There were a couple of small brown and red taxi cabs waiting by the curb. A cabbie opened his trunk and started loading. I thought the trunk wouldn't have any room for our bags, but somehow they made it in without me jumping on 'em. We got in the back of the car and found that it didn't have A/C, had torn-up seats, and the man behind the wheel wasn't interested in conversation. After giving him the name of our hotel, we were pressed back in our seat as he accelerated off. Like most cabbies who've been on the job for a long time, he didn't need an address or directions. A lot of character for this little vehicle. It had the smell of an old car (you know that smell?), and the cabbie had the radio on playing some form of reggaeton. The cab turned down one main road and we spotted the old city wall ahead of us. There was an opening in it at the end of the street, and I knew that this was known as the "land gate" which was originally the primary entrance/exit to the old city back in the day. However, it was closed off to motor vehicles, and we turned left to run alongside it. I briefly wondered if there was any way to drive into the historical district and whether we would have to walk a bit to the hotel. However, my fears were soon dispelled as the wall to our right suddenly disappeared and the cab turned onto a street taking us towards the center of town. Only two blocks in we pulled in front of a brightly-colored building at a corner. This is an old part of town so the city streets are fairly narrow as well as the sidewalks, and so we immediately were blocking traffic. Unlike in some other parts of the world, the air did not erupt in a series of car horns honking and shouts of impatience. Brief stoppages apparently are the norm in this part of town. The cabbie hustled out and got our luggage to the curb. Paid and tipped, he sped off. Don't recall how much we paid, but it certainly was not an issue for us so it must not have been even remotely exorbitant. Two fine large wooden doors swung open easily to the small lobby of the Francis Drake Hotel. The staff at the front desk managed enough English and I enough Spanish to confirm our reservations and get our room assignment after providing our credit card information and receiving "vouchers" which we would use for meals. The vouchers confused us at first (and still do) as the meals were not included in our rate and the discussion was whether we preferred to have all meals billed to our room or we would pay at the restaurant after each meal. I asked for and received a small map of the city, the reverse side of which was a map of Campeche state. Very nice. Anywho, a staff member came from behind the desk to grab our bags and we began the walk to our room. The room was located on the third floor (!!!)...and there was no elevator for T to use (!!!!!!) lol. No problemo. T handled stairs here like she did to the third floor room on our honeymoon at the Moon Palace...one step at a time. We tend to make up a little tune as we go to the rhythm of our feet as we tackle each step. It's our little thing and usually we've ended up laughing by the time our hike is concluded. We discovered the door to the restaurant on the second floor and decided that after a little breather in our room we would pay it a little visit. After all, it past noon and we needed some real sustenance besides the snacks we had munched on during the bus ride out of Merida. The bellhop must've been a little puzzled by our slow progress, but not too worried as he had to negotiate those same stairs carrying our two large bags. At the top floor, he took our key and opened a door near the stairs. This was our room. Small, but comfy. We didn't need some kind of luxurious suite, as our time would be spent mostly exploring this interesting little city. Bedrooms are meant to crash in, not live in. I tipped the man and he left us alone after playing with the thermostat to the room. Just like our large suite at the Gran Hotel in Merida, there was a unit mounted on the wall to circulate the air right over the bed. Across the room from the foot of the bed was a television on an entertainment unit. There was a small refrigerator with some drinks and snacks, and a shelf above that with various small bottles of liquor. There was a note next to these indicating these were not gratis, but would be added to the bill for the room should we choose to help ourselves (we did not). There was a single small window next to the bed that gave us a view of the rooftops of the homes on the block. There was nothing I could refer to from that angle to help me figure if we were looking east or north, I was somewhat confused. The view was unexceptional, and except for getting some daylight into the dark room (it was not well lit) didn't serve for us any other purpose. The restroom was definitely smaller than that at the Gran Hotel. There was a walk-in shower that could possibly fit two. Nice clean towels, but no bathrobes. When we took showers here, I had no complaints about the water pressure or temperature. The small room was not well-ventilated, though, and it took a while for condensation to clear from the mirror after a shower. The Francis Drake provided a hair dryer similar to that at the Gran, as well as the usual soaps and shampoo. Back to the towels, though...we were only there for the equivalent of two