A popular path for joggers, cyclists, strolling friends and cooing sweethearts, the malecón, Campeche’s 7km-long waterfront promenade, makes for a breezy sunrise ramble or sunset bike ride.
A series of monuments along a 2.5km stretch of the malecón allude to various personages and events in the city’s history. Southwest of the Plaza Moch-Couoh stands a statue of Campeche native Justo Sierra Méndez, a key player in the modernization of Mexico’s educational system. Next to the plaza is a monument of the walled city’s four gates. Three blocks up is a monumental sculpture of native son Pedro Sáinz de Baranda, who played a key role in defeating the Spanish at their last stronghold in Veracruz, thus ending the War of Independence.
Just beyond the Centro de Convenciones Campeche XXI, the girl gazing out to sea is the Novia del Mar. According to a poignant local legend, the campechana fell in love with a foreign pirate and awaits his return. About 1km further north, the Plaza Cuatro de Octubre (October 4 Plaza) commemorates the date of the city’s ‘founding,’ depicting the fateful meeting of a Maya cacique (chief, who was evidently lost, since it took Montejo to found the city), the conquistador Francisco de Montejo and a priest.
At the malecón’s northern tip, 4.5km northeast from downtown, lies a cluster of seafood restaurants called Parador Gastrónomico de Cocteleros. It's a good place for lunch, despite the waiters touting for customers.
