Final week Campeche

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So , the final week of the trip. I am writing this in the Hilton Mexico city airport, in the terminal building, we leave from here tomorrow at 12.55.

Firstly, I will fill you in on what we have been up to and then as always some reflections on the trip. Last Tuesday we were up early and set off in our hire car for Edzna. The car was a Chevrolet Beat and the gear box was as clunky as hell, Chris didn't really enjoy driving it. It was an hour to drive and unlike Uxmal wasn't at all busy. It was M$65 entrance, under £3 and we got a guide at the site called Elvis, yes seriously. He was great and he made a real effort to make the place come alive. The site is huge and very impressive and you stand in awe at the size of the structures . Although the tallest was built in phases. The stone was local , 2km away, but there is no evidence they had any animals to carry the stone. Unlike some of the Inca and Egyptian structures we have seen it was built with small blocks of limestone. Luckily it was quite breezy which made the visit tolerable as the afternoon temperatures have been mid 30’s.

In complete contrast we drove back to Campeche and headed for the air conditioning in the shopping mall. The food court looks out over the sea and I chose a delicious salad and Chris had some Texan dishes. I couldn't resist another trip to C&A, or two more organic cotton t shirts !! A simple evening of food and a few drinks.

After Tuesday's long day we chilled a bit in the morning and I went for a wander to the market which was the usual mix of fruit and vegetables, meat(without refrigeration),and then clothes, household items and endless stalls selling shoes. I ate breakfast at the hotel but later Chris ate his in a local cafe , £3 for breakfast and 2 drinks. We visited two of the museums in the city, one about its trading history and the other about Mayan architecture. The latter was much more interesting. A welcome stop in a great coffee shop with delicious blueberry tart, with crispy pastry,worthy of Bake Off. Our evening meal was in one of the few more local places. Chris had liver and mine were a mix of Panuchos. We finished the night watching the fantastic water and light show on the Malecon.

Up early again on Thursday for a trip to Isla Aguada a massive inlet 2 hours south of Campeche. Although it was a long drive for Chris the road was relatively good and not that busy and for me the views were stunning as for huge stretches the road bordered the Gulf of Mexico. Once there we organised 2 hours out in a boat. Did a bit of bird spotting, first time seeing huge white Canadian pelicans. Pelicans are ten a penny but the white ones are migratory and a bit like the snow birds come down to Mexico when it is cold up north and then head back once the temperatures start to rise above 35. Completely different feeding too, they shovel the sand looking for shellfish rather than dive like the common pelicans.

We saw a couple of pods of dolphins majestically swimming in the bay, and then onto our own desert island. I tried to swim but it was too shallow, but lovely and warm. Our peace was shattered when another group arrived. We loved being out on the water and the money went straight to the boat owner not via an agency. En route home we stopped at Bahia Tortugas hoping for a bite to eat and a quiet swim, no chance, as a tour bus of French tourists were there before us. We did have a snack and I had a short paddle.

In the evening we listened to a youth drum and cornet band practising near the walls then had another rubbish experience. A bar that on the surface looked like it had loads of craft beer only had about 10 bottles in the fridge and the bill was huge. When I questioned it she said the price is the price, but there were no prices for any beer on the menu. The owner/manager was more interested in posing near his Mustang car and Chris thought he was high on something so we decided not to pursue it. It was proving to be one of those nights, a delicious meal was spoilt by constant furniture moving in the restaurant and when I complained they looked at me as if to say, AND? As if customers would want to eat there meal in peace and quiet.

Friday was our last day with the car and we drove about 5k out of town to the Mayan archaeological museum which is housed in a Spanish built fort complete with drawbridge and dry moat. A fascinating insight into the Mayans, all of the artefacts from sites in Campeche state are sent here. Fabulously intricate jade mask were the highlight for me. The Mayans used glyphs a bit like the Egyptians, but there was no explanation of how the archaeologists cracked the code, especially as the Spanish burnt most of their books or codicles. Fascinating. After another air conditioned lunch at the mall we took the car back.

Its Carnaval time so we watched a bit of the children's procession and then went and had one of the nicest meals of our time in Campeche. My spinach and cheese burrito was yummy as was Chris's chicken in mango sauce.

