Edzná and Hacienda Uayamón

(Getting closer to the Gulf coast and the capital of Campeche, I stopped off at Edzná ruins, and again had the entire place to myself for most of the 3 hours I spent there.)

(While sitting atop one of the temples, a few vultures kept circling overhead and landing on the tops of the ruins, trying to show me who was boss. It was a bit of a surreal experience because in some of these temples the local animals were worshiped as gods.)

(Me, Edzná and the beautiful grassy square in front of the temple. Many of the sites have nice grassy patches cleared out around the temples before falling back into the jungle behind them.)

(That tiny group of three people was the only interruption to my solitude at the temple. This was another site that would be quite popular if it were closer to a main town, but its isolation keeps it quiet and magical.)

(The main temple at Edzná. Unfortunately, you can no longer climb this temple...well, you might be able to since nobody is really around, but I decided to follow the rules here.)

(I had originally just planned a quick stop at Edzná, but it was such a beautiful, peaceful place that I ended up staying for about 3 hours before finally convincing myself to keep moving.)

(Making my way to Campeche city (not the state), I saw a sign for Hacienda Uayamón. I had seen a picture of the pool of this hotel in some tourist brochure, and I had no idea where it was, but luck brought me to it, and I knew I had to stop.)

(This incredible pool with a few lounge chairs and a hammock over the water in the back corner was built inside the middle of an old plantation building, leaving a few old columns intact. I decided to take a quick break on one of the chairs.)

(A few stunning flowers were floating outside the pool in a bit of a zen garden.)

(Once an old plantation, Hacienda Uayamón has been partially restored and cleaned up into a boutique type hotel with 12 rooms. Although it's expensive, the atmosphere is unbelievable, set in these semi-decaying ruins in the jungle.)

(This is literally the entrance to two of the rooms (one to the right, one to the left). The hotel only has 12 rooms, and each of them seem to be equally impressive.)

(An old, semi-restored chapel on the site. The only problem with this hotel is that it's in the middle of nowhere, so you have to be content just hanging out and relaxing on the beautiful, hot, steamy property. Fortunately, there is a good bit of shade there.)

(A massive tree and a few chairs sit at the entrance to the hotel. I spoke to a few workers who let me wander around the place even though I wasn't staying there. I was even offered a margarita by one of the workers delivering room service, but it clearly wasn't for me, so I politely declined.)