Aeromexico

Last night was the "farewell dinner" for the main trip. Of the 34 travelers in that group, only 13 of us are continuing on to the post-trip in Yucatan. This is more like a typical OAT trip. Balam continues with us as our tour leader.

The shuttle to the airport left at 5:30 a.m. with a somewhat questionable "box" breakfast consisting of a sandwich, an energy bar, and a can of apple juice. Fortunately, we had liberated a couple of apples from yesterday's breakfast buffet, and those became lunch later on.

There are no direct flights from Oaxaca to Campeche, so we had to fly west to get east, and endure a three-hour layover at the Mexico City airport. The first flight was about 40 minutes, the second about an hour.

Landing in Campeche, we immediately noticed the change in climate. All of our previous stops have been at elevation. Campeche is on the gulf formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico. The temperature when we arrived was 90 F with about 50% humidity.

Our hotel is right on the water (well, there's a 4-lane street between us and the promenade, but as close as one can get). It's a very nice room with a balcony overlooking the sea. It's also just a couple blocks from the gate in the walls of the old city, where most 18th and 19th century buildings still stand.

Balam took us on a brief orientation walk around the neighborhood, which ended at our restaurant for dinner. The meal was good, but we were surprised that no seafood was on the menu.

Tomorrow we'll see more of the city with a local guide.