whole days, but housekeeping staff replaced only a couple of the towels with fresh ones after they were used. We managed, however. Just note, of course, that service at different locations may differ...and it's nothing to get all in a huff about. I left T to crash on the bed and went downstairs to the lobby desk for some help. Originally, our/my plan called for us to do a city tour this afternoon and then a "full day" tour of the Mayan ruins at Edzna the next day. At home doing research it took forever to find a tour agency within the city that had their own website. There are many agencies within and around town, don't get me wrong. I know I handicapped myself by not trying all avenues, but I prefer something I can see in an ad or on a business website before setting out to call random numbers. I ended up finding a couple, but one stood out in particular: Viajes Programados. The had exactly the plan I was looking for...everything from transfer from the bus station to an afternoon city tour to the Light and Sound show at a part of the city wall to Edzna the following day, the forts...everything all the way to the transfer back to the bus station on day three ( http://www.viajesprogramados.com/pagina.asp?pw_id=14097 ). Perfect. I was salivating at the thought of needing only one contact to arrange a single package including all these things and saving me some time. I got into an email conversation with this delightful young woman at the agency by the name of Loydi Sol. She even added me to her MSN Messenger buddy list and shared with me a couple ideas about restaurants and dishes. She is proudly 100% Campechean and was very interested in soliciting our business. Sounded like she herself would be our guide. Problem, tho. She seemed to have no clue of the deal or plan offered on her own company's website. No matter how many different ways I tried, it appeared the only way I would get a city tour and Edzna done through them was as individually-planned/paid tours rather than a package. Well, ok. The city tour was $250 MX per person and Edzna was $150 MX per person. I just love that tours offered in Campeche are so much cheaper! Anywho, by the time "arrangements" were made (T and I were to walk to their offices south of the plaza--no pick-ups, it seems--before each of the tours, and then it still was not clear whether transfers to/from Edzna included entrance fees and a bilingual guide), I was hesistant to go ahead and use Viajes. Since they did not accept credit cards (and no USD), I wasn't going to lose anything by not showing up if I found something better. Well...turns out during the bus ride to Campeche, T decided that she had her fill of climbing Mayan ruins and wanted a break from that, so Edzna was out. This made things easier. Now we had a fully flexible schedule to do the city tour on day one OR day two of our stay. And plenty of time for leisurely exploration or chilling wherever we liked. I knew that the lobby peeps could refer me to some proper guides or agencies to give us a grand tour of Campeche. And I was right...despite the fact that there were brochures and a little bulletin for an agency apparently in partnership with the hotel on tables and on the wall in the front room, the check-in dude behind the counter handed me a card for a totally different agency: Xtampak ( http://www.xtampak.com/index.php). I found their website just now. I returned to our room and made a call to the number on the card. A nice lady at the other end understood me well enough to help me arrange a tour of the city including the forts and battlements and cathedral, as well as a pick-up from the hotel. She knew we had a problem with Spanish; however, I couldn't tell whether we would get a bilingual guide. Se la ve. Pick-up time was the next day at 10 a.m. Flipping channels on the TV from bed (remote provided) we discovered a station devoted solely to a camera overlooking the city and the water, so we could see what the weather was doing and even if there was a front approaching from the Gulf of Mexico. A couple of music channels, HBO and the Lifetime channel (I think), a weather channel, and at least a dozen more in Spanish. These kept us entertained in the minutes or hour or so before we turned out the lights. I was hungry. We intended to explore town and try as many different locations as we could in the short period of time that we had. But...hey, there's a restaurant already on the premises. Let's check it out. T and I left the room with my trusty black bag filled with essentials and then walked down a flight of stairs. There we saw the door to Balandra Restaurant. When we walked in, we observed that not all the tables were set. In fact there was a single staff member setting things up when we arrived and he motioned to us to take a seat anywhere we wanted. Seated, we were each offered menus. It's easy to guess what T and I ordered as an appetizer...yep, it was sopa de lima again for each of us. When we tried their version of this we decided that the very first one we had tried back in Merida was still the best. For drinks, she wanted a limonada and I got a naranjada...both "fresh squeezed" and delicious. For entrees, T ordered an escabeche, which was...memory fades a bit...a fillet of flounder or red snapper marinated in a spicy marinade of sour orange sauce. I ordered camarones al coco...and