Off to Campeche

 I'm off to Campeche for several days to escape the brutal San Miguel de Allende winter. This morning a crisp 11°. In Campeche it is a balmy 24°. Why the difference? San Miguel is in the central highlands at over 2,000 meters altitude while Campeche is on the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, we still call it that down here. Mind you, San Miguel doesn't actually have a winter as such. I took these photos yesterday:

Campeche is interesting in itself--it is one of only two walled cities in North America, the other being Quebec City. Campeche, an important port in the 17th and 18th centuries, was plagued by pirates. It is not a popular tourist destination which is one reason I'm visiting. I disliked Cancun rather intensely because it has obviously been over-run with tourists.

An hour's drive from Campeche is the ancient Mayan city of Edzna which looks well worth visiting and again, not frequented by many tourists.

It vaguely resembles Monte Alban, outside Oaxaca, which I visited a number of years ago, though of course an entirely different civilization. Monte Alban was the center of the Zapotec civilization in southern Mexico.

I'll leave you with another haiku:

It's true: sorrow is

Source of creativity

Joy is just joyful