the atlantic

When last your humble narrator posted he was melting away in his 85 degree tent on the Pacific Ocean. This post comes to you from the dirty and warm Atlantic Ocean. Somewhere near Ciudad del Carmen. I’m not sure how many of you found the same definition I did for the word cantinflear but it went like this…

“roughly means to talk a lot but say nothing of substance” the following post sort of feels like it will be that way.

So I can’t speak well enough to make any cultural observations but I have spent enough time in the seat of this truck to make one about the driving in Mexico. So in the US whenever you come across a car going really slow and holding up traffic 9 times out of 10 it is a Hispanic. The 10^th time it is Brandon Madsen. In Utah the majority of the Latino community is Mexican. I have figured out why they drive so slow. They are completely overwhelmed by other drivers actually staying in their own lanes, obeying speed limits and stop signs. This confusion forces them to drive slowly. Down here it is total bedlam. Not to say it is chaos. There is order and pattern to it but it has nothing to do with obedience to the laws of the land. So you figure it out as you go. Then as soon as you get a grasp on it you enter a different state or city with totally different patterns. So now I am the white guy, driving slow and holding everybody up. Yes I am aware of the irony.

Another thing to concern yourself with is the effects of everyone speeding is the counter measures. Topes, Vibradores and reductor de velocidad. Variations on the speed bump. It is no secret I prefer 2 lane roads to freeways. So I’ve been taking a bit of both through Mexico. As you roll down the road you get passed on blind corners, cutting people off, on the right etc. No one obeying the speed limits. You hit a small town and boom, a speed bump of some kind. Each have their own characteristics. Topes, normal speedbump but in sequence like 10 to 12 of them. So even though it’s 40mph you are going 8. They have them on both ends of town. In the middle they’ll have a Reductor. A HUGE speedbump. 18 in high, 3 feet long. Sometimes they are covered with small ripples like on the side of US freeways to warn you you’re drifting. Those are called vibradores. Well after a few hundred of those in a day you figure it is worth it to get back on the toll roads. Which also vary in quality and price from state to state. 12 pesos here, 148 there, 72, 28, just random numbers. I did however drive one of the most scenic highways I’ve ever been on. I think only Calgary to Jasper is better. It was better than i-70 between Grand Junction and Denver. Better than the Columbia River Gorge. Better than I80 through the Sierra Nevadas. The place it reminded me most of was the road between the Cassiar Highway and Prince Rupert, BC Which is just a horrible analogy because that is road I doubt anyone reading has driven. So let me lay out the day first.

I camped at 9k feet on a dormant volcano east of Puebla. I woke, descended to the valley, drove through corn fields, at 8k feet for 2 hours. I come to Ojo de Agua. I am thinking this is like the heart (or the eye) of this farming valley. Nope. Surreal. 35 foot tall Joshua trees. Prickly pear cactus 15 high. Something akin to a yucca 8 feet tall. Then nothing but dirt. So the eye of water is actually desert. Odd. I climb from the eye to another ridge, through 2 hours of speed bumps and corn fields and join the Autopista headed to Orizaba. At this point I’m about 8k feet. Within mins I see a sign about a steep slope ahead. 15 miles later I have dropped into a canyon 5k feet deep. Just gorgeous. Then the rain came and I lost all sight. But that 15 miles of highway were gorgeous and fast.

So speaking of Peubla. Me and cities…

After leaving Manzanillo I drove to Toluca and stayed at a hotel. Time for a real shower again. I woke early and headed into Mexico city. I found the historic downtown. Drove around looking for places to park. Too tall or full. Sundays are busy. Spent an hour. Decided to give up and go find lunch in a less hectic part of town. Made a wrong turn. Hung a right down into the outdoor market. 30mins to go a mile. Basing it from a large concert venue or sporting event I bet I saw 75k people in those 30 mins. What a mistake. At one point 7 lanes of cars, then 2, then 4 then back to 1. A random bus or cop driving the wrong direction. I was surrounded by vw beetles. Counted 26 at a stop light. Nuts. Found my way out of that mess. Ate a damn good hamburguesa from a road side cart and headed toward Puebla. Figured it would be a good town to venture into. Nope. Same thing except this was worse. All the parking garages had heights listed outside. Saw one with no height on a tight street, headed for it. Turn in, guy screams at me. Too tall. Okay now I’m screwed. What do I do. Well I get to back out, and push back the 4 cars behind me. Then I get to 48 point turn on this tiny little road. 2 sidewalks full of people stopped watching me try and turn around in this cobble stoned alley. So I gave up. Then I found a high end mall. Liverpool, with Prada, Hugo Boss and Omega and ate dinner. Excused myself to the bathroom, came back to coke on ice. I have now exposed myself to the water. So far? no harm no foul. And the coke was excellent. The 4 cheese pizza not too good. I wandered the mall listening to Spanish, watching the Christmas shopping bonanza and went out to find my 40degree camp spot and it was pure bliss compared to the coast.

After descending the afore mentioned canyon I’m back on the coast. After Mexico city and Puebla I became very insular. Eating junk food from my own cache. Not talking at gas stations. Just hoping to find something familiar. Bad idea. Made it even harder to want to stop. I had to get fuel and take a leak in Coatzacoalcos. I forced myself to find a place to park and get out. It was dark but I managed. I ate 3 quesadillas and a coke for 25 pesos. Bought a loaf of bread and picked up a Valencia Futbol jersey for $20. Mainly because it said Toyota on the front. It was nice to overcome my insulation instinct and venture out. All day I was hoping to find something familiar. Something I knew. Knowing it wasn’t out there only made me more reluctant. But I managed to overcome it. Wandered a few more hours east, talked a security guard at a little beachside pool to let me camp in the parking lot. Slept miserable in the heat and humidity but eventually dosed off. He woke me at 6 to get moving before the staff showed up. So been on the road since 6:30. Camp tonight, hotel tomorrow. Pick up ben on thurs and then off to the ruins and costa rica.

Wow. Rambling non linear post today. A bit of cantinflear if I do say so myself. I uploaded pics last night. Tonight I’ll put them in the gallery.

Dave Connors

Lead - Expedition Americas

http://www.expeditionamericas.com/