was not very impressed with it. The shrimp was fried too crunchy and the coconut was not that noticeable. When we were finished with our meal, the waiter wrote up a receipt with our room number on it and detailed the items and charges. I signed the bill, and was informed the room would be charged and we would settle all charges at check out. I should point out here that...service...at...this...particular...restaurant...was...very...very...slooooooooooooow. Took forever to get the menus, to get our orders taken, to receive each of our appetizers and entrees, to get the dishes picked up, and to receive the bill. And it wasn't because the restaurant was busy. There were at most two other tables with one or two persons at each being served as well. I suppose it was due to having just a single waiter for the tables, a single hostess and quite possibly a single cook in the kitchen, but we experienced other restaurants much more busy in Merida and in Campeche, but still got everything done quicker even with the traditional Mexican "swiftness." We decided not to use Balandra Restaurant for any other of our noon and evening meals. It was still more convenient to eat there for breakfast, so we were going to give them another chance in the next morning. T and I descended to ground level and headed out the doors onto the street. The most obvious place to head to was the plaza. The cathedral was there, shops and more restaurants...and the battlement immediately adjacent to the Puerta de Mar...the Baluarte de la Soledad. Catch was we had to walk four blocks west and one block south to get there. T was a trooper and was just excited to see a new town. This was definitely different from Merida. One thing...less traffic on the small one-way roads in the historical district. No lights, just stop signs. All the streets in the middle of town are numbered, though. Odd numbered 51 - 65 from north to south. Even numbered 8 - 18 west to east. The sidewalks are very narrow. T and I could only barely walk side-by-side on these, and persons approaching from the opposite direction either walked onto the street to get around us, or simply cross to the other side. Same with faster foot traffic from behind us. It appeared that we were in a part of the city where a majority of the buildings were occupied by various educational institutions. Every block we walked we would see windows opened to the street (for air, I suppose) and inside were young people seated at desks with their books, younger people practicing ballet, older people taking a class to learn how to play recorders, etc. The center of town is def. dedicated to the education of the locals, as well as their culture (saw once or twice peeps learning traditional dances). Just two blocks into our little stroll we noticed an heladeria stategically located at an intersection nearby a couple of these institutions of learning. Am pretty sure they get lots of business between classes or right when school lets out. The shop wasn't much to look at. There were a couple of freezers, but only one had a few tubs of ice cream to choose from. The other freezer appeared to have some kind of local drink/dessert, but I was more interested in something familiar. T wanted to try multiple scoops of ice cream, and so ordered a cup with guayabana and coconut. I think it was here that I ordered nance. T was thrilled with her choice, because she could tell the guayabana was authentic...there were seeds resembling watermelon seeds all throughout the large scoop. I definitely liked the nance, and it figured in my decision to purchase some liquor later in our vacation (don't ask yet). The shop was open to the hot outdoor air and there was no A/C, so the shop owner attempted to direct a large overhead fan to face our table...unsuccessfully. We appreciated the effort and motioned that it was ok that she couldn't fix it. Incidently, the name of the place appeared to be "Bing" or "Helados Bing". There were small billboards and ads for sundaes and what-not on the walls here and there, including posters of what could possibly pass as a Dairy Queen, but it was a Bing ice cream shop. I don't know how this particular little heladeria could possibly be part of a chain or even franchised with Bing, especially as it barely had enough goodies in stock to stay in business (in my estimation). One of those mysteries, I guess. Finished eating, we disposed of everything in a little wastebasket by the counter and continued on our way. When we neared the central plaza, I spotted some colorful trolley-buses parked ahead of us along the east side of the park. These can serve as rides for self-guided city tours (they'll take you to each attraction but you cover all entrance fees, meals, etc.) but I wanted the whole enchilada, so had not planned on giving these a try. For those who are looking for more flexibility and less expense perhaps it would be an option. As we reached the street across from the corner of the plaza we paused to take in the Catedral de Campeche. It looked more "modern" than the one in Merida, but I recall it appeared about the same size. I figured that would be the first stop on our walking tour that day. We walked across the quiet street to the plaza itself. The central plaza was not very busy...it was the middle of the day so it was likely everyone was in school, work, etc. It also