The treasures of Campeche
By Bob Schulman
In 1540, whe
n Spanish troops captured the Mayan port of Kin Pech on the Gulf of Mexico, they found an unexpected treasure: a small, scrawny tree that grew all over the nearby forests – and from which a gorgeous, red-orange dye could be made.
That was a big deal back in Europe, where only the rich could foot the hefty bills for purple capes, red waistcoats and other bright clothes dyed with the juices of rare bugs and exotic plants. Commoners could only afford clothes dyed with cheap, drab materials. Like soot.
Soon, galleon loads of the Kin Pech trees began showing up in Spain, and news that a cheap source of colorful dye had been found blasted across the continent like a cannonball. The sooty set could now dress like the silky set.
All this from a little tree simply called logwood.
Back in Campeche, as the Spanish renamed the city, fortunes were made by everyone from the logwood forests' new owners to the slave brokers who imported laborers to cut the trees. And the town showed it. Campeche's streets, it's said, “were lined with fabulous mansions and churches full of gold and silver and the finest Chinese porcelain.”
Campeche's wealth, however, was a red flag to the pirate fleets prowling the Gulf waters from their hangout a few hundred miles down the coast at Ciudad del Carmen. Over the next century, they raided Campeche so many times that it became one of the most frequently sacked spots in the New World.
The solution – although late in coming – was to build a huge, eight-sided wall around the city with a fortress on each corner bristling with cannons. When it was finished in 1704, the wall ran over a mile and a half long. It was a whopping six and a half feet thick and almost as high as a three-story building.
Buccaneers ran into a stone wall. Photo by Patricia Tamez, Campeche Tourism Office.
The pirates never came back. Campeche thrived as the second richest city (after Veracruz) in eastern Mexico for another century and a half until the mid-1800s, when European inventors figured out a way to make artificial dyes.
Colonial elegance
So what's the town like today? As you might expect, it's grown a lot – close to a quarter-million people live here – but but the downtown area is much like it was hundreds of years ago. More than a thousand mansions, churches, government offices and shops have been restored to their colonial elegance along the city's cobbled lanes.
What's more, a large section of the city is still framed by the old wall and its gun-studded bastions. One section is the backdrop for a pirate-laced light-and-sound show described by critic Jaime Capulli as “the most fantastic production of its kind staged anywhere in Mexico.”
Besides its historical attractions, Campeche offers some of the best vacation bargains in the country. For example, rooms in the city's tourist-class hotels can often be booked for less than $75 a night including breakfast. And you'll find stunningly low prices in the handicraft shops around town, especially for woven goods and ceramics.
Beyond that, Campeche is packed with great restaurants (featuring fresh seafood, also at low prices), it's safe to wander around there (even late at night) and it's close to Edzna (about a half-hour drive) and other spectacular Mayan ruins out in the jungle.
Tourists walk in the footsteps of ancient Mayan kings (and Mel Gibson)at Edzna. Photo by Bob Schulman.
Until a few years ago, the once-great city of Edzna was one of the lesser known sites of the Mayan empire. That was before actor/director/producer Mel Gibson turned the city into a set (with the addition of a towering sacrificial pyramid) for his controversial movie, Apocalypto. The local folks don't think much of the film's historical accuracy, but they admit it's done wonders for tourism.
Coming: A super-resort
The big buzz around these parts is about a new, $800 million resort – the state's first mega-project – springing up just 45 minutes down the coast. There, Baby Boomers and others will soon be living the life of Riley in 3,000 luxury condos being built at the Campeche Playa Golf, Marina & Spa Resort. The units will either front the resort's mile and a half of white-sand beaches, its Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course or its 150-slip marina.
Spread out over 760 acres, the project will also feature a hacienda-style Westin Hotel, a smaller boutique hotel, a health center, a shopping mall and special attractions such as a sea turtle museum. The resort's developer, Spain's Grupo Mall, plans to open the first phase of the Campeche Playa later this year.
Real estate agents in the U.S., Canada and overseas are handling sales of the condos. Peggy Worthington, CEO of Global Ventures, LLC (www.livingglobally.com) and a Denver-based sales rep for the resort, says “Campeche is one of the few places left in Mexico where the words 'unspoiled beaches' can honestly be used to describe the landscape there.”
Worthington, who bought one of the Campeche Playa condos herself, notes that environmental concerns are a top priority at the resort. “We want our children and their children to be able to enjoy the beauty of Campeche as much as we do today.” Details on the Campeche Playa can be obtained from Worthington at peggyworthington@msn.com.
Getting there: Most travelers from the U.S. fly to Mexico City and then catch connecting hops to the Campeche airport. From there, it's a short drive to the city or about a 45-minute ride to the new resort. Another option for visitors to the Campeche Playa is to fly from Houston to the old pirate hangout at Ciudad del Carmen near the western border of the state, from which it's an hour's ride to the resort.
Staying there: The city of Campeche has about a dozen tourist-class hotels ranging from cozy inns to luxurious five-star properties. At some, modest colonial exteriors give way to luxury interiors, such as in the 15 rooms of the Hacienda Puerta Campeche just across the street from the city's historic fort.
More info:
Visit www.campechetravel.com,
www.travelyucatan.com/campeche_mexico.php
or the Mexico Tourism Board at www.visitmexico.com.
Check out the Campeche Playa at www.campechebeachresort.com
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