0086 19th Aug - Tlaxcala to Veracruz

Rain had stopped when I woke up, but it was still cold so I had to dig into the storage bins to find some long trousers, shoes and socks, and a fleece !!  Packed up and set off to explore what exactly this amazing place was where I had camped.  I knew it was a government resort that at weekends and school holidays is apparently over run with locals, but as my night there was neither of the above, I was as usual at this time of year, on my own again ! Driving around the grounds I found a 50 metre outdoor pool, a large area with a kart track laid out, picnic areas, a putt putt golf course, fountains, turnstiles for entry, fake viaduct waterfalls, and motel style accomodation all over the place, but all in beautiful old stone buildings.  I went up to the main centre where I had checked in last night, and asked if I could go for a wander, and

they said “Si Si” (they say that a lot here !!) and I found two enormous restaurants (including one with a stuffed bulls head from a local bull fight in 2003 hung outside !!) , conference rooms, an enormous indoor swimming pool, and various other things – What was this place ?  It certainly wasn’t “just a camp site” !  So got chatting in my Spanglish with the guy on the front desk, and it turns out that from 1897 to 1974 or so, this was on of the biggest textile mills in Mexico.  Then recently the government had turned it into a resort and conference centre – And that just happened to include a camping area !!  The photos explain the magnificence quite clearly, I think, including the beautiful old church on site.  A very enjoyable couple of hours wondering around exploring.  Tlaxcala is at 2200 metres, 120 kms east of Mexico City, and 32 kms north of Puebla.  And between neighbouring Apizaco and Tlaxcala, history and buildings (a Franciscan convent) dating back to the 15^th century.

Eventually I set off, back through the little local streets again, and out onto the highway to Veracruz, down on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  You pass a lot of motels here, and they are usually fully enclosed, and you park your car behind curtains or a door in the car port  below your room and go directly from your car up the internal stairs to your room !  Some of them are, shall we say, rented out by the hour, but they are still open to the public !  I think I passed one of those on the back streets today – Motel Krystal, painted bright pink !!   I decided to use the Cuota Toll roads today, as I really was getting sick of topes, and as I had left Tlaxcala quite late didn’t want to get into Veracruz and being looking for camp sites in the dark again !  And what magnificent countryside I drove through – After leaving Tlaxcala we climber further to 2600 meters and were up there for the next 2 or 3 hours, with high mountain peaks all around me – Some of them volcanoes.  Including Pico de Orizaba which at 5636 metres is the highest point in Mexico.  And yet you cross these vast flat plains – But they are all up there at 2500 metres !  Through some tunnels at one point, and then I saw a sign that said “Maneje con precaucion – Zona de Niebla”   I knew the “Drive with caution” bit, but had to look up the Niebla bit in my dictionary which sits on the seat beside me – And cracked up when it said it meant “gloominess” !  Wow, this must be a seriously bad place to be a “Zone of gloominess” !!!  I mean, how bad could it be ??   After driving really carefully for a while so I didn’t get gloomy, I looked in my dictionary again and saw it can also mean “fog” – Which made a bit more sense !!  Phew !!

At one point we suddenly drove through about 20 kms of cacti and rocks – suddenly started, and suddenly finished, just like that.  Quite amazing too, the way the spiky cactus were outlined against the sky.  Then we started our decent down to the Gulf of Mexico, and it was just non stop, and quite quick as we dropped down 200o metres in about 20 minutes.  Very impressive road too – Although everyone still over takes on double lines.  There is an “emergency” lane on the right, and one is “expected” to move into it if someone wants to overtake you, or if someone coming the other way decides to overtake someone else, and wants your lane in order to do so !   You really have to keep an eye out both behind you and in front of you all the time !!   Impressive ravines, bridges, and waterfalls during the descent.

Once we approached Veracruz the temp started to get back into the 30’s again, so I had to do a quick change of clothes back into shorts !  There seem to be a lot of “housing estates” built, all little boxes all made out of ticky tacky as the song went – And they each have a black water tank on the roof !!  So you get a sea of clack water tanks, sometimes for as far as the eye can see !  I came into Veracruz which is a big city and a major freight rail terminus from the look of things.  My camp sites were 15 kms the other side of Veracruz, and at one busy roundabout / traffic light intersection a trick cyclist with a clown’s face painted on, suddenly started riding around backwards on his BMX bike, and juggling a pair of batons – While also trying to avoid the traffic going across the intersection – I was stopped and at the front of the line, so had a great view.  I have seen some funny things being done at the lights over here to earn a peso, but this had me in absolute fits, and I called him over to give him some pesos just before the light went green.  A good laugh is always good for the soul, and I went on my way with a happy soul !!

Drove on to the “Km 11”marker as instructed for the camp site – Nada.  Just grass.  So went into to another place and asked, and they directed me to another place, where I found a lovely little resort place with all sorts of cabins and activities in the trees, and a big camping area and swimming pool and bathrooms down on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.  Perfect, especially with a relatively cool sea breeze blowing. So set up, had some spag bol and even managed to make a kind of garlic bread, and when all were joined by a nice Chilean Merlot, all I needed was some company – Everything else was perfect !!  Blogged two nights worth (night off last night as too tired), but no wifi down here, so posting it will have to wait.

 

Pics here https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0087TlaxcalaToVeracruz?authkey=Gv1sRgCMTRk5yJzfDQQw#