On Day 3 of our month-long road trip through the Mexican Yukatan, we landed in Campeche (the city, as well as the state). Campeche is described as a “colonial fairyland” in our favorite Lonely Planet Guidebook for Mexico. And truly–it is!
Located directly on the Gulf of Mexico, Campeche had once been a Maya trading village. The strong Maya resisted the Spaniards advances with great success until 1540, when the conquistadors finally overcame them. It soon became the primary port in the Yukatan Peninsula, which also made it very susceptible to pirate attacks. After a very bad pirate assault in 1663, the town began to construct a giant fortress around the city center. The giant 24-feet high fortress walls took more than 50 years to complete, and stretched over 2km around the city center. While most all of the walls are now gone, the majority of the the bulwarks that connected the hexagonal sides of the wall still remain.
In sharp contrast to the old limestone fortress walls, the city is a rainbow of bright pastels, and beautifully restored 18th century mansions that were once home to wealthy Spanish settlers.
An office building near the front entry gate of the fortress walls had an elaborate tile mural depicting the history of Campeche.
It looks like the Spaniard is looking at an old map of Campeche. And with his treasure chest tucked under his arms, it certainly implies that the Spaniards were always on the lookout for gold.
We walked up one of the bastions that housed a “must-see” Maya Architecture museum that overviews the Maya ruins that are around Campeche, and the key architectural styles of each one. However, when we arrived at the top of the bastion, we learned that the museum was closed that day. Boo hoo!!
By the time we walked back down this walkway, the heavens opened, and out came rain. LOTS of rain. We were soaked within minutes, so we decided we should go ahead and enjoy the sights, anyways!
The locals all thought we were nuts (I’m sure they thought we’d all catch a cold), but the rains kept coming and going, and we weren’t going to let them stop us! We enjoyed the central plaza, and all of the beautiful buildings!
A trolley with park-bench seating rolled on by…the first trolley we’ve seen in Mexico!
The girls found a way to do what they do best…
That is…to simply be kids.
You can take your kids to the Maya ruins, and they will roll down the hills. And in the cities? They will jump from high walls into Daddy’s arms!
We then went to the bastion on the south side of town, which housed a small arms museum. We stuck to the free display outside…still in the pouring rain!
Miniature pirate ship…and lots of cannons strewn about the yard…
This bell reminded me of the 1st Pirates of the Caribbean movie…don’t they ring a warning bell when they realize the town was under attack by pirates?
As we walked back to our car, we found the streets were still flowing with fresh rainwater. Any attempt to cross them meant that we were soaked up to our calves.
I don’t know why, but I found this open hole’s warning sign to be quite entertaining. It was a hole literally right where most cars had to cross. Don’t drive in the hole, peeps…you’ve been warned!
How picturesque are these streets?
4 year old Maiya got sick of walking…
And then she got over it…
While the outskirts of Campeche look like most other Mexican cities, the city center was like candy for the eyes! Not only is it a beautiful town, bursting at the seams with rich history, but it is also a fantastic starting point to visit so many wonderful Maya pyramids close by!
