Day Ten - Campeche

Yesterday was our second and final day in Campeche. Our two activities of the day took an historical approach. We started off with a visit to San Miguel’s fortress and museum. The fortress was built on a hill overlooking the Gulf of Mexico by the Spanish to keep a lookout for invading forces. The views of Campeche and the Gulf were breathtaking!

A cool part of the museum was that it contained items from the three periods in Mexican history – Formative, Classical, and Post-Classical. Heeding Jacques recommendation, I went off to seek out the ancient masks made of Jade…they are priceless, I’m sure.

I’ve noticed that Mexico is filled with small playgrounds, each having a few play items (i.e. swings, see-saw, slide, monkey bars, etc.). Next to the fortress was a playground with some swings, so of course I went for a ride on them, enjoying the magnificence of the edifice in front of me! Being the youngest participant on this trip, I have no problem getting in touch with my inner child! Here's me on the swing:

A trip to Edzna, some archaeological ruins from the Mayan era, was next. Although the mosquitoes came out in swarms, this site was much better than Chichen Itza. The consensus among us was that Chichen felt too much like the “Disneyworld” of Mexican pyramids. It was good to walk around the site without bumping into someone every two seconds. In fact, aside from three other visitors, we were the only ones there! Edzna has an amazing history. It was built around 600 B.C. and was occupied until the 1400s. The people of Edzna designed a complete system for capturing, storing, and distributing rain water. The entire city was once painted in bright colors, with all of the paints made from natural materials (Yes, 3-311…just like the project you just did at the Morgan Library!). We walked halfway up the big pyramid in the great Acropolis, but couldn’t go up the other half, as it was closed to visitors. Regardless, we went pretty high up and had some great views over the ancient city!  Here's our group picture and a view from the top!

For lunch we ate in a restaurant in downtown Campeche, many of us enjoying Camarones al Coco (yes, Coconut shrimp again!) and pulpo (octopus). Many of us had the opportunity to see the sunset again and walk around downtown at nighttime. I even bought a little "pet dog" as a toy to show my kids...he's appropriately been named "Campy".  :-)  Campeche is definitely high on my list of favorite Mexican cities.