Part Eight--A Day With Xtampak

[Michael F.]

Morning again, and it's time for breakfast. Our last experience with Balandra Restaurant on the premesis was not the best, but we were going to give it one more try. When we were seated there were only two other tables occupied again so we hoped for service to be a little bit faster than our last visit. Didn't happen. Plus an issue arose about T's order. She ordered the "Americano" breakfast, but didn't get everything described on the menu. When we inquired the waiter about it he insisted that the item in question was one of the options. Something like choosing between sausage or pancakes. We did not agree, as the way it was worded on the menu indicated to us that these items were automatically included and not choices. And besides, there was another breakfast on the menu that provided exactly what T was served, but was perhaps five pesos less. We didn't argue too long as the waiter's English was non-existent and my Spanish was limited. However, T and I decided that breakfast for the next morning would be somewhere else. Our meal that a.m. totalled $160.00 MX.

We walked the rest of the way down to ground level and I told T to wait in the lobby so I could retrieve our cameras and things for the tour with Xtampak. It's so much easier to zip up and down those stairs when she can wait there for me. Once I was back in the lobby, we started exploring pamphets and brochures displayed on tables and walls. One of these was an advertisement for a Pirate Ship cruise ($100.00 MX/adults, $50.00 MX/ninos). A minimum of 20 pax are required for the ship to sail. Another ad was for "Tours en Lancha" that cruises the bay and takes in the city sights from the water or pay a little more for an expedition to "Los Petenes" that is more involved. I still have these ads in case someone is interested for more info from them. T and I never went beyond our planned itinerary although she was interested in the pirate ship cruise.

As is typical in Mexico, the guide for our city tour was late enough so that we had the front desk staff call the agency and inquire where he was. "He's on his way," was the answer. And not long after the call a little car sped up to the front of the hotel and a short man in a blue T-shirt and a baseball cap walked into the lobby. His name was Juan and he was to be our guide for the day. Once we got in his little car (no AC, but he kept the fan blowing and we had the windows down), we realized he spoke no English. No problem, I knew just enough Spanish to get us through the tour.

Juan indicated to us we would be visiting the fort north of town: Fuerte de San Jose. At first I was trying to follow his route on my map, but gave up to take in the city. I didn't want to miss anything interesting on the way. Before long near a major road, the car pulled up in front of a church in burnt-orange with white trim. Its small bell tower reminded me of those I've seen at a couple of the missions in San Antonio. It took some explaining, but Juan finally got across to us that this was the site of the first Mass ever celebrated on the American continent. This was the Iglesia de San Francisco. From my research, I knew that the service had occurred somewhere in the area but until now I didn't know that there was a church built on that spot. A short pillar stood near the doors to the church and in Spanish commemorated the event. I took some pics of the pillar, the church and its interior before we got back in the car and continued north.

As I mentioned earlier, Campeche is built between the Gulf of Mexico and a "range" of hills. Juan's little car turned east and started climbing one of these large hills and I grit my teeth as it strained up and up, curving around as it went. The road went on to a circular drive in the midst of which stood a tall statue of some important political figure. Our car came to a stop here and we got out again. Juan explained this was a monument to one of the presidents of Mexico: Juarez (pic here again). His statue stood on top of a hill overlooking the city to the south and the great expanse of water to the west.

An awesome view. As we stood there, Juan pointed out what appeared to be fortified positions way down below the hill about halfway to the gulf, hidden among the houses and streets of the north suburbs. These, he explained, were built by the denizens of Campeche around the time the forts were completed in order for soldiers to repel raiding pirates before they could land their boats on the shore. These "baterias" had been surrounded by shallow water back a couple of centuries ago, but now were squarely on dry land. Juan said that was due to the peninsula rising over the years. As much as I was interested in climbing onto one of those lonely bastions, I never got the chance as there was so much else we had to do on the tour.

