We left Isla on Friday at about 11:00 after saying goodbye to Bill and Thelma. We really had a great time at Freedom Shores and we will be back. We drove about three hours to Villahermosa where we missed the turnoff for the Periferico road and ended up driving right through the centre of town on Mex 180, a route that is highly illegal for a vehicle pulling a trailer! Claude and Danielle stayed right behind me so no Trafico Police noticed us and we made it through without a ticket.
We checked into the same RV park we stayed in in November and found a pull through so we did not have to unhook the car. We had a swim in the great pool and then made friends with Jim and Bonnie from Newfoundland and Michel and Lise from Montreal. Michel and Lise have just completed two years in South America with their unique truck and camper. Michel built a frame and then attached a Chalet tent trailer to the top of it. It worked very well for them and allowed for a lot of storage in the truck bed as well.
We rose early on Saturday and got out of the RV park and pool complex before the crowd arrived and left for Catemaco. We used the Cuota (toll road) as far as we could but were very unhappy with it's condition. There were many potholes and the slow lane was badly worn from all the trucks. I do not mind paying tolls but I expect the road to be in perfect condition for my money. This one was not.
We turned off at Acayucan onto the secondary highway 180 to Catemaco. After getting lost only once, we found the correct highway and arrived in Catemaco around three. I got jackknifed making a u-turn and had to take the car and dolly off to complete the turn. This is the forth time I have had to do this and it is embarrassing! Highway 180 is a Libre (free road) and was actually in much better shape than the previous Cuota, much of it having been freshly resurfaced. When we checked in to the RV park we found Jim and Bonnie who we had visited with the previous night already here. It is truly a small world.
Claude wants to visit the cigar factory here on Monday so we will stay for a couple more days. This factory is where Winston Churchill bought his cigars. It will be interesting. There is also a boat ride on the lake that takes you to an island that has monkeys.
This is the first time we have traveled with anyone else. We were both going to the same place so we decided to travel together for the trip. We used our walkie talkies and it went quite well. You could not ask for better friends! It was an interesting experience for us and we will stay with them at least until Veracruz where we want to show them a very interesting coffee house we found there last year.
Michel and Lise’s rig:
Hi Croft.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was a periferico at Villahermosa. We have followed the main highway which seems to go right through the city.??
We also enjoyed a week at Catemaco last spring. Coming off the cuota, we drove right through the centre of Acayucan. We barely fit. I have emailed Gene and see there is a truck route around the east side of that city. I wonder if the libre beginning at Cosoleacaque is better?
We may also return to the beach front park at Boca del Rio south of Veracruz.
Aliner used to have a pop-up pickup camper but I guess it didn't sell because they dropped it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aliner.com/design/Xterior/homepage.php?Type=TEXTLEFT
I love the idea of mounting a trailer on the back of the pickup. Very clever.
Sounds like you are having a lot of fun. Isn't it getting kind of warm down there?