Rush, Wait, Travel; Rush, Wait, Travel; etc.!

Saturday, Mar. 26, 2011--San Antonio to Cancun to Campeche

All day has been a series of travels which all involved rushing, then waiting, then finally traveling. I was up at 5:00 and rushing to take care of final details, get bathed, etc. I arrived at the airport at 6:00. Check-in went well, and I was upgraded to first class. I took advantage of the waiting period to check my mail and read the newspapers using the free wifi at the airport.

The flight was smooth and easy. I read an old issue of TIME I had put aside. I also ate the nice breakfast they served--egg and sausage on a muffin, fruit salad, yogurt, and a warm cinnamon roll. Before I knew it, we were landing in Cancun. Lots of others were arriving, too, but the lines for immigration and customs moved fast. For the first time ever in Mexico, I got the "red light," though. When going through customs, everyone pushes a button. If you get a green light, you just walk on out. If you get a red, they check your luggage. Even though I was in a rush to try to catch a bus downtown, I had to stop and open my bags and let them go through them messing things up. Of course there was nothing to be found. But that's because I stuffed down the 8 dates I had packed when I realized after finishing my breakfast that I had to eat them, too, or lose them because they were "fresh" fruit with pits.

As I rushed out of the terminal, the bus for town was pulling away. I had to wait another hour for the next bus. I took advantage of the time to go to the toilet and to go to an ATM. I also visited with a young couple from Merida who had been vacationing in Las Vegas and Atlanta and a medical professor who was going to visit his daughter who lives on a small island near here. When the bus finally arrived around 10:35, I told the driver I was rushing for the Campeche bus leaving downtown at 11:20.

Fortunately, traffic was light. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it. We pulled in the station with 10 minutes to go. I had to rush inside and buy a ticket. The door was open and the bus was loading by the time I got there.

The bus trip was LONG. Over 7 hours, it took me all the way across the Yucatan. We passed the ruins at Chichen Itza and Uxmal, both of which I have visited twice before. We made short stops in Valladolid and Merida. Otherwise, we were rushing across the jungle flats. Just outside of Campeche, I experienced a deja vu moment when the bus started to pass a pickup truck filled with people in the back. He saw he didn't have room to pass, yet he was going too fast to stop and pull back. He hit the breaks. I looked down, thinking we were going to hit the back of the truck and send the people flying into the air. The truck pulled off the road slightly, and the driver of the bus somehow slowed down enough to be right on their tail without hitting them. I was sure I was going to have another moment like the one in Georgia two years ago.

Campeche is not a large city. The bus station is on the outer edge of the city, but it is only 2.5 km (1.5 mi) from the center of town. I had been sitting so long, that I just walked into town. I had the route in my head after having seen it on the map, so I made it to my hotel with no problems and checked in at 18:45.

This place is really special!! It was an old walled city, and some of the walls are still standing. Inside, there is a completely restored old city that is beautiful. It reminds me a bit of Oaxaca or of San Miguel de Allende except that there are mostly locals here. I have seen a few tourists, but it is very limited. It is truly a gem of a city.

After checking in, I went out exploring. I walked to the main square passing art exhibitions, old churches, shops, etc. There is a beautiful, lighted cathedral there, and a library in what was probably once the city hall facing the plaza. The plaza is clean with tall trees, and it was filled with strolling couples and others sitting on the benches along the side. Just outside the walls near the plaza, I found a bread festival taking place. There was a stage with live music, a small carnival, and a large tent with various bakers showing their products and selling them.

Being tired and hungry, I headed back outside the walls on the street I had taken from the bus station. I found a place with a shawarma-style grill and bought a torta filled with the shaved meat, cabbage, lime juice, and picante sauce. I sat at a bus stop and ate it. Then I went to a large supermarket and bought a large cola. I had gone all day with no water until I got to my room, and I still needed some liquid.

Unfortunately, I was too tired to go back to the festival. I just returned to the room to try to rest for the night.