Saturday was our final real day of the trip and we ate breakfast out in a little veggie cafe and we visited the small museum in the earth gate and walled part of the walls. When we got back to the hotel the young girl from the restaurant came with gifts for us as souvenirs of Campeche. It was so sweet we were both touched.

We duly went down to the Malecon and bought a couple of seats to join in the Carnaval festivities. Sadly we couldn't get drunk like everybody else as our bus was 7am the next day. It was a full scale event, huge cool boxes with food and drink, small folding tables and some amazing costumes, and that was just the spectators. We waited 2 hours and eventually watched about 40 minutes of the parade. As usual we were the only ly tourists amongst a load of locals in our section. We ended the night with tasty pasta and headed back.

Sunday and Monday were identical travel, hotel, sleep REPEAT. Sunday 7 hours by bus from Campeche to Cancun airport hotel. Monday flight to Mexico city airport, with a small delay at check in when they said they had overbooked! They found us a seat. The Marriott courtyard in Cancun was good, better than many others on the trip. It even had a bath, luxury.

The Hilton, in the airport, got off to a difficult start. I asked in advance for a room without feather bedding but they didn't have one ready. Then as well as the charge for the room they put a $Mx1,000 hold on Chris's card. They said it was Hilton policy, my arse! The room was big, good facilities and Tuesday we had a leisurely breakfast and then check in. The journey back was long but went smoothly. It's good to be back.

So finally reflections on the trip.

Firstly the positives, we had two fabulous, but very expensive, days seeing the grey whales. Seeing how gentle these huge creatures can be was humbling, and touching one was amazing. The Mayan sites at Uxmal and Edzna were fabulous and we could have done much more but there is a limit on a short trip. Our week with Uwe and Marlene was special and we hope to catch up again in Spain. Seeing old friends in Santa Maria del Oro was heart-warming, although a number of people had either sadly died or moved on. Loreto was a lovely town and Campeche a great coastal city. Our host at Mantarraya outpost, Luisa,was a lovely warm, caring person and her place was the best of the trip and I loved my day with her walking group. Cooking in Merida in Rosario's house was an insight into Mexican life. Despite everyone reminding us about Mexico being a dangerous place we have seen no evidence and we have travelled safely, our overnight in Mexico city was in a dodgy area but I felt comfortable walking on my own.

The negatives are in two groups , things we would have done differently and things about Mexico.

We had too much time in Baja California which is not very Mexican. Also for this six week trip we have relied too much on hotels and for the final week should have got a place where we could self cater. Our experiences of organised trips have not been the best either.

Lastly Mexico, its hard to sum it up. Apart from in Nayarit it has been more expensive than we expected and mainly on two counts. Hotel prices and tipping. We have paid between 40 and 70 pounds for places which in the main have been only okay. They are clean on the surface but hotel staff, who I doubt are paid much,do as little as possible. Attention to detail is poor.The room in Bahia Magdalena, in particular, was poor value.

Tipping is for me a difficult one. Looking at it from all sides, as a customer I want to tip only for good service and if it is not good no tip. As a caring human being I know most of the people we came across get low pay assuming they will get generous tips. A good example, we paid $65 US an hour for our boat to see the whales and we were out 6 hours. Our captain got $30 a day and that included the before and after trip work. Also as a place that attracts lots of Americans ,they are big tippers regardless of the service. Staff therefore expect everyone else to do the same. There are also the same US expectations when it comes to prices in shops and for trips etc. A piece of jewellery started at 5,000 pesos and fell to 2,500 in a blink of an eye, no sale there!

Where does it sit with other travels? Probably in the middle, certainly no Bolivia but not a China experience either.

Where next then? We have started the discussions but I am becoming more careful about where to go next. I feel a list or two coming on and then an analysis of what it has to offer that we haven't already done elsewhere. Seeing gorillas might be near the top or a visit to the Stans. India is not on my list and Japan isn't on Chris's. I am also ambivalent about the US but could be tempted by Canada. Chris is off to India in November on a solo motorbike trip. Who knows.

Till next time

Norma xx

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Comments

[Uwe und Marlene]

Thanks
Easy to read and fun as usual ! Thank you for your kind words, we are also looking forward to visit you this year, if all goes well with the flying ( Corona), Take care , hugs U&M