A mexican particularity

It is well known that Mexicans are never on time, well most of the Italians are not either. So far no surprise there is a clear handicap in time management, and clearly you can't interrupt a good conversation even if you have an appointment with someone waiting for you under 40 C midday sun.

However, the Mexicans have also a problem relating to their space: they can't give the simplest directions. Even in Playa that is a rectangle with straight avenue with perpendicular streets, they are incapable of indicating a location but giving you the two coordinates.

This handicap is also officialized. You have an indication that says 20 km. to a certain location, then you turn the corner and it says 17 km. How the hell, just turning a corner is 3 km.?

We had to rely more on the tourist guide that the indication on the highway. Well having said that, we got there without really knowing the real distance and at the end of the day it did not matter. we can safely assume that 90% of the people driving have probably an appointment to which they are expected to be late anyway.

To Finish the trip...

We had to decide either go to Mayapan, or head home or stop somewhere!

We decide to add Mayapan to our list of Pyramids, after all it was the Maya capital when the conquistadores arrived. It is not really in our way, but after all the kids had already their playground so we can have one more pyramid!

We are the only visitor in Mayapan and it is really fun when you are with the Mayan Gods for yourself….

We have been in the car all morning so there is no way we are heading to Playa that day. We don’t want to go back to Merida so we decide to go to Progresso. Is the closest beach to Merida but according to the Lonely Planet not really worth the trip…unless you decide to go to this specific B&B.

We get to Progresso and it is ugly, sticky, and smelly. I almost loose my usual accommodative mood with “I told you so”, while Alain thought it was the Deauville of the Gulf of Mexico.

We remember the description of the B&B and it is truly an oasis in the ugliness of Progresso. We get a little separate two rooms apartment close to the pool, there is an enormous palapa under which there is a much needed bar and some cozy breakfast tables. Progresso after a margarita seems a good place to stop after all.

We manage to find a nice restaurant on the board walk and a town fair. The night is over, the kids are out and we are too.

Next morning, after a nice last dip in the pool, we are heading home with enormous relief from the other guests at the bed and breakfast that, after seeing our kids, feared that their vacation was over.

Ok now we are going back, the baby cats are waiting….

Campeche

In Campeche we set foot in the first hotel that our guide mentioned had a great pool, we were hot and sweaty, my previous idea of finding a colonial hotel in the historical part of town is dismissed.

At the hotel, there is an international meeting with high representatives of South American countries and high security around. We don’t seem too much of a threat, the terrorists in our family do not carry weapons (yet) so we go through security straight to our room to the pool.

The hotel has a great location: on the recently renovated Malecon and just at the entrance of Porta del Mar, short walk to the main plaza. Campeche was declared by Unesco Patrimony of Humanity so the colonial part has been extensively restored and, of course, the rest of the town is skippable.

Campeche is hot, so next day we tour the city on the little tramway so that were are not sunstroked. We get in this conversation with an American woman who owns a store and give us some inside on the Capechianos.

Not pretty people according to her : great place to visit horrible place to live especially for a foreigners, I believe her but somehow I thought she could be a little kinder… after all she is a guest!

Finally, in Campeche we find a new, safe a big playground right on the Malecon. Ok, I guess it was our turn to follow the kids around and making sure they didn’t get lost in the crowd.

After, all this intense day we decide to have dinner in this great restaurant right on the Zocalo, we overlooked the all plaza and it would have been great if Oscar had not decide to have a meltdown.

Next day we lounge at the swimming pool just being lazy, we were very active all these days. However, in the afternoon we decided to visit the two fortresses at the end of the both bay. From Fort S. Miguel there is beautiful view of the bay and has also a very intersesting Maya museum that I am only able to appreciate because Alain is watching the kids. Fort S. Jose has a maritime Museum with miniature boats ... more interesting for the kids!

We finished our tour of Campeche next morning we are out.

Pyramids and more Pyramids

We decided to celebrate the Semana Santa according to our traveling tradition. We are en route to Tikul, close to the Ruta Puuc where there are incredible archeological sites. Tikul is a typical little town with a square, a church and Sunday night activities for kids in the square. He has a couple of half decent hotels and half-decent restaurants.

Arriving, as usual, mid to late afternoon, we started the next morning our visit to the Pyramids. We begin the tourists tour with the sites of Kabah, followed by Sayl and Labna. There are all three in the Puuc Styles wich is very decorated and very different from Chichen Itza. We liked them all!

For a little freshness and shade (!!!!) we visited also the Loltun Caves… long around 2 km. with some rough canyons and of course we didn’t have the right shoes but was totally worth it!

At night the kids are rewarded with the usual tour in a battery powered car, they had a blast! Tikul has the cheapest tour of all... 5 pesos!

All they will remember from the trip is going to be slaloming among the very-kids-friendly Mexicans.

Next morning we leave our suite, three double beds room, and a bathroom with a enormous shower to visit Uxmal. Uxmal is an incredibly beautiful site and totally up to his reputation.

The kids follow patiently and after having tour the all site under the sun, the promise of a playground in contemporary style seems like a fair reward.

On our way to Campeche, we stopped in a middle of nowhere town where we eat the usual Porchuc (Alain manage to have the same dish two days on the row lunch and dinner), the only annoyance in town where the presence of this Mormon-evangelist-whatever they are, with women in very black polyester dress and men with jumpsuit with the look of retarded adolescents from some 50s movie.

Anyway, they were in town and end up eating at our restaurant. Very annoying God's creatures that try to convert this people that they seem very much in peace with the world already and in no need of help from some inbreeds with skin clearly not made for that kind of sun.

Let me tell us, the sun that day was strong, I think it was a sigh from God to this people to leave the Mexicans alone.

However, we made it to the hottest playground in the Yucatan Peninsula and even the kids had to surrender 5 minutes later. Finally, in our noisy but with a working AC car we proceed to Campeche.