Day 4

After breakfast we started driving. The goal was Edzna, a place of Mayan ruins. The state of Campeche has a very strong Mayan heritage and Mayan presence. Because of that, in many ways it is very different from the rest of Mexico Here much of the rural population is Mayan, and they still live in palm-thatched houses, speak various Mayan-based languages and maintain their pre-Hispanic traditions. There are dozens of Mayan archeological sites throughout the state – from different periods, some very small and remote. If somebody is serious about Mayan archaeology, there are several routes one can follow, which would take many days. Edzna is not very remote, it took us 40 minutes on a mostly empty and very rural road. The site is amazing. The city was established in 600 BC and abandoned in 1450. The 2000 year old Mayan structures are very large, impressive and well preserved. The area covers 25 square km, and there were very few visitors there, 10 at the most, so the site felt empty. There are 13 preserved structures, the biggest being the Five-Storey Building, which is enormous and featured in all Edzna publications. From Edzna we drove to the coast in search of nice beaches. Some people told us about Soybaplaya between Champoton and Campeche so we drove there. However, when we got there it was a fishing village – no swimming area. After asking several people we were directed a couple of miles down the road to a place called Payucan. After driving through an industrial site and a very narrow road we found a picturesque swimming beach. It could be gorgeous if not for the garbage and a general lack of upkeep. We started our drive toward Campeche and saw sign for La Playa Bonita (beautiful beach). We entered and found a large, nice and well maintained beach. There was an entrance fee of 10 pesos per car and 2 per person, which amounted to about 80 cents for us. At least they are using the fees to keep the place spotlessly clean. After coffee and a nice walk, we drove along the coast to Campeche, first passing through fishing villages/neighborhood with lots of little houses, each of which had a fish store, and then through a neighborhood with magnificent waterfront houses of the wealthy Campechinos. When we got out of the hotel to go to dinner, we heard a lot of noise/music from the bar across the street called Rincon Colonial so we decided to go in and check it out. The place was hopping – two guys were playing guitars, many were singing, and lots more were drinking… They invited us in, but we didn’t stay long because we were hungry. We decided to come back after dinner. The dinner at Marganzo (another recommended place) was good, but not great. When we got out, we walked towards the central plaza and were surprised to see a great light show going on. Moving images were displayed on the side of a large colonial building with accompanying music. Lots of people, families with children were enjoying this really cool show and so did we. Then we walked back to the bar, but it was very subdues because it was closing in about 20 minutes. We had shots of a very good tequila and called it a night.