It was only the small sign at the top of the lane that
gave you any clue at all !!
And as for the motorcycles just in this area which have a
trailer and then call themselves Taxis…..Words fail me !!
And all day we were climbing – Almost imperceptibly, but
when I looked at my altimeter I suddenly realised we were over 2000 metres
!! No wonder Troopie was feeling a bit
breathless until the turbo kicked in – And every time you went slow over a
tope, no turbo, so it felt like she was failing ! Then the turbo would kick in
and off we would go again …..until 200 yards up the road and the next tope !!
And beside the road, different areas have different
things for sale. Today were lots of
colourful hammocks, and also model pigs, elephants, and various other animals –
No, not pinyatas that you break, just , model animals of all sizes !! I presume they do sell some !
Also lots of agriculture, corn in particular today.
For the last biyt into Puebla I got on the toll road
(couta) as I was sick of topes, and as it was getting late I didn’t want to be
looking for camp sites in the dark. As I
came towards Puebla the sky blackened and just as I hit the edge of town (with
skyscrapers !!) the heavens opened in such a way that instantly there was a
foot of water in the streets, and even I didn’t like to drive on – Remember
half these cars don’t even have wipers, let alone working ones !! So I chickened out and pulled into a Pemex
station for about half an hour, and tried to work out where I was trying to get
there. No Lat and Long coordinates
tonight, so I was in trouble – It is almost impossible to drive, look for topes
and traffic lights, and read a map and instructions all at the same time – Even
for me !! Anyway, set off looking for
one camp site and following Tom Tom, and the roads got narrower and narrower
and I was winding through some really out of the way streets ! The road suddenly opened into a big square
with a church in it – But then I was plunged back into the back streets of
wherever I was. Somewhere in the region
of Cholula and Tlaxcala, I think in hindsight.
At one point Tom Tom sent me into a kind of drainage tunnel under a main
road – That was only 3 foot high !! So
Troopie had to use all her ability and climb a bank up onto the road !! No problem.
Anyway, still bombing down the road, with darkness
closing in (although fortunately the rain had slowed to a drizzle by now), when
suddenly I saw a sign to “La Toledo” – That was the other camp site I had on my
list !! So without hesitating I followed
those signs with relief, and once again was winding through these narrow village
streets. Every time I doubted my direction, I asked someone, and they all said
“Si Si” and pointed ahead, so I kept going.
Suddenly I came to these enormous gates with guards on, and asked “Se
puedo acampar aqui ?” and they smiled
and said “Si Si” and opened the gates for me.
I was so relieved as I didn’t have a clue where I was, and was starting
to get just a little concerned as it got dark.
Anyway, the guards sent me up the hill to a magnificent building where I
paid 60 pesos (about $4.50) for the night, and was sent back down to the
guards, one of whom actually jumped in to show me where to go for camping
! It is an enormous place, and even the
guard got lost a couple of times, but eventually we found a spot for me (they
initially thought I was going to sleep in a tent, and showed me this area I
couldn’t get the car to !! But when I
pointed to the car and said “Mi casa”, they understood. By now it was raining again, and it was cold,
so I quickly set up camp, cooked some noodles inside the van, and turned
in. Did need my sleeping bag (instead of
just a sheet) for the first time in a few weeks – It was cool !! About 10
degrees C – And not surprising, as I was still up at 2200 metres.
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