In Merida, we usually stay here at the Hotel Villa Maria on the corner of Calle 59 y 68.

Just inside the entrance to Hotel Villa Maria.

The inner courtyard and dining area.

An air-conditioned dining room for the warm summer months.

On the drive down to Campeche, we stopped at the small town of Hecelchakan to visit the museum.

Cathederal San Francisco de Asis.

Side portal to entrance.

Interior of cathederal.

Cathederal altar.

Floor tile.

The museum has a small collection of figurines from Jaina.

Very equisite and detailed.

Jaina means “Place of the House in the Water”

Here's a doll with moveable limbs.

Two more of the figurines.

Then onto Campeche. Our hotel is at the circled 31, a little left of center.

Campeche coat of arms.

Here's the hotel on Calle 10.

It's the Plaza Campeche Hotel.

Sitting area off the lobby.

The very bright cafeteria.

Dining room, where many locals come for the Sunday breakfast buffet.

Swimming pool.

Our spacious, but empty Junior Suite.

Our balcony with a view of the cathederal.

It's CARNAVAL, and tonight is the big parade along the Malacon.

It's lierally wall-to-wall people. All of Campeche is here.

Arlene managed to get some youngsters to sell us stools for $100 pesos each, and we were right among the extended family.

Plenty of snacks available.

But our new found "friends" are suppling us with food and beer.

OK, the parade has finally reached our viewing position.

Dancers to warm up the night air.

Music. We got that too.

It's all just a blur.

Floats, what is a parade without floats. Pirates of the Caribbean was a familar theme.

They must have been well over 60 or so floats.

Big Buddha.

Another pirate ship with the King and Queen of CARNAVAL.

Wrestlers!! And they were really throwing each other around onto the street!!

Sort of a space ship float.

One of the new "friends" enjoying the parade as Arlene keeps her from falling off the chair.

Dancers.

A very elaborate float. And that's enough CARNAVAL for us. How we got to the hotel is another story.

It's Sunday morning and time for church.

The main square punctuated by the cathederal.

Cathederal interior and Sunday mass.

Newspapers for sale outside the cathederal. No Por Esto!

Portals of the Revolution on one side of square.

Band stand in center of square.

Part of the San Carlos bastion.

Bell at San Pedro bastion.

Roof of San Pedro and San Juan church dome.

In San Padro bastion museum.

More in San Pedro museum.

Display model in San Pedro museum.

Display inside a dress store.

More inside the dress store.

Left side of mural on Government Palace.

Right side. Together it's all one mosaic mural.

Campeche is very clean, and the houses are very colorful.

Side street off the square.

Going in the other direction.

And back to the main square and . . . .

House 6. Constructed in XVII century and modified for lifestyle of XIX century.

House 6 kitchen.

House 6 courtyard.

House 6 shop display case.

Arlene bought the standing figure on the right.

House 6 shop has it's kitsch too.

And they are big on the pirate theme...

More pirates..

Then we went to Fort San Miguel outside of town.

Entering the gate via the draw bridge over the moat.

Race up the stairs to man the ramparts...

Man those cannons.

The fort has an excellent hilltop position overlooking the Gulf.

Cannons. Cannons. Cannons.

Ah, here comes the gunnery team now, albeit without the cannon balls.

Fort Sam Miguel has an excellent Maya Museum.

The displays are set up in a series of small rooms around the center courtyard.

These figurines are just a small portion of the artifacts on display.

A deformed Maya skull.

Just marvellous.

Funnery Bowl. Click on it for an enlargement.

I'll take a pair of these.

Notice the detail.

Kinda fierce looking.

Turtle head.

Another skull.

Notice the color. Doesn't the one on the right look oriental - Shinto?

Jade mask.

Funnery bowl cover.

Click on this to see an enlargement.

Skeleton in burial chamber with jade beads.

Not quite sure what this is, but the color is something else.

Ingrid says, "Enough, let's go to lunch".

Ok, but two more.

Stellae.

Out over the drawbridge.

Over the moat.

And down the curved entrance, and we are on our way to luch.....

Along the water on the north side of town there's a group of seafood restaurants.

And, they have stone crabs. These were given the "thumbs down" by the experts.

Back to the hotel. The small park outside our balcony.

A couple of small restaurants off the park.

The evening sky and cathederal from our balcony.

We go to dinner at La Pigua, reportedly one of the best in Campeche, but. . . . .

Here's a painting in La Pigua.

And with that, these buckeroos are heading back to Akumal.

Sign on toll road between Merida and Cancun.