Into Mexico

  Monte Gordo, Mexico
Thursday, January 17, 2008

Hola Amigos,
We woke up on the 4th of January to find Larry had had a reaction to the rabies injection he had the day before. So we took him back to the vet for another injection and they kept him till 4pm for observation. By the time we picked him up he had improved markedly and it was back to plan A. We drove the 30 miles to Brownsville, fueled up and boon docked at Wal-mart ready to cross the border fist thing in the morning. I had picked the new Veterans bridge of the 3 in town as waiting times were short and parking was better we were told. We drove straight through the US checkpoint and stopped to obtain our tourist cards and vehicle permit. After an hour of paperwork we were ready to roll, a green light meaning no customs inspection and away we went with a few butterflies in my stomach after all the stories about Mexican roads and drivers I have heard and read.

Off to market

With only a brief paragraph from the campground book we had to navigate the border city of Matamoros, as the road atlas we have has little detail of towns, it only shows major roads leading to a dot on the map and no gps mapping we found our way to mex180 no worries.
Experiencing huge potholes and the dreaded topes, radical speed humps that seem to be everywhere slowing the traffic to a crawl, even on the highways.

more oranges

We had 200 miles to reach our first destination, La Pesca a small fishing village on the Gulf coast 200 miles from the border. We reached the campground, clean, grassy and quiet, set on a wide picturesque river early afternoon and took a bike ride about 3 clicks to town, not being tourist season it was quiet and we had our first look at the poverty that a lot of the people live in Mexico. We pedaled about 5km through town and to the beach on the other side for a look. There was a lot of setup for Mexican holidayers but everything was closed as it is a summer destination. We didn't get a good feel from the town, only the Little kids waved and greeted us, I don't think they see too many gringos in these parts and most people just stared at us with blank looks.

too tired to pedal

By the time we arrived back at the campground we had decided that 1 night was enough in this place and we would push on for the Emerald Coast tomorrow.
Not getting as early a start as we had liked we set off on the 300 mile trip towards Costa Esmeralda, being the eve of a national holiday as well as having major roadworks on the highway it was slow going.
A word on how the locals drive here, when there is a decent shoulder on the road it turns into a 3 lane highway with the vehicle being passed staying hard right and the overtakers heading straight down the middle of the road without much regard for what is coming the other way, straight stretch or winding and hilly road with no view of oncoming traffic they just overtake, with buses and huge b-double semis overtaking slower trucks and clapped out vehicles all the time. I got used to it pretty quick and used the power of "Nellie's" 415 cubic inch V10 to get past a lot of the slower traffic. When in Rome!

Larry at Tajin

We used the brief but accurate directions to bypass Tampico another major city we had to get through as if you get caught going through the centro it not only adds a heap more time to the trip but you are likely to get a on the spot fine,(bribe) from the local federalizes.
We had our first inspection at a military checkpoint, these checkpoints are funded by the US and are primarily to stop Guns and Drugs reaching the States. The young soldiers manning the posts live in small tents pitched on the side of the road. no luxury of barracks here.
By mid afternoon we had revised our destination to Poza Rica as the slow going gave us no chance of reaching the coast by nightfall and with the condition of the roads and wandering stock it's not advisable to drive at night.
As the afternoon wore on with an hour of daylight left, still 100k's to Poza Rica and traffic almost at a standstill, we saw a sign advertising an RV park just down the road. With my back and neck killing me from the long drive, we pulled into the welcoming park and shared the large grassy area behind a small motel with Terry and Margo, Canadians on their way to the same place on the coast, laying over for the night.

Pyramin of the niches

This place was in the campground book and was described as follows, its an unusual place, all the clientele seem to be men and they only stay for a short while, with a yellow beacon that flashes at dusk. I didn't tell Bev this as if I did I could see myself having to drive in the dark to Poza Rica.
After an uneventful good nights sleep we got away early and made some good time with the campground book directing us to a great toll road bypassing Poza Rica. Traffic was lighter and we hit the coast early afternoon.
We arrived at the De Alba trailer park to be met by the friendly staff led by Claire the effervescent hostess, We negotiated an 8 day stay, later to be extended by another 8 and settled into our site next to the pool and beach with our own palapa. The first weeks weather was perfect with swimming beach fishing and a few day trips the order of the day.