A few minutes after we climbed back into the car, Juan pulled up in front of Fuerte de San Jose. What a sight! I usually think of a castle with towering walls and great towers with innumerable holes for defenders to shoot their muskets through and great battlements for the cannons. This was a little bit different, except for a moat (not filled with water or mud or whatever) surrounding the structure. The fort rises high above the moat, but only a few feet higher than the ground beyond. I could see that this provided for at least two advantages: It gave a smaller target for assailants' cannon fire, and it allowed the defenders' cannons to fire grapeshot directly at the exposed attackers instead of it whistling over their heads. Brilliant! Adding to the visual effect, the outside of the structure is plain and appears weatherworn; however, the interior of the walls of the battlements are painted a bright yellow. Pics, pics and more pics. Juan led us down a path that wound back and forth deeper and deeper like a canyon into the hill surrounding the fort. He explained to us that this was designed so that the gates to the fort would not be exposed to battering rams and cannonfire. In fact, the entrance to the fort was below groundlevel, so it was protected from any direct assault up above. Juan stated that the moat would have been covered by hundreds of wooden spikes instead of water.

Awesome. A bridge crossed the moat into the fort, and we had to watch our steps as there were small spaces between the planks of wood. Once in the fort we had to sign a guest book and pay a few pesos for admittance. The attraction here was not only the fort, but the museum within. Just like the baluartes in the historical center, Campeche's forts also feature thematic exhibits. The Museo de Armas y Marinerias (aka de Barcos y Armas) was within. As we walked from room to room within the fort, we found Juan was familiar with all the exhibits and had something to tell us about each of the illustrations, scale models, personages, and old weaponry displayed in all the rooms below the walls. I was immediately impressed with him and from then on was not afraid to ask questions. He pointed out which of the rooms originally served as the garrison's kitchen, barracks, armory, etc. When we were finished with the museum he led us up the long stairs to the battlement above where we had a great view of the sea. While we were up there he mentioned to us how Campeche was featured in a couple of well-known films such as "The Mexican" with Julia Roberts, and in the Mariachi trilogy with Antonio Banderas. He said the film credits for the Mariachi film(s) mistakenly listed Cuba as the place the shots were made rather than Campeche, Mexico.

After lingering up there for a little while we descended and left the fort to Juan's car. It was sunny and warm. I was glad T and I had put on at that time some sunblock, as I knew it was only going to get worse later. The little car drove back past Juarez' monument, down the hill, and all the way to the main drag running by the seawall. We turned left to drive south, and Juan explained we were going to see the other fort south of the city center. There was more to see than just the Gulf of Mexico as we drove along. Juan slowed or stopped at intervals to point out various monuments or sculptures along the seawall. We wouldn't have realized the significance of any of these without some research, so his words were greatly appreciated. We passed by the Parque Novia Del Mar, which was a sculpture of a woman sitting on some rocks hands supporting her head as she stared wistfully out to sea. At first I thought I misunderstood him, but Juan finally got through to us that this was a monument to the women of the city who had formed relationships with various pirates and had to watch them leave on their ships to some unknown fate. We passed by a series of some five or so arches that symbolized the gates of the old city. Part of the seawall had large, bowling ball sized spheres at intervals which represented cannonballs and were meant to commemorate the years of conflict the city had endured.

We passed a couple other such monuments, but soon found ourselves turning away from the coastline back into the hills again. More trees around here...reminded me of a park. Anyways we quickly pulled into a parking lot across the street from the Fuerte de San Miguel. Before we started walking up to the fort, Juan pointed out a large space between the trees next to the car. It appeared to be the location where the bricks/stones for the fort had been quarried. Convenient for citizen/soldiers who wanted to raise fortifications in a hurry. San Miguel is larger than its counterpart to the north...a greater perimeter was evident. A curved path was also carved into a hill towards the fort's entrance to discourage direct assaults on the drawbridge.

