Campeche, Campeche, Mexico     December 2, 2023

I was up before 5 and had a very slow morning which I enjoyed immensely.  About 11, I decided to follow Jorge’s suggestion and walked to a nearby seafood restaurant that the locals frequent.   He suggested I try a local dish called holochitos de cazon.  Cazon is shark apparently.  I also had pico de gallo which I love but not today.  I couldn’t see the chilies in it  but my mouth burned…..  badly.  I could only eat 2 small spoonfuls.  I was very disappointed but to make matters worse, the holochitos were disgusting.  The outside is like a tortilla except a lot thicker and there was a tiny bit of fish inside that looked like canned salmon.  I ate one of the three and brought the other two home to take with me tomorrow for breakfast as I’m going early to Edzna which is a Mayan ruin and I doubt many places will be open yet for breakfast-

Soriana was close to the restaurant so I wandered around in the cool.  The store is large but they don’t have nearly the selection I am used to however they fill the shelves with a lot of the same product-

Christmas trees are very expensive costing $132.50-

I came home for a while to avoid the heat of the day and then after a rest headed to the historical centre.  The buildings are painted bright colors but in mediocre condition-

I have been reading blogs to get ideas about what to do in the places I’m visiting and a woman suggested having chile hot chocolate at Chocol ha.  I also had carrot cake which Uncle Nico would have loved.  Both were very good and I enjoyed them in a small garden-

I carried on and came across an exhibit of totem like poles (stele) carved out of various woods.  The theme of the project is To Plant a Tree is to Build a Monument-

I also came across a church with a gold leaf front altar-

but very different side altars-

I carried on to the Malecon.  There is no beach in Campeche but kilometers of Malecon-

This is the Christmas tree they lit up last night.  The square looks a lot less crowded than it did then-

More colourful buildings-

including Mansion Carvajal which is used today for offices-  

the library-

and of course the sign-

I ended up back at the zocola-

and the Catedral in the daylight-

Another blogger suggested having a mint margarita-

 at the Casa Vieja del Rio-

which looks like an interesting place to eat-

and has a great view of the square-

Strike 2.  I don’t even like mint but I imagined it flavoured like a mojito.  I’m not sure why I listened to these people because I know what I like.  I should have had the Chaya margarita which is made from a plant similar to spinach-

There are random sculptures everywhere-

A concert pianist was playing at Teatro de La Ciudad Francisco de Paula Toro.  I wasn’t interested in listening to the musician, I just wanted to see the theatre-

There were also rock bands playing -

at another venue so I stopped in for a listen (the poor singer sang very flat) and met Luis from Cancun who is here looking for a property for his uncle who wants to have a home where he can land his plane and taxi to his front door.  Luis studied at McGill for a few years.  We talked in both English and Spanish, and when I decided it was time to leave, I called over the waiter and thought I said quiero pagar which means I want to pay but Luis started laughing because I said quiero pegar which means I want to fight.  We had a good laugh over that one!  When I tried to leave the venue, the bouncer wanted to see my drink receipt but Luis wanted to buy my beer for me so I didn’t have one.  I had to go back inside and bring my waiter to the entrance before the bouncer would let me go.  That’s one way to make sure no one sneaks out without paying!  

Walking home I came to the Puerto de La Tierra-

which is the Earth Door.  At the other end of the street is the Door to the Sea.  I’m not sure what all the people were waiting for.  Perhaps there’s a nice view from the top.

Once home I had my half kilo of prawns and halfway through their cleaning I noticed a sign on the wall saying we aren’t supposed to cook seafood in our kitchen so I quickly hurried and then took my garbage outside and found a garbage can. All you can really smell when cooking shrimp is the garlic anyway and they were delicious as usual! 

I had an excellent day and am looking forward to seeing the Edzna Mayan ruins tomorrow.