appeared much smaller than the zocalo in Merida, but that was probably due to the large circular building at its center. Turns out this was a cafe and it was open. T and I just had ice cream at Helados Bing and were still full from the meal at Balandra, so all we did was find a shaded area outside the restaurant where T could linger while I hunted down a waiter. BTW, temperatures during the day at Campeche were always warm. We had no need for sweaters and the like during our holiday there. No no one was seated at the cafe and the waiter was nowhere in sight, but eventually he emerged from within the building and I got his attention. We needed a big bottle of water. Francis Drake Hotel (and Gran Hotel de Merida) are not like the great all-inclusives we had experienced before in Cancun...no bottled water is provided gratis for their guests. The waiter thankfully came back with a jumbo-sized bottle of Cristal and I paid in pesos. After a couple of sips we walked due north through a gate (the plaza was fenced with what appeared to be a wrought iron fence) and towards the cathedral. We crossed the street and then took the stairs up to this grand church. As far as my research was concerned, there was nothing that remarkable about the cathedral other than it was Campeche's oldest church. There were no services being held at that time, so we entered and took a few pics of the altar and decorations. There were a few large stones in the floor resembling headstones with names and dates and I informed T that we were walking on/in basically a cemetary, as it was once customary for burials to be performed within churches both in the Old and New World. Everything (bulletins, plaques, etc) was in Spanish and too difficult for me to translate for T. I was hoping we could find a gift shop that would have some of the usual curios, pamphlets and postcards that could help us understand more of the background of the church. There were doors facing to the south opening to something like a courtyard with plants, and I led T in this direction. Against the far wall of the courtyard were a several rows of plaques or whatever signifying to me this was a series of crypts. Ok. Before exploring the courtyard I noticed doors at the north wall of the space and walked over. It appeared to be a...showroom of sorts. There were pictures, statues, monuments and an altar in there all presented as if in a museum. Some ladies were conversing within. I guided T in and we looked around. Before long the group of ladies dispersed and one walked up to us and asked if we had any questions. With a bit of broken Spanish I pointed out a couple items on display and she gladly launched into an explanation for each. One appeared to be a litter for a statue of an important religious figure for a particular feastday. The room itself that we were standing in served as a small worship center at various times. I asked the church lady whether there was a gift shop on the premesis, as she indicated she had no literature in English we could look through. Maybe she did not understand me very well (I mean, I don't know how to ask about "gift shops" in Spanish), but I was told there were no little shops on the property. In this case, I asked about the literature she had on hand. There was a small book that appeared to have quite a bit of information about history of the cathedral at Campeche. Being a history buff... *gulp*...I purchased it for perhaps almost 100 pesos. T figured it was the best we could do and so did not get after me as she normally would (penny-pincher!!!). We walked back out into the courtyard and wandered around it. There are some beautiful local plants featured here as well two (or three) church bells that obviously once rang in the bell towers of the cathedral. One of these had large holes on either side of it...indicating to me that it was either the victim of one of the many battles fought here or the darn thing was used until it plumb wore out with so many hits by the clapper. Back through the cathedral, and out the front doors we went. I wanted to check out the Baluarte de la Soledad before it closed. Each bastion or barracks that are part of the city wall have been converted to museums, and each museum is distinctly different from the others. One has a botanical garden, another relics and images dedicated to the history of the city, another has relics from the numerous Mayan cities in Campeche State, etc. Not to mention, I wanted to climb on top of the walls and take in the view of the sea and the city before it got too dark. There was still light out, but with the slow pace of our progress there was no telling how much of it would be left when we finally climbed up the wall. We walked west along the plaza and then crossed the street and turned south. Less than a block away was the entrance to the baluarte and the wall was running along our right. There was something like a stone dais and stairs access to the middle of the wall further back, but this was gated and not available to visitors. The baluarte is enclosed in its own wall and T and I had to climb a steep step to the level of the big wooden doors to the inner courtyard or patio and carefully lower ourselves again to the other side. Looking around, I decided we should check out the museum within first before climbing the long ramp to the top of the walls. The Baluarte