Monday, January 11, 2010

Arco Norte!!!

We left cold SMA this morning heading to Puebla and hopefully, some warmer temperatures. To get here we used the brand new Mexico City bypass called the Arco Norte. We headed south from Queretaro on 57D and eventually came to this large Pemex station between the north and southbound lanes. There are also two restaurants here so it is a good place to stop and fuel up as there are no gas stations on the Arco Norte. (Edit: There are now Pemex stations in each direction at KM 192 near the Puebla end). If you forget to gas up you will have to exit to one of the towns off the Arco Norte and go through more toll booths to get back on.

Pemex

About 40 miles (65 KM) later you will see this sign:

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Then this one at about Km 88:

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And this:

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And this:

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And this:

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Then the toll booth where you will get an electronic card. At the end of the Arco Norte they will scan it and you will pay for whatever distance you traveled. Simple!

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Here is the start of the highway. About 100 (160 KM) miles to Puebla:

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This is a fantastic highway! It bypasses the headache of the D.F. with it’s Hoy No Circula rules and general chaotic traffic. The toll for our motorhome, dolly and car was $424 pesos or around $38 CAN. In my opinion a very good deal!

We are safe and sound in Puebla. The temperature was 73 degrees when we arrived! MUCH warmer than SMA and Guanajuato! The Starchoice setup was the easiest so far, we found the signal within a couple of minutes and we get pretty good WIFI at the motorhome with the Hawking dish. Life is Good!!

9 comments:

  1. great article. I have family that lives near Mexico City. Nice to see the new roads down there. How is Puebla this time of year?

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  2. It was 73 and overcast when we parked at around 5. We just got hooked up and the StarChoice working before it started getting dark. Tomorrow I explore.

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  3. Thanks Croft great sings and directions I may just do this trip when I leave SMA depends on how you like the area....still cold here and minus 3 tonight, can you believe it, glad you and Norma made it safe...PS I sure hope you tipped the toll booth attendant!!!!!Les

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  4. You've been talking about this roadway for a while now; must be nice for it to be a reality!

    I can't believe you've been in SMA for over a month. How time flies!

    73 degrees sounds nice, enjoy!

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  5. Great report. I can't wait to have the opportunity to take that route. Chetumal sounds like fun. Say hi to Norma.

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  6. Gord this information is great. Being a fellow BCer as well as retiring from that communications company we are headed to Merida shortly and have been working out routes to stay away from Mexico City traffic.

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  7. Thanks--we'll keep this! We will probably do this route next year.

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  8. Glad you are enjoying your journey. We have done it many times, and are in Zihuatanejo right now. Regarding your blog- I have one also and it is the same size as yours, taking up just the centre of the screen. I have friends whose blog fills the entire screen. Do you know how to change ours? Thanks, Linda from Canada

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  9. Gee- can you believe I just got it figured out? Just have to change template to something that says "stretch"...like denim stretch.

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