Suck it in honey

From the top

We toured the El Tajin ruins a huge site containing many structures including the prominent pyramid of niches with its 365 niches, 1 for each day of the year. The local totanic Indian "Voldares" treated us to a their daring show where resplendent in their colorful costumes they climb to the top of a 30m pole and tie themselves to ropes that unwind as they descend upside down to the ground. All the while the leader stands, dances and sits on the top of the pole playing a flute and banging a small drum attached to the end of it. Apparently one of these guys fell to his death at a big festival last year. After the show with Claire's influence and contacts we had the opportunity of an exclusive photo shoot with the boys.

Voldares and the Mcgregors

Another day we headed into the hill to the waterfalls. The first one we were able to stand right next to it at the top with great views of the raging water downstream.

Watch your step

Bob, Claire's husband, our guide and chauffeur for the day had a run in with the guys on the gate who tried to rip us gringos off and charge us an unreasonable amount to use the road after already paying at the other end. The threat of calling the federalizes brought down the chain and off we went.

all kitted up

The second falls were magnificent, reachable only by raft, we paddled upstream through a huge canyon into what seemed like a cave, with a big pool and water cascading 30 meters or so into it.The boys swam out with the current and Emily earned a smack on the bum for launching herself overboard to try and join them. Only daddy's long arm plucking her out of the water before she got away.We called into the Taco Loco, a local favorite for their all you can eat taco buffet for 30 pesos a head ($3).

Taco Loco

Just make sure you taste the dishes before loading up your tortilla, Bev slapped some innocuous looking pickled veggie dish onto one of hers and it was that hot she reckoned she nearly fainted.

pollo alicia

Other culinary experiences have included "Pollo Alicia" a local roadside chicken shop where 30 pesos gets you a BBQ chicken meal with rice, salad, refried beans and all the tortillas you need to mop up the optional salsa picante ( hot sauce).
We brought some Camarones (prawns) for bait and Bev reckoned they were too good for the fish so we BBQ'd them instead, De-liscious.

Lets hit the surf

We launched the boat in the surf and had 1 fishing expedition out past the sandbars before the weather turned sour. this second week has been wet, windy and cold, it was 15 degrees yesterday. It hasn't stopped us having fun though, the kids are still swimming and we had a residents BBQ the other night with a couple of sore heads around the next day. Mine included after a couple of cocktails containing some of the locally distilled fire-water.

too tired to pedal

The park has seen a couple of big caravans come through for a few nights at a time. One of these escorted tours contained 22 rigs and it was fun watching them arrive and all the hustle and bustle of parking and setting up. Mike the resident handyman reveled in the occasion directing the traffic and performing emergency repairs to the rigs not up to the rigors of the Mexican roads.
When there are no caravans in town, De Alba is a quiet friendly place, Larry wanders around trying to escape Princerella, the local camp dog and the other half dozen long term stayers are all very friendly. Ken and Betty more friends from Canada have been such a help scanning and sending documents for us.They have been fulltiming for 5 years and have adopted Emily as their surrogate Granddaughter, with Em' regularly spending "girl time" with Betty and catching a few of her shows on satellite TV.

Ken, Margo, Terry, Marrilee and Howard

Howard and Marrilee were very generous and shared their satellite Internet with all the other regulars. Terry and Margo have often ferried us to town and shopping. Terry and Chica toured El Tajin and shared memories with us, Terry another keen fisherman befriended the boys and imparted some of his knowledge to us. Last but not least Bob and Claire, they have been so generous, driving and introducing us to all the wonderful places we have visited. Loaning us boogie boards for the boys in the good weather and their dvd collection for the bad. Happy to run us to town for the laundry or some beer Thanks to you all.

what waves

We will remember our stay here always and without the special people we have met along the way I doubt we would have had so much fun.
Packing up today to head for Veracruz tomorrow and then onto Lake Catemaco.
If this last 2 weeks or so is any indication of what's to come then we all say,, Bring It On!!!

Hasta Luego,
The McGregors 6.