Time for a new state! By the way, Mexico consists of 31 states - Campeche was the third we visit. From Merida we took the bus to Campeche, the capital of the state. It took us a little more than 2.5 hours and after a month we were finally able to see something like hills again. The places we were before were either by the sea or in the lowlands. We liked the combination of jungle and hilly landscape from the bus!
In the early afternoon we reached Campeche bus station, which was a little more than 2.5 km from our accommodation. Bargain hunters like us, we didn't want to pay a taxi for it and we walked there. The street led through normal residential areas and we were able to get a small impression of how the people live there. Our accommodation was small but cozy, we had a room in an Airbnb where there were 4 other rooms and where the host George lived with his family. He was super nice, gave us the largest room and helped us with restaurant tips and other information about the city.
Power failure as a welcome
Shortly after our arrival, the power suddenly went off. We had experienced this before in Merida and Tomek knew it from Poland, too, but it was still unfamiliar for us. (Fun fact from an engineer from the energy sector: There is an index that shows the average total duration of power outages in one year per person (SAIDI) and that was just 12.2 minutes in Germany in 2019. It is understandable that we're not used to power outages.) George assured us that the power would be back soon and we first went to the old town to have something to eat.
When we came back to the accommodation after a delicious meal, we still had no electricity. George was very concerned and assured us that he would try everything. But that wasn't a problem for us, because we wanted to see a light show by the sea that he had already recommended for the evening. This is a show for free with water fountains that are illuminated in different ways and accompanied by Christmas music. It was a very sweet event, which was mainly attended by families with children. Then we went to have a drink in a very busy street and then got the information from George that the electricity was back. He had already offered us beforehand that we could cancel the accommodation free of charge, but we didn't mind, because we were in town anyway.
The old town of Campeche - UNESCO World Heritage Site
Our accommodation was very close to the old town, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. A wall has been built around the city since Campeche was repeatedly attacked by pirates in the 17th century. From the wall, individual fortifications can still be seen today, which surround the old town. As soon as we entered the old town, we noticed the many colorful houses in the colonial style. The whole old town consists of these houses, which creates a very special atmosphere.
During the first exploration tour we quickly came to the Cathedral of Campeche, in front of which a beautiful park (Parque de la Independencia) was built. Unfortunately, the park is currently closed due to Corona. We thought that was a shame, especially because you can go to restaurants etc. in the streets next to it without any problems and squeeze yourself together in the bus, but the park cannot be visited although it is open air.
Not only the old town is beautiful in Campeche, but also the fact that the city is located directly on the sea. We were already at the water for the light show on the first evening, but were also able to enjoy the promenade in the sun the next day. We just sat down by the water and watched the pelicans catch fish.
But we also liked it very much to just stroll through the alleys and look at the colorful houses. This is why these many pictures were taken. We couldn't get enough of it.
Reunion in Campeche
In Campeche we were also followed by the Irish-Japanese couple John-Paul and Chizu, whom we met in Merida. The two have also left their old lives behind in this year to travel the world. We noticed in Merida that we had planned a similar itinerary and therefore decided to meet up in Campeche for one or the other beer. And so we ended up spending every evening together, trying our way through the various restaurants and snack bars. Therefore, we also discovered that not every tequila tastes delicious in Mexico.
The Mayan site of Edzna
One evening when we told JP and Chizu about our plan to visit the Maya site of Edzna, we suggested that they just join us on the excursion. The site is only 55 km from Campeche and can be easily reached with a Colectivo. We met for breakfast and then went looking for the right Colectivo. We had to ask around a bit, but then finally found the place where the buses leave and were lucky that there were just four places available in the first Colectivo. We drove about one hour to the archaeological zone and were dropped off right in front of the door. At the entrance we were approached by a Spanish guy who wanted to share the cost of a guide with us. Usually a guide is always too expensive for us, but since there were 5 of us with the Spanish guy, we could split the money and we agreed. That was also great, because we learned a lot more about the background of the site than if we had just walked through it.
The site is still very well preserved and you can get a good impression of how life must have been back then. From the main square (Plaza Principal) you have a good view of all the important buildings, especially the so-called palace pyramid. The ball court was also clearly visible, even if it was a lot smaller compared to the one in Chichen Itza.
Our guide Elvis also told us about the sacrificial traditions that took place there and some rituals sounded so painful that we can only imagine that this was only possible under the influence of some special herbs. In the end, we still had time to take a few photos of ourselves in front of the palace pyramid before the site closed its doors.
The adventurous return trip to Campeche
Our guide told us that if we wanted to take a colectivo, we'd better go to the next bigger street, as very few buses went directly to the entrance. So the five of us made our way to the street. We also had the thought in the back of our minds that the Colectivos normally only leave their starting point when they are full - so that it could be quite difficult to fit all five of us in a bus. On the street we met an older couple who were also waiting for a colectivo back to Campeche. We all didn't know when the next Colectivo was coming and how many seats would be empty. But there is also the fact that we had absolutely no cell phone reception in the street - and no internet at all.
When a Colectivo approached and we waved it over, we quickly found that it was actually already full. Two seats were still empty, which of course we gave directly to the other couple who had been waiting for a long time. The Colectivo driver offered us to take three more people with us, who should simply sit on small stools between the seats. The Spanish guy should get a stool, but then there were still four of us and only two stools were empty. We didn't want to separate because the colectivo driver couldn't tell us whether another bus would pass in the course of the afternoon. But with a little bit of persuasion we managed to get all four of us going. Our Japanese-Irish couple piled on one stool, Tomek sat on the other stool and I was allowed to sit behind the passenger seat. Completely questionable in terms of driving safety, but we were just happy that we were all brought home! The Mexicans around us also found the situation very funny and one woman never stopped laughing. So the hour of driving passed quickly and we arrived safely in Campeche.
Further travel plans through Mexico
Wir blieben vier Nächte in Campeche. Ursprünglich hatten wir geplant, nur zwei Nächte dort zu bleiben und spielten mit dem Gedanken, ob wir anschließend mit dem Bus in mehreren Etappen Richtung Pazifik fahren. Mexiko ist so ein großes und vielfältiges Land und es gibt so viel zu entdecken, wir könnten sicher Monate hier verbringen. Andererseits möchten wir auch unbedingt zu Tomeks Freundin nach Mazatlan fahren, sodass wir in Campeche beschlossen, uns langsam aber sicher in Richtung Norden zu reisen. Wir bemerkten, dass es in Campeche einen Flughafen gab, von dem es günstige Direktverbindungen nach Mexico City gibt und buchten einen Flug zwei Tage später!
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