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Friday, May 20
Normally we would hit the road at the crack o’ dawn, all giddy and excited in a “no sleep” fog. Not so today. As mom would say, we were all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. It was easily 11 in the morning before we set the cruise control for Nuevo Laredo via the Columbia Bridge. We actually might leave late more often because at 2 in the afternoon, we were in a line of one to get our visas and car permit. That kind of stuff is required if you want to go more than a dozen miles into Mexico and the absence of a line to wait in was a pleasant surprise.
Once across, we bounced (literally) into Nuevo Laredo for pesos and a late lunch. Next stop; Monterrey. Sweltering 105-degree Monterrey. We attempted a bit of activity. We’re right across from the “great obstruction” and the hip Barrio Antigua with its dozens of restaurants and clubs. However, it was a kind of hot where you continuously wonder if something is burning. You wouldn’t be wrong. It’s you. The oppressive heat sent us back to our hotel and affected our next few destination decisions. Tampico won with a tolerable 91 degrees.
Saturday, May 21
Our Tampico hotel was quite funky and not in Tampico. It was across the big bridge and in a different state. Welcome to Pueblo Viejo, Veracruz. As the name implies, it’s a grubby old town on the banks of a laguna fed by the Panuco river. There we had yet another late lunch on a pier. Sharon had anti-enchiladas, the kind that are nothing like the menu’s description, or my Spanish translation skills have failed me once again due to several rounds of rum n coke.
We returned to the funky hotel and its funkier pool with its two-story Mayan ruin replica to free-fall water into the pool. The walls surrounding us were meticulously painted with jungle murals. I helped a plump little abuela in and out of the pool, performed my famous “El Dedo” magic trick for her nietos (grand kids), then hit the streets for a look around at a lot of not much-ness. There was the omnipresence of a mural painter throughout the town, possibly the same artist as the poolside walls. Except for a few moments at a local basketball game, the only distraction was to enjoy our own charming selves.
Sunday, May 22
Our next stop was Veracruz and involves the worst road in the state for a good 50 miles. My trusty Honda Element has developed a few new rattles and squeaks because of this road. We headed down this rutted path to first find gas. We’ve noticed a lot of stations not having regular or any gas at all. 20 miles later and a number of axel killing speed bumps, the one we stopped at was one of them. No gas. We felt it best to turn around and go into the big city of Tampico to not tempt the fate of running out of fuel. Back past where we came from only to realize there was a station right at the exit from Pueblo Viejo. If only we would have looked left; a gas station, cleverly hidden by a bush. Not bushes. A bush. A shrubbery. Less than a sapling.
We zipped around Veracruz and because we were making such good time, decided to continue to Catemaco. We’re headed to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The “flaco” part of Mexico. El Isthmus. In Lerdo de Tejada, not too far from Catemaco, we took a spontaneous right turn at the sight of a coconut ice cream street vendor. His sign said he invented it so hey, we were in the presence of “The Guy”. His 5-year-old curbside waiter picked the appropriate amount of pesos from Sharon’s hands. Soon our lactose-tolerant selves continued down the beautiful, mountainous, serpentine highway.
If you ever enter Catemaco with a Texas license plate, be forewarned. You will be swarmed, no, attacked by a squadron of “tour guides” on scooters just powerful enough to keep up with your car. This is not hyperbole. This is fact. They’re harmless, but then again, so are flies.
Hotel de Angeles is in the heart of hot and steamy Catemaco. It’s a pretty old hotel and is not all that pleasing to the eye from the street. But it had its charm in the form of being super cheap, having a great air conditioner and a nice big pool on the second floor visible from the parking area. A short little fellow I called Popeye insisted he give me a carwash. He was so short he couldn’t wipe the bottom half of the car but I paid him none-the-less. He didn’t seem to appreciate my patronage.
There is a three block “strip” along the lake side, lined with restaurants, tiendas or where you can get a cleansing from a shaman. We opted for Italian food. At La Floretine we enjoyed conversation with two fun locals named… argh, damn it! That piece of paper is somewhere in the car. Suffice it to say, they were a lovely couple and we talked all through dinner.
Monday, May 23
First, we woke early for a ride on the boat “Mayhem”. Well, it looked like “mayhem” to us. This cruise around Lake Catemaco was to see the monkeys stranded on an island from a long-abandoned experiment. But I also wanted to grab an interview with our boat guide about a bit of the brujo culture there in Catemaco.
Brujo = Witch. Witches, curanderos and shamans. In Mexican culture, Catemaco is where it was all born.
After huevos rancheros in the grubby local market, we took a daytrip, originally looking for the elusive city graveyard. I’ve been there before for Dia de los Muertos but… I just couldn’t find it. We explored the other side of town, down towards three consecutive dead ends then found a lush jungle and pairs of loud the Macaws. Further down the road we stopped at Barra de Sontecomapan, ordered a couple of beers (that we didn’t realize would be quarts) and generally got very lazy for a couple of hours. Barra de Sontecomapan was a pleasant surprise.
We returned to Catemaco and ended this eventful day with tacos Al Pastor in the street.
Continuará
awesome trip
I look forward to your adventures everytime you hit the road. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Interesting adventure. Thanks for sharing.