travels! Dawn