Hot Hot Heat
This is the theme of the last few days.
From San Cristobal de las Casas I took a 14 hour bus to Campeche. Originally I had planned to go to Palenque for a day but faced with the 10 hour bus journey and then another long journey to Merida, I decided to skip it. There are some famed ruins there but that's about it, or so I hear. Plus, I need to save some places for next time!
Campeche is a very pretty seaside town with a well-preserved colonial centre and a Unesco World Heritage designation. But after the bus I needed a nap - bus sleep doesn't really count. A few hours later I was ready to explore, just as soon as I had eaten. It seems 4pm on a Sunday afternoon in Campeche is not the best time to be looking to eat in a restaurant, but with help from one of the chicas in the hostel I found my way to a place and had my first sample of la comida yucateca - relleno blanco. Effectively chicken on the bone, minced turkey, topped with a ratatouille type concoction and also dotted with a white sauce.
Afterwards I very slowly explored the main sights of Campeche - the malecon, the old city walls and the historic city centre. Very slowly, because coming from San Cristobal de las Casas I was not accustomed to the heat. Actually, who am I kidding? I've struggled with the heat and humidity everywhere in Mexico!
I had arrived just in time to catch a festival of Indigenous culture, with lots of singing, dancing and demonstrations of indigenous games.
It was while enjoying one of these demonstrations that I was shat on AGAIN by a bloody pigeon! Really hoping that this isn't going to happen in every country I visit - there are still quite a few to go!
The day after it was time to move on to Merida. Would there be any respite from the heat? Nope! I spent a night in a nice hostel that was about 12 blocks from the zocalo, and whilst I don't mind a walk, even in the incredible heat, walking around empty streets to get home at night as my least favourite thing to do. So the next day I switched to one right in the square, Hostal Catedral. The best location, AC in the dorms, amazing wifi, a good breakfast - it was what backpacker dreams are made of.
Until I got back at 11pm to find a couple I'd been talking to earlier hastily moving out of the room because one of them had been bitten by bed bugs!
Usually, if there's one bed with them, every bed in the dorm has them. I frantically checked my bed - on the sheet, under the sheet, under the pillow, in the seams of the mattress. It looked ok, phew. I went off to brush my teeth and came back....
GAH! If you've read this blog before you may know that I'm not exactly a stranger to bed bugs. I actually think it's good to experience bed bugs at least once, as then you know what you're up against!
So there was no chance I was sleeping in that bed and luckily there was space for me to move next door. Phew.
With that I tossed and turned all night, dreaming of bed bugs coming to get me and waking up covered in big red bumps.
From San Cristobal de las Casas I took a 14 hour bus to Campeche. Originally I had planned to go to Palenque for a day but faced with the 10 hour bus journey and then another long journey to Merida, I decided to skip it. There are some famed ruins there but that's about it, or so I hear. Plus, I need to save some places for next time!
 |
| The Old City Walls |
Campeche is a very pretty seaside town with a well-preserved colonial centre and a Unesco World Heritage designation. But after the bus I needed a nap - bus sleep doesn't really count. A few hours later I was ready to explore, just as soon as I had eaten. It seems 4pm on a Sunday afternoon in Campeche is not the best time to be looking to eat in a restaurant, but with help from one of the chicas in the hostel I found my way to a place and had my first sample of la comida yucateca - relleno blanco. Effectively chicken on the bone, minced turkey, topped with a ratatouille type concoction and also dotted with a white sauce.
 |
| Relleno Blanco - delicious, even in the hot weather |
 |
| Along the Malecon in Campeche. I flip-reversed this photo as it was impossible to get a shot from the right side! I think it actually looks better, though! |
Afterwards I very slowly explored the main sights of Campeche - the malecon, the old city walls and the historic city centre. Very slowly, because coming from San Cristobal de las Casas I was not accustomed to the heat. Actually, who am I kidding? I've struggled with the heat and humidity everywhere in Mexico!
 |
| Small dogs are very popular in Mexico, so this graffiti was quite apt. |
 |
| More graffiti. |
I had arrived just in time to catch a festival of Indigenous culture, with lots of singing, dancing and demonstrations of indigenous games.
 |
| The main plaza in Campeche. |
It was while enjoying one of these demonstrations that I was shat on AGAIN by a bloody pigeon! Really hoping that this isn't going to happen in every country I visit - there are still quite a few to go!
 |
| A traditional indigenous dance. |
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| One of the dances involved the dancers balancing bottles of liquor on their heads! |
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| There is a nightly light show in the main square, which celebrates the history and traditions of Mexico and Campeche. |
The day after it was time to move on to Merida. Would there be any respite from the heat? Nope! I spent a night in a nice hostel that was about 12 blocks from the zocalo, and whilst I don't mind a walk, even in the incredible heat, walking around empty streets to get home at night as my least favourite thing to do. So the next day I switched to one right in the square, Hostal Catedral. The best location, AC in the dorms, amazing wifi, a good breakfast - it was what backpacker dreams are made of.
 |
| Right next to the cathedral is the place to be in Merida! |
Until I got back at 11pm to find a couple I'd been talking to earlier hastily moving out of the room because one of them had been bitten by bed bugs!
Usually, if there's one bed with them, every bed in the dorm has them. I frantically checked my bed - on the sheet, under the sheet, under the pillow, in the seams of the mattress. It looked ok, phew. I went off to brush my teeth and came back....
 |
| Nooooooo! |
GAH! If you've read this blog before you may know that I'm not exactly a stranger to bed bugs. I actually think it's good to experience bed bugs at least once, as then you know what you're up against!
So there was no chance I was sleeping in that bed and luckily there was space for me to move next door. Phew.
With that I tossed and turned all night, dreaming of bed bugs coming to get me and waking up covered in big red bumps.
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