Indiana Jones and the Pirates of the Gulf Coast

This past weekend, I went to Campeche, which is the capital city of the State of Campeche. I went there last year, so I was expecting the experience to be something similar... but it was not at all.

For those of you who were not recipients of my super dooper emails last year, Campeche is a colonial ciry that sits on the Gulf of Mexico on the western side of the peninsula. Now, you have all heard about the pirates of the Caribbean... but perhaps they should have named the films 'Pirates of the Gulf Coast,' because Campeche began to suffer countless pirate attacks in the 1500´s. These attacks reached their peak in the 1600´s and 1700´s. The city was frequently a victim of the infamous French pirate Laurent de Graff, who evenutally became known as simply Lorencillo (loh-ren-SEE-yo). He was known for creeping up on coastal cities during the cover of night and holding the entire city hostage inside the church. Campeche became a hot target for bucaneers because of the treasures there: gold, silver, jewels, skins, spices and dyes. Concerned for the city´s survival, the Spaniards sealed the city up inside a large fort. This walled fort was built starting in 1686 and was completed in 1704. The walls were about 2 meters thick and 6 meters high, and in the entire fort there were only two entrances: the Eastern Gate and the Western Gate. Each corner of the fort was a bastion armed with 16 cannons, many of which are still atop the bastions today. Each bastion also has bells meant for sounding the alarm during night hours. This fort effectively put an end to the pirate attacks, though by the time it was completed, the pirates in the gulf were becoming less and less active anyway.

Campeche was rennovated in the 1980´s. Facades of old homes were fixed up and painted, so the city is now colorful. The walls lining the streets are every color of cake frosting. The downtown churches are all beautiful, one of which serves the dual purpose of church and lighthouse. Though the city is on the coast, there is no much swimming. The walls of the fort are maybe 100 yards from the edge of the water, which is held back by a low wall. The coast is a popular way to pass the afternoon taking a walk or watching the waves of the gulf splash up against the wall.

I am debating how much to give away about my weekend... I am strongly considering taking my family there when they come to visit this week, but I have to get a few details worked out. This means, unfortunately, that this is about all you get to hear about Campeche for the time being. I am going to write up what happened and post it AFTER my family comes, because I want it to be a surprise.

I CAN tell you (because my family will not be going there) that we hit up the ruins of Edzna, which is a site that I visited last year. It was my #2 site in all of my travels, so that was good to see it again.

Sorry I can't say more... I coudn't bear it if I ruined the surprise... stay tuned next week for my awesome Pirate Adventures in Campeche!