LAST DAY Coatzacoalcos to Progreso!

 

LAST DAY

Again, we were both awake before the alarm, so we kicked it into high gear and got packed up and out to the Jeep.  Thankfully the monsoon had stopped and we were able to cruise out of town and enjoy the sunrise.  Lorie was happily taking pictures of all the statues as well as the ocean.  I was hoping that the weather would remain sunny so that we would make good time and get into town well before sunset.  We stopped to top up the gas, Lorie got hr tea and again I had a coffee.  Yea haw, I will be flying again.

The roads in Veracruz were still not the best and I tried my best to try and keep away from the bumps.  We headed towards Villahermosa but bypassed the city to head into Tabasco where I had the unfortunate encounter last year with the Federallies. On the way there it is just a 2-lane highway so passing was common and this is where I started driving like a Mexican and passing every chance I had.  We got to the same checkpoint and this time they just waved us through.  Guess it was just a bad day last year as 2 more trips through that area and no problems.  We were making fairly good time but up ahead as it changes into Campeche are small towns along the water which means slow speeds and a plethora of topes.  There is next to no chance to even get up to 40km.  So, we just bumped along and enjoyed the views.  We pulled in for a gas stop to find they had no gas.  I was hoping to fill there instead of the bigger city of Ciudad del Carmen but no such luck.  Away we went and I warned Lorie to get her camera read as the bridge to the city is massive.  I think it takes a good 5 minutes to get across it.  Then of course we had to get through the city which was pretty much stop and go traffic the whole way.

Once we were out of it, it should be clear sailing besides a few slow downs in a few towns and the most amazing views as we drove along the coast.  Thankfully the weather was still on our side and Lorie got to enjoy it.  We hit a few more checkpoints but they all just sent us through.  I was quite surprised as We did not have any checkpoints until the last couple states, besides the transport cops in CDMX.

Around Campeche (the city) we turned inland to head towards the Yucatan and that is when the speed kicked in.  We were getting darn close now, the roads were fairly decent and I put my foot down to make more time.  Well, we were not going to be so lucky as we had been avoiding a dark cloud for a while and sure enough, we ran right into a wall of water, literally.  Slow down again we did as you could not see much of the road even with the wipers on high.  At this point we were about 3 hours out.  Fight our way through the storm and into the Yucatan.  When it had dried up again, I put my foot down again to make up some time.  Lorie was impatiently waiting for the Navigation screen to tick down to 59 minutes so that she could high five me in congratulations.  I thought she was swinging at a fly and looked at her like she was completely disturbed.  Well if the shoe fits……

We got to the outskirts of Merida and gassed up one more time.  I may have made it but figured not to take the chance at this point to be stranded a few kilometers from our final destination.  We carried on and off the highway onto the periferico (ring road around Merida).  Thankfully it wasn’t too busy and we got on and around to our exit to the Progreso highway.  That was the end of that and I was now flying to get to the beaches.

Both AJ and my Landlady had blocked space in front of the buildings so that I could fit my 30 feet of vehicles in front.  We went to the bar first.  For 2 reasons, 1, I needed to see the improvements in person and of course AJ was waiting for me to arrive and 2 the guys were all coming to help unload the trailer.

The bar looked amazing and I know everyone is going to love the improvements.  I gave the guys a big hug and thanks for all their hard work.  I grabbed a beer and AJ was busy spinning me around the bar, showing me different things.  I have no idea what he showed me as at this point, my brain was mush after driving about 35 hours in 3 days.  The guys were getting impatient as they had plans for the evening and their day off so I told AJ to finish with the workers on the pool table and meet us over there.

Andria came out to meet us as we arrived and I managed to get the trailer tucked into the curb in front of the house and away we went getting everything unloaded.  Aj took one of the guys back up to the bar and the other stayed to have a drink with us until he returned.  The group of us ended up going around the corner to have something to eat and a few drinks before bed.  We were walking towards the Malecon and my named gets shouted over the band that was playing at a bar.  Wouldn’t you know but I have fans that were so happy that I had made it back and happy to see me.  We ended up joining them for a little while until they headed home.  The other 3 ended up having more than enough to drink, where as I just drank moderately.  I did not need to feel like crap when I knew I would have a full day on Sunday and the week ahead.

