Uxmal and Campeche

We are now in Campeche, a lovely seaside town (although, extraordinarily, you cannot swim in the harbour due to pollution!).

We have travelled today from Mérida via the famous archaelogical site of Uxmal. Yes, I know: more Mayan ruins!

Jorge picked us up at 8.30 a.m. and it was about a 70-km drive, through some small villages including Muna which has very narrow streets and where the trike appears to be the most common form of local transport ('Mayan limousines' Jorge calls them!!); there is a 16th century church here.

We stopped along the way at a mirador owned by a friend of Jorge - Pedro - who is a local artesan. We bought something small: a ceramic bowl decorated with Chaac, the god of rain (pertinent to Australia?)!

Yes, you may well ask!

Jorge prattled on as he drove: the flu pandemic of 2009 (swine flu) which killed scores of people in Mexico, closed schools and precipitated an economic crisis. He also talked about the drug cartels and their influence in the recent shooting deaths at Playa del Carmen that I had read about just before we left Australia - 5 dead on Jan 16.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-17/mexico-club-shooting:-five-killed-police-say/8186566

And he told us that he'd been deported from the US after living there for 20 years ... He also had told My Friend that he'd made love to some girl at the top of the pyramid El Castillo at Chichén Itzá also (he hadn't shared that with me!).

Uxmal is a UNESCO protected site and means 'thrice-built' in Mayan, referring to the construction of its highest structure, the Pyramid of the Magician which was built on top of existing pyramids. In this case, five stages of construction have been found. Uxmal was one of the largest cities of the Yucatán peninsula on the Ruta Puuc (Puuc Route), and at its height was home to approximately 20,000 Maya. Uxmal and other surrounding Puuc sites flourished in the Late Classic Period (around 600-900 AD) before they were overruled by neighbouring settlements. Puuc architecture is easily identified. The lower sections of the buildings are plain, have rounded corners and are made of small arches or entrance ways. Upper sections are highly decorated and reflect a distinct layering of stone work. Ornate carvings include serpents, lattice work, and pillars.

We had a thorough tour and enjoyed the beautiful structures before it got too hot.

These are some photos of the restoration of the Governor's House on the site:

And we saw this cute bird (a Yucatán jay, I think) and the ceiba (or kapok) tree which is sacred to the Mayans.

It was about 180 kms further to Campeche where we arrived mid-afternoon. It was goodbye to Jorge who has been an excellent guide, time to change some money (the bank had better rates than the cambio de change on the street!), and try to see some of the town as we only have an afternoon here before we move on again in the morning. Our hotel is in an old colonial building just inside the city walls of the historic centre.

Campeche is very photogenic. The Old Town has gained UNESCO recognition for its colonial Spanish baroque architecture – a mixture of small two-storey houses and much larger mansions, built between the 16th and 19th centuries, now restored and painted in pastel shades of blue, ochre and the richer ox-blood red. The historic centre has kept its outer walls and system of fortifications built by the Spanish in 1686 to defend this Caribbean port against attacks from pirates.

We were a bit tired, it was hot, and we hadn't had lunch apart from a tiny snack so we were pleased to finally get to Chocol Ha (a cute little café tucked away in one of the many colonial style buildings that line the narrow cobbled streets of Campeche) - just as it re-opened after siesta at 5 pm - and we had the yummiest piece of carrot cake with a hot chocolate for me and cappuccino with caramelo for My Friend. The chocolate here is prepared with the purest form of organic cacao using Mayan recipes.

This fortified us for the walk to watch the sunset for which Campeche is well-known. The malecón (the palm tree-lined stone embankment along the waterfront) was busy with bike riders, joggers and walkers as well as sight-seeing folk like us. It was lovely watching the sun drop down behind the water and the sky turn a lovely pinky blue. 

We had dinner at a restaurant just around the corner from the hotel within the city walls. I had a traditional Yucatán dish called panuchoscon pollo (refried tortillas stuffed with refried black beans and topped with chopped cabbage, pulled chicken, tomato, pickled red onion, avocado) - very tasty; My Friend had some fish fillets. At the end we were given a yummy cocktail that was like a small marguerita and I think had cacao in it with possibly corn to thicken- nice and cold and the glass had chili powder on the rim - wow! Made my lips swell!

A day in Mérida

After breakfast by the pool, we walk into the main square where we meet up with a guide who takes a bunch of us around the colonial main square (Plaza Grande) for an historical tour of the main buildings in the plaza.

Of particular note is the Palacio de Gobernador (the Governor's Palace) with the wonderful paintings by Fernando Castro Pacheco which illustrate beautifully the history of the Yucatán area.

The Mayans fought hard against the Spanish: on the Yucatán, there was the caste war in which 300,000 people were killed. It was Francisco Hernández de Córdoba who discovered the Yucatán but Commander Francisco de Montejo and his nephew and son (the son founded the city on 6 January 1542) who conquered it, taking 20 years to overcome the Mayans. And it was the Franciscans who were responsible for the spiritual conquest (to Catholicism) of the Mayans, even though they did defend them from abuses. Later on, in the Agrarian reform years in the early 20th century, it was Puerto and Cárdenas who were dedicated to the emancipation of the Mayan peasant.

