Villahermosa to Cordoba

We were kept awake last night by a party and loud music next door to the RV park until 1:00 am and then the rain started pounding down about 3:00 so it was not a very good night for me. We left the RV park at nine and headed up the highway. This stretch from Villahermosa to Puebla is very boring, made interesting only by the terrible condition of the road. The fast lane is not bad but the slow lane is full of uneven pavement, ruts and potholes. To add insult, it is a toll road and out total for today was $650 pesos and we are not in Puebla yet!

We came up to a military checkpoint and I mentioned how unusual it was that we had not been stopped in one in several months. They take one look at the old fart driving and wave us through. I should have kept quiet because as soon as I said it we got waived into the secondary inspection area. Norma showed one soldier our passports while I let two more into the back. One checked all the cupboards and the fridge and freezer while the other opened all the closets and drawers in the bedroom. They were polite but very thorough. Never once though have they asked to look in the outside bins or in the huge storage area under the bed.

The guy in the kitchen area finished first and told us what a nice rig it was. He saw Norma's cigarettes and asked if he could have one. When the other guy came out of the bedroom she offered him one and the guy she showed the passports to came to the door with a hopeful look on his face. She ended up giving them the whole pack to share. These guys have a very dangerous job to do and I admire them very much. They do not go around the world shooting up other countries but stay home and take on the drug cartels who have a much higher budget and are better armed.

We continued on and realized we were both very tired from the bad night. We started looking for a place to pull off for the night and passed up a couple of Pemex stations because they were too small and finally arrived in Cordoba. The Pemex here has a restaurant, an Italian Coffee Company and lots of parking. The only problem might be trucks applying their jake brakes as they approach the toll booth just down the highway. I am tired enough to sleep through it!