Yes, there is another moat. But this one actually had for a few yards on either side of the bridge a much deeper area than the rest of the moat going around the fort. Juan explained that this part was filled with water, but the rest was like the one at the other fort...liked with sharp wooden spikes. Ouch. Another guestbook to sign and a few more pesos to pay. Juan like all the other tour guides didn't have to pay admission.

Within the walls of this fort is the Museo de Cultura Maya. Very very impressive. No flash permitted for cameras and most signs do not include English translation, again. Mayan statues, stellae, and artifacts abound from sites all over the State of Campeche: Edzna, Calakmul, Rio Bec, Xpuhil, Becan, El Tigre, etc. I was staring up at a stellae more than twice my height (pics taken here). Skulls, pottery, dolls, jade masks...you name it are here. Juan impressed me further by trying to get us into a guessing game about a curious stone sculpture about the same height as the chac mool at Chitzen Itza. It more resembled some kind of animal with its head bowed...perhaps a jaguar? While T and I stood around trying to figure it out, another tour guide came by with a group of three and declared it was a dog. Juan stepped up and said it wasn't and that if you looked very closely, it was a human being lying backward over a small altar. The bowed head was indeed a bowed head...but it was due to his neck being partially severed, causing the head to hang towards the ground. Grisly. Pics, pics, and more pics. Now up the ramp in the courtyard to the walls above. Juan was looking around for his hat, and thought he lost it in one of the rooms of the museum. I offered him mine, but he declined. I think he seemed especially susceptible to the heat, and the man hadn't brought along any water. He also declined our bottled water...poor guy just came out unprepared on this tour and was sweating buckets. From the walls of the fort the scene was pretty much the same as that from its twin to the north. Cannons and stacks of cannonballs were here and there.

The rest of the day, Juan took us to a few other sites around town, including a couple more baluartes at the city center, except the Baluarte de la Soledad which T and I had explored the day before. We didn't get to all of them, as we were getting late. However, the red-letter moment was when we were parked next to the monument at the Parque del IV Centenario when I examined my camera. I had been taking pics with it for the last three days and was certain it was going to run out of film at any moment. The little indicator screen had busted some time back, so I couldn't read how many shots were left, but surely it was about time. I had taken to calling it my magic roll of film that seemed to be going on forever. So, T grabbed it to take a look. The window in the back of the camera which shows you what kind of roll you had loaded showed nothing. Nada. I had been taking pictures for three days (Merida, Uxmal, Kabah, Campeche...zooming, flash on, flash off, etc) with NO FILM! I thought I had loaded a fresh roll the day before we left on the trip! I wanted to cry. At our next stop on the tour, I had loaded a roll and was ready. T had enough of climbing up and down ramps all day and decided to take a break in the courtyard at one of the baluartes (Baluarte de San Pedro, I think). Juan followed me up huffing and puffing. It was just him and me. No one else. No nagging wife to berate me and scold for my mistake (hehehe). I explained as well as I could to Juan what happened with the camera When it dawned on him what I was saying he pulled his baseball cap down over his face and bowed his head between his hands. Yep. Pretty bad. So up until that particular part of the trip, the only pics I have is what I took with the disposable panoramic cameras. Sometime I will scan and post these in their appropriate spots in my TR...scattered throughout this forum by now.