Afterwards, we visited the Museum of Modern Art housed in one of the buildings in the plaza. We sat awhile in the Cathedral de San Ildefonso - as we were walking past we heard singing and went in an enjoyed a 10 or 15 minutes of lovely singing accompanied by the organ playing.

Then My Friend wanted to buy a Panama hat; we were discussing where to go when a local stopped and in perfect English explained where we should go to get a genuine one. Having achieved this goal, we walked to a coffee place that Jorges had recommended (it was OK), buying a yummy pastry along the way from a bakery.

Next port of call was to walk along the Paseo de Montejo where the wealthy land barons of Mérida lived, displaying their wealth; there are a number of grand, opulent, white stone mansions along this wide boulevard which is named after Mérida's founder. Mérida is the capital of the Yucatán and is nick-named 'The White City'.

We kept walking - way too far! Finally we caught a taxi for the last few kilometers (we had way under-estimated the distance!!) and we arrived at the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. A world-class museum celebrating Maya culture, the Gran Museo houses a permanent collection of more than 1100 remarkably well-preserved artifacts. A couple of these photos are provided by My Friend.

As the reviews had suggested, this was truly wonderful and worth the effort. (So was the taxi back and a drink and some yummy tortillas and dips at La Negrita).

We had a bit of a break back at our casa before heading out once more. Downtown in the main plaza, we were told there would be some local dancing. We had been given two different starting times so, to be sure, we turned up at 8 p.m. and 'snagged' seats on a metal stand set up temporarily and watched the crowd form. At 9 p.m. the show started. By now there were heaps of people!

This was all free (libre) mind you! It was quite a performance with a band of musicians and an MC who kept everyone amused - even though we couldn't understand much of the Spanish, we had a bit of an idea by the gestures of the MC and the reaction of the locals - THEY all found what he had to say to be funny!

It was all very energetic and colourful and we enjoyed an hour's entertainment (even having a giggle at the expense of a couple of the poor male dancers who seemed to struggle a bit at times either with the steps or the pace of the dancing).

It was a great spectacle and we enjoyed ourselves.

Tulum to Mérida via Chichén Itzá

No, we are not off to see chickens. Chichén Itzá is a world-famous complex of Mayan ruins - and it certainly lived up to its name. It is immense and the ruins are a cut-above what we saw at Monte Albán (in Oaxaca). We had a lovely breakfast again as the sun came up.

We were picked up by Jorges (somewhat late) and we had a 2-hour drive along very good roads (the government is obviously mindful of tourism); we pass through villages and a time zone so we gain an hour putting us back in line with Mexico City. In the villages the vendors have set up adjacent to the speed humps (topes) - calling 10 pesos, 10 pesos, 10 pesos as we drive past. It is all terribly poor.

When we reach the complex, I believe 50 pesos exchanged hands to enable us to park around the back, avoiding the crowds. Jorges is very knowledgeable, belying his somewhat shambolic appearance (the legacy of a hard-living life I think - tequila being part of the equation). He seems to be well-respected as he takes us around and we feel somewhat privileged, limited as our knowledge of Mayan culture and architecture is.

There are stepped pyramids, temples, columned arcades and wonderful carvings. This was a sophisticated urban centre of the Mayan empire from A.D. 750 to 1200. The centrepiece structure here is the Temple of Kukulkan, also known as El Castillo. This glorious step pyramid (365 steps - one for each day of the year) demonstrates the accuracy and importance of Maya astronomy - and the heavy influence of the Toltecs, who invaded around 1000 and precipitated a merger of the two cultural traditions.

Chichén Itzá's ball court is the largest known in the Americas, measuring 168 m long and 70 m wide. During ritual games here, players tried to hit a 5.4-kg rubber ball through stone scoring hoops set high on the court walls. Competitions were very fierce with losers being put to death. El Juego de la Vida (the ballgame of life) it is called and is the oldest team sport in the world; its first court dates to the 14th century BC, 19 centuries before the Greeks and Chinese.

Jorges also explained how chicle is obtained from the resin of the chicozapote tree and is used to make chewing gum. Legend has it that the American James Adams got his idea for chewing gum by watching Mexico's President Santa Ana chewing on chicle. Adams decided to sell it sweetened and flavoured and Adams’chewing gum made him a millionaire.

Afterwards, we went to the nearby Cenote Ik-Kil. It is a large sinkhole filled with water and is about 50 m deep. From a viewpoint, we watched people jump or dive in. Even though we had our cozies on under our clothes, we weren't inclined to join the crowd. Anyway, it has been an overcast day and slightly cool.

An hour's drive brought us to Mérida. By now it was about 5 p.m. Our hacienda for the night is lovely and is handily located in the centro  histórico. This is how it looks by night and by day.

The main square had a market around it with lots of people enjoying their evening out. We had a drink at a local bar recommended by Jorges - La Negrita. Very Cuban in style: crowded, good drinks, nice music.

Dinner was simple - stomach not up to it.