We came back and crashed but again, I was awake at the crack of dawn.  I got the coffee machine working as it did not like Lorie.  We had coffee and then showered and headed up to the bar with a bunch of items I had searched out of the boxes.  Obviously, that is why I wrote such a detailed manifest of my belongings.  It wasn’t for the customs officials or any stops along the road.  It was strictly so I knew what I hid in each bin.

When we arrived, I had been chatting with Ismael and he made a point of looking up the addresses for the house and bar before going to work and he came to the bar to meet us.  He was so happy to see us again and came out to breakfast with us and wandered the Malecon before heading home to sleep.  He is going to come help with the last-minute finishing touches this week and may even come and work part time.

The rest of the day we spent at the bar.  Not sure what Lorie was up to, AJ was organizing and moving things and telling me things until we got another massive thunderstorm.  I was working on the computer and taking pictures to create new posts for the socials.  We finally decided to pack it in when the storm settled and grabbed a pizza on the way home.  For the other 2 it was an early night and pretty sure they were both asleep before 8pm.  Me on the other hand am here plugging away on the things I wanted to accomplish today.

This is the end of the road trip, but I will try and do my best to keep some kind of regular writing happening so those that are not with me can keep track of my new adventures.  It is going to be a whirlwind for the next couple of weeks with finishing touches, soft opening, Halloween party and of course a Grand Opening.  Then we will be into high season here and all the snowbirds will be arriving.  So far, I am getting a lot of positive feedback from expats and nationals alike.  Dana will arrive next week on the 13^th for 6 months and my cousin Robyn arrives around the 25^th for a month and another mutual friend of Dana’s and mine arrives on December 1^stso we will have lots of friends around.  I also have to find a house and make bookings for friends from Lake Cowichan to come for their first visit to Mexico and also possibly my new/old mechanic from Parksville and his wife, not to mention Mom and Pops are planning on February again and their friends Greg and Michelle.  I think I have created a monster with all the folks that are following me here.

Until I have a few moments to update you again,

Hasta luego I will be at the beach!!  LOL

MORDIDAS, COFFEE, AGAVE, STORMS AND TIDAL WAVES - Queretaro to Coatzacoalcos

 

MORDIDAS, COFFEE, AGAVE, STORMS AND TIDAL WAVES

Both of us woke up way to early this morning.  We both alternated hitting the bathroom around 3am and then couldn’t quite get back to sleep.  At 5am, we gave up and got up and started getting ready.  We were out the door and on the road by 530am.  It was still raining but not as hard as the day before.  We stopped for gas and Lorie got me my first coffee since last Wednesday.  To say the least, I was hyped up on caffeine almost all day but have a headache now.  We made our way around Queretaro and out to the toll road that would take us around Mexico City.  For some reason google redirected us through this little town, but when we came out we were going under the highway I wanted and past all the traffic backed up.  We went up the side and ended up jumping the line from where we would have been.  We should have listened yesterday when it wanted to redirect us and we would not have sat in traffic all day.    The rain finally stopped and we were making good time until we approached a toll booth.

A transit officer flagged us down and made us pull over.  I showed him my import permit for the jeep and had the permits for the trailer.  He informed me that according to their program “no hay circula”, I could not be driving on the highway on that day.  I continued to question him as it was my understanding that this only applied to driving within the Mexico City limits and not on the toll highways.  While he was typing a translation back to me, I looked it up on google and supposedly it did apply to the state highways as well.  Well shit, I had not read or heard anything about it being the whole state.  He was telling me that I had already committed the offence and the penalty would be $4000 pesos plus the cost of a tow and impound.  Of course I’m not letting that happen.  I asked him if I paid the fine did I get a ticket and receipt of payment or is he looking for a mordida.  He laughed.  If I wanted to pay it, I would have to go to some town god knows where and I would still have to pay the impound and tow fees.  Then I asked what the mordida would cost and it was $100 USD.  He said he would give me a safe passage ticket so that I wasn’t bothered by others.  I don’t agree with paying the bribes but I also wasn’t going to let them hook everything I own up and tow it away, while leaving the 3 of us on the side of the road.  So, he wrote his note on a hot pink sticky note and I gave him the money and we were gone.  The next toll booth we went through, I was stopped on the far side and gave him the note and it worked.  Away we continued.  Of course, the whole conversation was caught on camera.  He tried to move out of frame and Lorie moved him back into the video.  She also made sure that when she handed him the money that it was visible and not completely discreet.