The very last scheduled stop on this tour (mid-late afternoon now) was Casa No. 6 de la calle 57. Basically, it was an old colonial home built across the street from the main square that had been converted to a museum. We walked from room to room and through a patio checking out antique furniture and decoration. The kitchen was interesting, with the built-in vent/chimney leading up from over the stove area. I was worried. Lacking all the pics I thought I had taken earlier in the tour and the day prior, I wanted to see if there was something like a coffee table book, promotional pamplets--anything--that we could find in a local bookstore that would have those images I craved to bring home. There were at least two bookstores in the main plaza and pretty good ones, but none of the clerks could identify what I was looking for. Certainly I did not want just a couple of postcards to remember our experiences by. Juan led us to his office down the street from the square so we could pay for the tour. It was a small, two-room "suite" hidden at the back of a narrow business "alley" leading from the street. I got to meet three other of Xtampak's people at that time, and Juan did us a favor by explaining to them our dilemma: "The fool didn't load film in his camera, so he has no pics of his experience on the tour." Or probably something like that. Immediately, one lady left the offices to scour the local bookstore. The other peeps started looking through their shelves to pull out pamphlets, brochures, and magazines. I was eventually handed several of these including a very good magazine printed by the local government as a summary of all the attractions in the state. I was greatly in debt to Xtampak. Time to pay up. Well, I had a Visa card and handed that to them. Unfortunately, their card machine didn't work. I didn't have a lot of pesos, and they really really preferred them to dollars. So I left T in the office and went to an ATM around the corner. My goal was to withdraw about $60.00 to pay for the tour, tip, and the cost of the literature we were given. Upon return, I handed them the cash...$60.00...MX. Oops. Forgot to do the conversion when at the ATM. I had given them 60 pesos (about $6.00) rather than 600. By now, I must have appeared like a complete dunce to these people, who are very very nice. They decided to go ahead and accept my USD and attempted to do a rough conversion from pesos on a small calculater. When we left them and walked back out towards the main plaza I hoped we had paid enough for all that they did for us.

I swear, our experience with the Xtampak tour agency (especially Juan) was the absolute best. Our guide was very knowledgable, knew where all the important sites were about the city, didn't try to feed us BS about some things as some guides tend to do. He didn't ask for tips, and the peeps back at the office went out of their way for us when they discovered our problems. The price was right (less than $60.00 USD total for two). I highly, highly recommend this tour agency for anyone who wants to take a day tour of the city. According to their website they also take peeps to sites away from the city. Try them, and tell them where you got your recommendation.

Awright, I was hungry. Since breakfast all I had was bottled water and my tummy was complaining. No problem...we went to a restaurant we had passed on the way to Xtampak's offices. Actually, it's a hostel which has a popular restaurant adjacent to the street: Hostal La Parroquia. I had a Leon and T had a glass of horchata. I forgot what she ate, but I had coconut shrimp again...better than that at our hotel's restaurant. Skewers of coconut shrimp were stuck around the rim of a coconut shell, which was filled with a plum sauce. *yum* These folks take cards and are exceedingly friendly. No AC...the restaurant was open to the street: calle 55, walking east from the plaza.

Tired, tired, tired, T and I shuffled all the way back to our hotel determined to take a nap before the evening adventure. However, nothing could stop her from craving another round of guanabaya and coconut helado at the local Bing. We walked in and grabbed chairs. I didn't want ice cream at all. I wanted a nice, tall, delicious bottle of ice cold Coca-Cola (yeah, baby). Unfortunately only one was on display and a small one at that. I asked for "Coca" and the lady behind the counter needled me for sounding like a child. However, T convinced me not to waste my pesos on a small bottle of Coke and to share her ice cream. As we ate, class must have let out at one of the schools at that intersection and a crowd of at young adults/teens walked in and gathered around a particular cooler in the heladeria. I saw the store lady start ladling some kind of clear liquid into freezer bags, inserting straws in each and handing them to the students. T and I had seen peeps before walking down the street sipping something out of plastic bags with a straw, but we never figured what it was. Still don't know, but at least we discovered where they got it. We walked another couple blocks to the hotel and crashed.

...