de la Soledad was en excellent first experience for the series of forts and fortifications we would tour the next day ( http://www.planetware.com/campeche/baluarte-de-la-soledad-mex-camp-bdls.htm ). Entrance to the museums (at least) were just a few pesos per person and we had to sign in before we were allowed to look around. The fees were accepted by two very nice ladies, and they indicated photography was permitted, but not with the flash. No problem. We walked into the rooms under the fortifications above...likely serving as barracks, offices, storage, and kitchens/dining areas back in the day...and immediately started examining the pictures and relics against the walls, Mayan carvings, and various weaponry used in the early years of the city. This was known as the Museo de la Ciudad, but apparently this museum also generally touched upon all aspects of the history of Campeche and the state it was in. Items from as far away as Edzna are located here. Most if not all the notes attached to each exhibit were in Spanish; however, between our own educated minds and limited knowledge of Spanish we came away quite impressed with the collection. And to think that all of the other such fortifications in the area also were miniature museums! Too cool. We walked out of the museum and headed for the ramp to the battlements above right near the entrance. This was easy for T to negotiate, but it certainly was a long ramp due to the height of the wall we were ascending to. At the top is a wide open area where I guess the main concentration of activity was in times of trouble. The baluarte is the closest strongpoint to the Puerta Del Mar, and in fact served as an access point to the portion of the wall running past the seagate. You can actually take a short flight of stairs to walk over the gate, where there also was a little bell that I guess was used to signal the arrival of ships...or pirates. Wandering about on top of the fortified area, we could see the Gulf of Mexico just two or three blocks away to the west. To the north, after climbing down a few steps the wall continued along for...I dunno...50 yards(?) from the baluarte. It stopped at a dead end over there, so it didn't seem like a good idea for T to make a long trek to nowhere on tired legs. I told her to wait and ran to the far end. So, okay...nothing special here. Although, I did get up close up look at a local attraction I knew T and I would get acquainted with during our stay. That would be the "musical" water fountain that lights up in different colors and sprays in different patterns in tune to whatever recorded classical piece was playing. This starts some time after the sun goes down, so I thought there was a chance we would stop by there before returning to the hotel. The fountains were inside the wall. On the outside of the wall were a number of flagpoles standing in a manmade pond. No flags were flying at this time, and I didn't (and still don't) know what the meaning is. Took lots of pics here...marvelling that I had put a full roll in the camera before we left the states, and it still had some shots left. The view of the cathedral is nice as well as the various other buildings lining the plaza. Walking back, I took a couple pics of T posing on the battlement of the baluarte (she could be a model hehehe). The sky was partly cloudy and the sun was starting to go down. I wanted to get moving and see what we could see before all went dark. I told T about the musical fountains and she wanted to check it out. So we descended to street level and then walked the long way north to the fountains. Turned out they weren't on yet and T and I didn't want to linger, so we kept walking until we came to the end of the north portion of the wall and could cross to the other side. T wanted to walk over to the sea and check out the seawall. I was a little like, "gee whiz, isn't every seawall the same?" I wanted to see all things unique about the city. However, it was her vacation, too, so we kept trekking on. Her leg was getting tired, but I kept mushing her on as there really wasn't anything to lounge on here. There is very little "touristy" stuff between the wall and the water except for some hotels and government buildings. Remember Campeche is also a state capital. Some street vendors walked up to us soliciting for stuff like water, ice cream, etc. But I wasn't that interested. T always has a sweet tooth for ice cream (coconut ice cream, to be exact), however, I managed to steer her back on course. The boulevard running along the sea wall is a major avenue with a long median. There did not appear to be a protected crossing area...even the crosswalks didn't feel safe. In between two major intersections, T and I studied traffic for a while before we got the courage to cross to the median, and just barely made it. The rest of the way was a piece of cake. What a beautiful sight. The sun had already set by the time we found a choice spot along the seawall to lounge. Right next to a cannon facing the sea. This section of wall had a few of these large pieces at intervals. It may have been the middle of the workweek. It may have been a school night. It may have been pitch black (the sun disappeared behind some ominous clouds and there were no lights along the wall). However, the seawall and the wide grassy area behind it attracted many groups of