Chula Cholula: Semana Santa Travel Report 1: Campeche

Semana Santa - Holy Week - is somewhat important in Mexico. Many businesses close for one or two weeks and even on the local markets, which normally are buzzing the whole year round, it's pretty calm, as many vendors return to their families.

So what did I do with my one week off from university? Right - travelling. I convinced my Danish friend C. to leave her desk for a while where she was steadily working on her thesis. As you might remember, my last itinerary included the central and southern regions on Mexico:

Previous itinerary during winter holidays

So this time I wanted to explore the Yucatán peninsula, famous for things like Chichen Itzá (one of the New 7 Wonders of the World), Spring Break beach destinations like Cancún, a very diverse flora and fauna, a unique cuisine... and a lot more. Of course we had to go. The final route turned out to be this (although it was planned pretty different):

The final itinerary

Our first destination was Campeche:

First trip: From Puebla (A) over Villahermosa (B) to Campeche (C)

Already the journey there was an experience, as we crossed the Zacatal Bridge (the part in the middle of map where the black line seems to cross the sea). With a length of almost 4km in the middle of the sea it is not only impressive, but really beautiful:

Zacatal Bridge (Source: SkyscraperCity.com)

The welcoming was somewhat "special", as on the local bus I heard the worst - but I tell you worst - "singer" ever. And guess what - people actually gave him money. Might be for mercy...
Well, apart there's not much to say about Campeche. It's a lovely UNESCO World Heritage city directly at the sea with lots of "baluartes" - bulwarks which were created by the Spanish Crown against the permanent attacks of pirates.

Baluarte (Bulwark) in Campeche (Source: AllMexicoPass.com)

When we arrived, we immediately felt run down - the temperature was way above 40°C.

Me and C. (Denmark) in Campeche

But actually I get used to such a climate very fast and it becomes a real feelgood factor for me. Great!

25 years - but never getting bored of imitating statues

Moreover, Campeche boasts a local speciality to cool oneself down: Horchata de Coco. Normally horchata is a drink made from rice (or in Spain from tigernuts), but here they also add coconut. Perfect!

Horchata de Coco!

If you know me it won't surprise you that my knowledge about the city's history also after the visit is limited to the most basic, while I can probably answer you most of the questions related to local cuisine. To each their own, right?!
So, just in case that you might be interested, local specialties include: Pan de Cazón (Layers of tortilla and School shark) and sopa de chaya ("Mayan spinach"). Both pretty edible, although I have to admit that to me the difference between School shark and canned tuna was... marginal.