The sun was very low in the sky when we roused ourselves. I wanted to take T to see the musical fountains as this would be our last opportunity to check it out. We were leaving the following a.m. We took a "scenic route" and walked from the hotel due west towards the Gulf. At the Baluarte de San Carlos (closed), we turned north and unknowingly passed between the Palacio Municipal and the Palacio de Gobierno. Traffic was pretty crazy and as we walked closer to the Puerta del Mar we saw a large crowd gathered before that stage we saw being assembled the day before. I had remarked about it to Juan during the city tour and he said the Kumbia Kings were in town (Selena's brother was once a member, but no longer). Sure enough, the band started up just as we were passing by and I could recognize some tunes. But we really wanted to get to those fountains. A short while later T and I were next to a long rectangular pool with some three or so fountains at the park between the city wall and the cathedral. Small groups of teens, families and couples lounged around nearby. The city wall and the baluarte between the Puerta del Mar and us served as a muffle to the loud concert going on, but the fountains were silent. It wasn't late enough. The sky got darker and hidden lights along the city walls turned on and the fountains also were lit up. Some peeps were along one side of the pool waving their hands in front of some console or sensor to try and activate the fountains, and occasionally they succeeded for a few seconds but no music or rainbow of colors accompanied the spray of water. T and I started walking away from the pool to see what else we could take in before the day was over...perhaps another trip to the seawall...when the event began. A recorded voice in Spanish made an announcement, and then the fountains lit up in red, blue, orange, green, etc. The music began, and then water sprayed around and changed color in tune to classical music playing from hidden speakers around the park. Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, etc. were all represented and show went on and on and on.

T and I left before the show ended. The sun had gone and we needed to get one more meal in before we called it a day. We didn't want to wander too far and I especially wanted another alternative to our hotel's restaurant. Marganzo was nearby, so we walked in that direction. Before we got there, however, we noticed a restaurant at the corner across from the plaza and the Baluarte de la Soledad. The Restaurante Campeche. It was bright on the inside and seemed very popular, so we walked in. T and I wanted something Campeche...seafood. She and I both ordered fish prepared different ways. I chose red snapper. I forgot what T picked. Anyways, over chips and salsa (and a beer), we watched as a waiter closed the doors to the restaurant, which to us would signal the establishment was not open. However, peeps still wandered by, cracked open a door and peered about to see if the place really was closed. It wasn't. I guess the staff was probably just trying to reduce the patrons they had to wait on as they approached closing time. However, no one was turned away. When our fish finally arrived I was surprised but pleased to find I had ordered a whole snapper. At the price I saw on the menu I had thought it was just a fillet or two, but, nope! T had the same result, and we dug in. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Little ads on the table featured breakfasts from the menu. We just then decided that this would be the place to take breakfast in the a.m. Total bill for two whole fish, drinks and an appetizer was $320.50 MX.

Happy and tummys full, we walked slowly back to our hotel. The street lights add a special effect to the homes and buildings in the historical district...almost as if we had indeed travelled back in time to colonial Campeche. T and I later agreed that of all the experiences we had on this trip to the Yucatan, Campeche was the best. I would choose it in a heartbeat over Merida solely for the slower, quieter atmosphere and family-friendly environment. Not to mention there's still a myriad of things to do in the area should one stay for an extended length of time. Lights

[Greta]

Great report!!!

The history sounds amazing.

I'd love to be a professional traveler...

[Michael F.]

You are, Greta! More so than me especially these past four years. This was my first trip out of Texas in that period of time. You've been to Cancun twice, Vegas...where else??? :lol:

[janie]

Michael, I'm just getting caught up ... your report is fantastic, and I feel like I'm right there with you and T.

Do you have any pictures to share?

[Michael F.]

If I'm lucky I will find some time to scan some pics tomorrow. Otherwise, stay tuned. I will post the link to a Campeche tourist vid commercial that is totally awesome and includes most of the pertinent sites we visited during our stay there. Everytime I view it (playing it at least once a week since our return), it takes me back. *sigh*

[Michael F.]

Tourist vid for Campeche State.
http://www.campeche.ca/campeche_mexico_video.htm

Well worth the wait IMHO for it to download. Covers all aspects of the state from the city to Edzna, Calakmul, and points north and south along the coast. The forts, some baluartes, the cathedral, the musical fountains, the Casa de Calle 6, monuments along the seawall, Puertas del Mar and Tierra, the light and sound show, the pirate ship cruise, the haciendas in/around the city converted to boutique hotels, the city streets...geez, what more?