teens, families, and couples out for a stroll or looking for a place to gather and chatter. One large family with more than a half-dozen preteens were sitting on a wide circle on the grass playing a game with a couple supervising adults. It was getting so dark that I was concerned. Usually back at home everyone--especially kids--is safely shut in their homes when it gets that late. I guess that goes to show just how safe and friendly this town or this area of town is. I get creeped out at night next to dark water. When the sun goes down and the sky is thick with clouds so there's no starlight nor moonshine to reflect off the quiet waves...I kind of avoid sitting on the seawall at that point. It didn't help that a large thunderstorm was slowly moving this direction from the sea. It was far enough away so I couldn't hear the thunder; however, lightning flashed periodically. T had no issues and posed on the cannon for pics. I wanted to snap one just when a jagged bolt of electricity crossed the sky beyond, but didn't get it. All of a sudden I noticed that there was some more lightning activity to the south coming our way, and the offshore cell also started drifting towards the city. Now I start to really worry. T and I had packed ponchos on this trip (I knew it was still sort of a rainy season here), but in order for us to get out of the rain we would have to recross a busy thoroughfare and walk a couple blocks to one of the restaurants inside the city wall. Not a pleasant prospect with T's bad leg and slippery roads. We got up and slowly walked through the obstacle course towards the wall. Thankfully, we did not get rained upon, but thunder was heard and a couple drops splatted on my head (no, it was not a passing bird). There is a parking lot immediately outside the Puerta del Mar. The gate was open to pedestrians, which was why we were heading there as it was a faster way back into the historical district; however, the parking lot was being roped off and a large stage was being set up at one end. Looked as if there was going to be a concert, or there was a concert recently and they were taking it down. Couldn't be sure. In any case, it appeared the events held at this location were open to the public. I mean, just standing on the sidewalk you could have a great view of whatever was happening on stage. On the other side of the wall, we realized that (a.) We still had a long way to go to our hotel (b.) We were likely to get drenched long before we got there, and (c.) We were hungry. Well, inside the walls and across the first street running parallel to it is a place that I had discovered during my research: Restaurante Marganzo. ( http://www.marganzo.com/en/index.htm). During one of my chats with Loydi this was the first and only restaurant she recommended, so I decided that if a local enjoyed it then I had to try it! We stepped through a small foyer and opened some glass doors to enter the restaurant itself. Dark and cool. A hostess guided us to a table immediately and we got settled. T probably ordered an horchata and I wanted a pina colada. I will say right now that the drink I got here was better than any other I ordered in our holiday. Yum! As far as ordering goes, I don't recall what T got, but I wanted something uniquely Campechean: Pan de Cazon. These are corn tortillas layered with shark (well, a relative of the shark I suppose...dogfish), black beans, and covered with a tomato sauce. I must say, despite the appearance it was somewhat bland like most other local dishes. T wound up adding some of the spicy hot sauce from the pre-dinner chips n' salsa to her plate to combat the boredom. I'll be honest, if it's authentic and representative of the local cuisine then I'll eat it as is and will only add condiments if I'm trying to hide an unpleasant flavor. http://p.vtourist.com/2673853-Pan_de_Cazon_at_Marganzo-Campeche.jpg A trio of mariachi's showed up and sat down tuning their guitars in the foyer, glancing back through the glass at T and I and the other couple tables that were occupied, but we weren't interested in paying for a show right then. We split dessert and after paying left the restaurant. The storms seems to have dissapated while we were eating--before they actually reached the city--so the streets were dry. I remember that all those kids and families lounging along the seawall never left for some cover like we did. Probably they're veterans of these quickie thunderstorms that disappear as quickly as they form. T made our way back to our hotel easily enough. There are streetlights everywhere and traffic again was not as heavy. It's just that little issue about the narrow sidewalks. When we arrived at the hotel I inquired at the front desk whether we could check our email for a moment. One hour of internet access is available each day for guests at the Hotel Francis Drake. Here, I sent off messages to my family and checked in with my kiddies. I surfed around CC for a short while, not signing on. Before long, T and I decided we should turn in. So she and I trekked back to our third-floor room and crashed. The next day held much more in store for us...
WOW! Michael, what a great trip! I felt like I was tagging along with you and T on your adventures ... waiting for more!
Ahhhhhh...so THAT'S why during my holiday I felt two pairs of beady eyes behind my back at every turn