 

Off we went and I missed an exit and ended up taking a detour through another town.  Mind you it was supposedly shorter.  Lorie was busy snapping pics along the way and found fields of agave and then she decided to go shopping for jeans on the side of the road.  She wanted to stop as they were only $10 and she could make cutoffs with them.

We hit Veracruz and the weather was changing.  The view coming through the hills and down the switchbacks were not as nice as it would have been in the sun but at least the rain didn’t really start until we hit the bottom.  When we got past Cordoba the road turn to shit.  It didn’t matter which way I tried to avoid the potholes and bumps; I still hit the, the poor dog was going insane due to the noise and bumps.  During all of this we encountered torrential downpours to further decrease the speed we were travelling. Finally we were about a kilometer from our turnoff and another stoppage.   This time an accident and a pretty bad one at that.  It was a double trailer that jack knifed in the road and the cab of the truck was hanging off the side completely off the engine, as well as a car and an SUV.  I hope all are okay.

We finally got to our exit but now it is dark.  The road into town was fairly narrow (at least in the dark and downpour it seemed that way) as well as marked with topes (speedbumps).  I crept along with my hazards as it was near impossible to see.  We finally got into town and there was flooding everywhere.  I hit one section and a tidal wave of water flowed over the front of the Jeep and all around us.  It scared Lorie the first time I did it and any other car backed off.

We got to our hotel and settled in, both of us had a hot shower and I made my rounds of phone calls and started this.  Tomorrow we should hit Progreso by dinner time but we are starting early again.

So, until Sunday morning (as I don’t thing I will be writing tomorrow night)

Hasta luego.

 

Frustration Day - Matehuala to Queretaro

 

FRUSTRATION DAY

We were up and out early this morning as we knew it was going to be a 9- or 10-hour drive. Kahlua was great today as I drugged her last night as she was so scared of the thunderstorm she was hiding in the bathroom and climbing all over us but did not want consoling.  She was just flat out terrified. She was still a little sedated today and spent most of it sleeping in her bed.   Everything started off well and we were breezing along.  Lorie was making a list and taking pictures of the “Paso de Fauna” Fauna Crossing.  We are not sure if all these critters actually cross the highway but they had signs for snakes, frogs, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, cows, bears, vultures and the list goes on.  Not to mention we were travelling on the Monarch butterfly migration route and yes, she got a pic of that sign also.  We have seen any Monarchs, I think we are ahead of them.

Eventually we ended up at a dead stop and had to sit and wait for about 2 hours before we moved.  Then it was maybe 100 feet, and stop, then another and stop.  Finally we got going and up to speed and we thought great to round a corner and hit the brakes again so we could sit some more.  This went on all day and after 12 hours on the road we managed to travel 375kms.

Lorie spent the day reading her book and I had a few cat naps waiting for the traffic to move.  So we really don’t have anything interesting to share today.  To say I’m not impressed is an understatement.  We ended up in Queretaro tonight and are going to try to push the next 2 days so that we still arrive on schedule.  Thankfully it was not super-hot today and the thunderstorms stayed away until our last hour of driving.

I think it is on tomorrow’s route that we go through a beautiful mountain pass covered in jungle so Lorie should get some good pics to share.  For now I’m going to sign off and get some sleep as it will be 2 long days if all goes well.

Hasta luego