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| MEX175 to Oaxaca |
Pointed south on MEX180 I wanted to see as much of the Gulf of Mexico coast as I could before heading inland. As MEX180 hugged the coast looking out you could see the many steep scenic vistas. Passing little towns and villages selling mariscos on the side of the road. Everything from cooked to raw shrimp even live crabs tied on strings as if they were a souvenir ready to be taken home and dropped in boiling water or cooked on a open flame. My turn-off was supposed to be MEX175 but having such a good time driving through I missed it.
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| Pineapple capital, Mexico |
After a while about 55km further I spied MEX179 and exited south into the interior. As the sea side melted away I started to drive through farmlands of pineapple and sugar cane. Passing through CD, Isla it's claim to fame are pineapples I was in the heart of Mexico's pineapple region. Then came sugar cane fields along with the pineapples as far as you could see.
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| top; Pemex camp bottom; Valle Nacional Jardin ornate benches |
With my detour I added many more kilometers to my day and it was burning fast.
MEX187 was just ahead and I had to make a right taking me north west. The rolling hills of endless farmland was beautiful. Then it started to rain getting late I at least wanted to make it to
Tuxtepec another 65km away. The rain fell harder and harder as the winding road was becoming a river and the night was absorbing the dimming light. With all my LED lights blazing I rolled into the Pemex station at
Tuxtepec the rain was letting up some and the darkness had set in. Pemex gas stations are like rest stops, you are welcome to park overnight with sanitarios, some with regaderas and a little store. I stopped showered and popped my
RTT for the night.
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| top; dense foliage elephant ears MEX175 bottom; epiphytic plants and resurrection fern |
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| Distant waterfall through smokey clouds |
Damp and hot from the nights down pour I woke and made my way to the little store where instant coffee was on the menu (hesitated making my own coffee, open flame in a gas station!!). Sipping hot instant coffee I broke camp refueled and jumped on
MEX175 south to
Oaxaca.
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| High in the cloud forest among Tree ferns |
This is were the road got amazing I was driving through the center of the state of Oaxaca and man oh man! it was beautiful!. The road climbed in elevation
San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional was my first stop along this pristine road. The town square among the backdrop of the mountains was incredible.
From there the road climbed even higher 8000ft as the temp dropped in the mid 50's. Driving on I found myself among the smokey clouds while the road twisted and turned climbing higher.
Looking around the vegetation was immense, 30ft tree ferns, huge elephant ear plants, tall pines and all kinds of epiphytes add some distant waterfalls peeking through the smoke thin clouds and you have a fully subtropical-tropical landscape that is truly world class. This stretch of road is one of my favorite traveled places to date.
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| Cathedral at Alameda de Leon, Oaxaca |
About 175km later of winding scenic beauty I rolled into the vibrant city of
Oaxaca. Entering from the north I dropped into this cultural rich city cradled in a valley by several mountain peaks at about 5100ft. Most everyone who comes here falls in love with this stunning colonial city of artisans, museums, fine crafts, ornate colonial architecture and fantastic tree lined zocalos. This placed rocked food, people, sites, getting around the magic of a busy city just steps away from a mountain hike I really enjoyed my time here.
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| top; street performer Knight statue bottom; Critical Mass ride gathering |
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| La Choza bar La Negra Lola |
Where to start, food it was superb from street tacos (tacos cabeza) to inexpensive restaurants (carne frito), (did not go the expensive ones) to a Mexican hambugesa con queso from a one-man street cart, all made with care and fresh ingredients you could tell each vendor was proud of the food put on your plate. The central square,
El Zocalo Oaxaca, Jardin Etnobotanico filled with people and tons of colonial architecture it also was the days entertainment each night there was something going on.
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| top; let sleeping dogs lie bottom; center courtyard Plaza Alcala |
I happen to be there when a 50 piece orchestra was preforming a musical program with conductor and narrator introducing each works. Many talented street performers with their own brand of entertainment from cultural to just plain fun. Walking the streets along the many zocalos and jardin's that connect the different plazas were just too many to list.
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| Inglesa de San Juan de Dios |
The first night I was there they had a Critical Mass ride with about 45 participants including dogs who barked and trotted through the winding city streets. On a sunny afternoon I set out on foot and hiked to
Auditorio Guelaguetza a beautiful modern outdoor amphitheater nestled on the hillside overlooking the city of Oaxaca, but the hike did not stop there. There was 5km of wonderful trails above a small planetarium along the top of the hill where you could over look the city in a natural setting.
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| hiking overlooking central Valley Oaxaca |
With everything so centrally located I needed to stay within the
Oaxaca central core I found a public parking lot with a secure gate, electricity regaderas and sanitarios it was walking distance to all the great stuff at $10 pesos per hour I stayed there for 92hrs. It was also in
Oaxaca that I needed to change my phone service to TelCel as T-Mobile will only carry you for 90days in a foreign country.
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| small mural Oaxaca |
With great visions of
Oaxaca in my head I was thinking that I will return here some day in the near future, it was time to push on south on
MEX190 to the
Pacific Coast but first I drove through Mezcal country.
Hope to see you on the Trail!!..
🚙......
