CAMPECHE VIEWS

After a great lunch on Calle Ocho, Ted, Anne and the two of us quickly walked along the narrow old city streets to the central plaza to pick up a bilingual narrated tram tour of the city.

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Here is a view of the plaza and the tram
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The anual Campeche Carnival was the day we arrived outside the City at the Club Nautico and we did not get to see it. Today as we tour the city we can still see some of the floats.
This float from last night was still parked by the Malecon. Carnival took place early this year, from January 30 to February 5. Celebrations kicked off with the "Quema del Mal Humor" - the burning of bad mood, and culminated on Ash Wednesday with the burial of "Juan Carnaval."

Another beautiful float. Carnival has been celebrated in Mexico since the mid 1500's and there are several cities with exuberant celebrations. Mazatlan and Veracruz hold some of the biggest and most elaborate Carnaval festivals while the Carnaval with the longest history is in Campeche.

This is a view of the avenue by the side of the Malecon. Some goverment buildings are in the distance. Campeche is the capital of the Mexican State of Campeche and therfore hosts the state legislature, governor, judiciary and other state offices. The lime around the base of most trees repel ants. This unusual building is the Legislative Palace

The beautiful Campeche Malecon has a bike and skating track as well as a walking promenade besides the seawall. You can see the track at the foreground. Runners, cyclists and in-line skaters enjoy this track while catching the sea breezes. At intervals along the Malecon we find colorful monuments, childrens activity areas, seating areas, etc. This one depicts the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Here is another monument area along the Malecon. This one includes parking spaces. You can see the track to the left of the royal palm.

This Malecon monument imparts a moral. It is the statue of a young woman who was wooed by a pirate who promised to return to marry her. Now it is many years since that promise and she is still sitting looking out to sea waiting for him.