Campeche is the capital city of the state by the same name
and another colonial city on the Yucatan peninsula.
It was originally a Mayan port city by the
name of “Ah Kim Pech” and was used to connect Mayan trade routes from the
Yucatan peninsula to those leading to the center of Mexico.
The Spanish recognized its strategic location in the early
1500’s and many battles ensued between the Spanish and Maya before Francisco de
Montejo was able to lead his men to victory and established the City of
Campeche.
The takeover from the Mayan peoples didn’t mean that the
inhabitants of Campeche could live in peace however.
As an important trading port, now for the
Spanish, it became the target of pirates supported by Spain’s enemies, the
British and French.
After several
particularly gruesome pirate attacks on the city in the mid to late 1600’s, the
Spanish crown supported the construction of fortifications around the city.
Walls 26 feet high and 10 feet wide were
erected around the city, with several bastions placed in strategic
locations.
A sea gate was created as an
entry point for merchants to enter the walled city, with a gate that could be
closed quickly if needed.
A land gate
was later added as well.
Both of these
gates are still visible today.
We went to see two of these fortifications; starting with
Baluarte Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, named for the patron saint of
seafarers.
This is the city’s largest
bastion and now also houses a museum of Mayan Architecture where you can see
examples of Mayan artifacts from the region of Campeche.
On the top of the bastion, you have a clear
view of Campeche’s sea gate, and can ring the bell that was used to alert the
local citizens of an impending problem.
On the edge of the city, we also stopped to see the Fuerte
de San Miguel, a fort located high on a hill and providing clear visibility
over the city and the bay.
The fort is
surrounded by walls, a moat, and is accessed via a drawbridge.
Inside the fort is the Museum of Archeology
of Campeche, which houses a small but fantastic collection of artifacts,
including several Jade funeral masks used by Maya.
On the roof of the fort, the kids enjoyed
exploring the various nooks and crannies of the fortification.
In the city center, we also stopped to see the Catedreal de
Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción, one of the oldest cathedrals on the
Yucatan peninsula.
It faces the central
plaza, as is often the case with the prominent city cathedral (or church). Construction
was begun in 1540 under Francisco de Montejo and it was finally completed in
1760, over 200 years later.
Inside, the
altar is covered with silver, and quite an impressive site.
What makes Campeche another lovely place to
visit, are the quite streets and color facades in the city center. Part of Calle 59 has been turned into a
pedestrian street , providing outside seating to numerous restaurants and cafés
along the way, and adorned by various sculptures and outside artwork. We enjoyed finding a little café and sitting
in their garden for some end of the day, traditional hot chocolate before the
long ride home to Merida.
To break up the lengthy return drive from Isla Holbox, we
stopped in the town of Valladolid and one of the nearby cenotes, Cenotes de
Dzinup, which is actually the access point to two cenotes. We entered Cenote X-keken (pronounced
Sh-ke-ken). It was a great place to take
a refreshing tip in the clear cool waters.
We were surprised to find lots of little fish swimming about the
underground pool. Since we arrived
shortly after noon, we had the additional treat of benefiting from the rays of
sun that came through a hole in the cavern roof and shone into the water below.
After our swim, we headed into the town of Valladolid for a
fantastic local lunch and a walk around the main square and a stop in the church,
Iglesia San Gervasio. Valladolid was
founded by Francisco de Montejo, cousin of the founder of Merida by the same
name. Due to the brutal nature of his
treatment of the original inhabitants, the city played an important role in the
beginning of the Caste War and the Mexican Revolution. 
The Franciscan church Iglesia San Gervasio is very simple in
style. There are almost no windows or
decorations inside. The church was
originally built in 1545. In 1705 it was
ordered to be demolished but was rebuilt shortly thereafter. The main change during the reconstruction was
to re-orient the altar so that it faced a different direction than the
original. For this reason, it is one of
the only colonial era churches where the alter faces north instead of
west. As a side note, the kids will
likely remember the church as the place where we were when two of them each
lost a tooth on its grounds. 
