We left Ciudad del Carmen and drove across the Zacatal Bridge which at 3,861 metres is the longest bridge in Mexico! Amanda jogged the bridge a couple of times during our 4 day stay!! Decided to stay on the Gulf of Mexico coast road as long as possible before heading over the mountains to Oaxaca.
12th March - Paraiso
Located in the north of the State of Tabasco, on the Gulf of Mexico. Traditionally dedicated to fishing and agriculture. Today, an oil producing area with the mostly oil dedicated port of Dos Bocas.
Our first City Express Hotel - good value - we visited the Plaza Principal, popped into the Church and saw a giant Crab statue on the main roundabout in this Oil Industry town which appears to be 100% owned by PEMEX, Mexico's state owned monopoly Petrol Station chain!
13th March - Coatzacoalcos
Major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Coatzacoalcos River. Coatzacoalcos comes from an indigenous word meaning "Where the snake hides".
Stayed at Fairfield Inn Hotel with a 7th Floor sea view! Good value again - the Oil Industry's hard times is good news for us Adventurers! Visited McCarthy's Irish Pub, which wasn't Irish, wasn't a Pub and wasn't very nice at all!! 10 quid for a bottle of Fuller's London Pride + a Gin & Tonic!!
14th March - San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec (Tuxtepec for short)
Tōchtepēc, from the Nahuatl language means "on the hill of rabbits". We didn't see any rabbits, but we were nearly hit by a Freight Train on an unmarked rail track crossing! Thank goodness we replaced front and back brake pads before leaving Chile!!
Stayed at Hotel El Rancho where we were the only guests in the 45 room Motel style Hotel. Nice pool where David skinnydipped! Visited the local Supermercado for a Lime Squeezer. Not much else to see!
16th March - Oaxaca (pronounced Wa-ha-ca)
Accommodation tight in Oaxaca City - almost had to sleep in a manger - fortunately Hotel La Catrina de Alcala had a late cancellation and we holed up there for our first night. Hotel Guest leaflet warned us about Earthquakes! Having missed the Peru quake back in November, Amanda hoped we'd have a tremor here in Oaxaca. The hotel assured us it had adequate Liability Insurance!!
Hotel also had a Roof Terrace where we relaxed after our tricky drive into Oaxaca Centro, sipped a chilled SB/Corona and watched a Carnival like procession of Graduating Students samba past accompanied by Giant Student Puppets some in gowns & mortar boards! Not the only giant puppets we were to see this weekend!
Last few photos a 'taster' of the Napoli Suite we were forced to book for Saturday night!!
