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A Tale of Five Cities:  Visiting Campeche's Old City Wall

1/15/2013

2 Comments

 
We didn't have time for a great deal of sightseeing during our brief stopover in Campeche, Mexico, but one thing we did do was visit a portion of the old city wall that is open to tourists.  The entire centro area of the city was walled in the past, but today only a few portions of the wall remain.  

This was where we passed through on our way from the bus stop when walking to our hotel the day before.  The largest gate is called "Puerta de Tierra", and an attendant collects a small fee to allow you to go up the stairs to the top, where excellent views of the city can be found.  He tells you to ring the bell when you want to come back out as he locks the gate during your self-guided tour.  There was only one other man and his son who were on the wall when we went up.
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Puerta de Tierra
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Old City Wall
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It was fascinating seeing the tops of the colonial buildings.  The hotel across the street had a lovely rooftop deck, and a huge tree growing from the courtyard.  
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Interesting views from above
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Walking along the top of the wall, there was a big contrast between centro historico to the right and the modern city to the left.  
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Something that was fascinating to us was the discovery that some of the buildings in centro were truly just facades with ruins, trees, and foliage behind -- not actually habitable spaces in their current states.  They look pretty from street level, but it's a bit deceptive!
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These are a little more well-maintained...
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Cannons from days gone by
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I loved this technique of using small rocks to shore up the mortar...or is it only decorative?  I'm not sure, but I liked it!
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Looking out to the "modern" part of the city from the wall, we could see the local buses (not the ADO buses we've been taking on our travels from city to city) lining up to take people on their way to different parts of the city.  The ADO station was quite a long walk from here.  We'd be heading there a little later on this day.
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Once we'd seen it all, it was time to ring the bell.  Fun!
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Fortunately the attendant did come and open the door to let us out.
The following display was built into the wall, as were the restrooms.  A bit mysterious!
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The sign says (literal translation) "I have to be brief while waiting". Hmmmmm...
2 Comments
daddywags
1/15/2013 09:46:53 am

We are enjoying the blogs of your trip. hope to see you guys in March!

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Reader
1/16/2013 07:29:42 am

The sing by the restroom display means: "Be brief . . . I have been waiting or a while"

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    Emily & Barry

    We're an adventurous couple, married 27 years, who decided to move to Ambergris Caye, Belize from Chapel Hill, North Carolina for retirement.  We built a condo on the beach  north of San Pedro Town and moved in with our Boston Terrier Paisley in August 2011 and lived there until March 2013.  Ultimately, we decided to return to the US, but we have no regrets and MANY good memories of our time in Belize.  We hope our blog might prove helpful to anyone interested in this lovely country.

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