andyc740
0
Christmas and New Year’s finally over, I needed a road trip to blow the carbon out of my system. The past two years, I’ve made winter trips to Huatusco to visit Manolo and Hortensia, the president of CMA-Mexico, his wife and family. The first trip was on the bike. Last year, I cheated and took the car, along with my wife, Mary, and Sandi, a friend, and stopped by on our way to see some butterflies. Huatusco is about an 850-mile shot south down the coast of Mexico, through Tampico, Tuxpan and Poza Rica, past the Emerald Coast to Cardel, then a 40-mile climb west up into the mountains to Huatusco. The ride takes a day and a half to two days normally.
Huatusco itself is a town of about 25,000 people, the market town for the surrounding coffee-growing areas. The landscape is dominated by Mount Orizaba. At 18,490 ft,, it’s the tallest mountain in Mexico and taller than any mountain in the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. Most of the mountains in the area are much lower, so the views are pretty spectacular (when you can see it).
I left Corpus Christi at 6:30 on a Thursday morning, Jan 6th, for the 6-day trip. I was by myself and wanted it that way (sorry, friends, if I didn’t let you know I was going). Temperatures were in the low 40’s and I was glad I had the new riding jacket that was my big Christmas present. It was almost keeping me warm. A stop for coffee in Falfurrias helped and by the time I reached the border, 165 miles down the road, things were warming up. After I changed money, changed gloves and pulled the liner out of my jacket, it was time to renew my tourist permit and bike papers. There were a few more people than normal getting papers at the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge where we normally cross, but that didn’t hold me up much.
By 1:00 in the afternoon, I reached Soto La Marina, 175 miles south of the border, and ate lunch at El Torito, behind the bus station. Seeing 3 or 4 burnt-out trucks beside the road north of town was rather sobering, obviously left over from some shootout. The highway is all new road from the junction to Soto, but 3 or 4 bridges and culverts were being rebuilt, probably damaged by last summer’s flooding.
Fuelled up and fed, I pushed on, finding the first ten miles of road south of Soto were torn up, being rebuilt as the road project extends itself on south from Soto. Rocinante makes no pretensions at being a dirt bike, but we made it through the packed dirt and gravel anyway. Since I was all about putting miles behind me, I didn’t take any pictures. The scenery on that part of the trip just looks like South Texas anyway, lots of brush and mesquite. Don’t worry though, there’s lots of pictures to come.
Keeping on, I made it into Tampico about 3:30 in the afternoon, just in time to hit traffic from the shift changes at the refineries. I took the coast drive to avoid most of the town traffic. The road was heavily patrolled, but I was keeping my speed down and my head down. Finally, I pulled over by the beach, pulled out the camera and took a couple pictures.
This is me with my old helmet and new jacket.
The Tampico beach is pretty nice.
I swung into the middle of town on Avenida Alvaro Obregon, went under the bridge, then swung around onto the approach and kept heading south. The Rio Panuco is the border between the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz. Once I'm in Veracruz, the travelling gets slower and harder. The road is mostly two lane, lots of speed bumps, potholes and heavy traffic. I also always seem to get sick when trips take me across the Panuco. I usually stay healthy if I stay farther north.
I made another gas stop south of Tampico and when the gas station attendant learned I planned to spend the night in Ozoluama, warned me to be careful there. Several businesses in the area had been robbed and some bad people were about. When I arrived in Ozoluama about 6:00, I found the hotel where I had stayed before was closed, but I didn't feel too bad about pushing on. About 7:15 I rolled into Cerro Azul and found a decent hotel with secure parking on the highway south of town. Seemed like a good place to eat dinner and put in for the night.
Trip Report Sound Track: Proper Cup of Coffee by Trout Fishing in America
Huatusco itself is a town of about 25,000 people, the market town for the surrounding coffee-growing areas. The landscape is dominated by Mount Orizaba. At 18,490 ft,, it’s the tallest mountain in Mexico and taller than any mountain in the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. Most of the mountains in the area are much lower, so the views are pretty spectacular (when you can see it).
I left Corpus Christi at 6:30 on a Thursday morning, Jan 6th, for the 6-day trip. I was by myself and wanted it that way (sorry, friends, if I didn’t let you know I was going). Temperatures were in the low 40’s and I was glad I had the new riding jacket that was my big Christmas present. It was almost keeping me warm. A stop for coffee in Falfurrias helped and by the time I reached the border, 165 miles down the road, things were warming up. After I changed money, changed gloves and pulled the liner out of my jacket, it was time to renew my tourist permit and bike papers. There were a few more people than normal getting papers at the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge where we normally cross, but that didn’t hold me up much.
By 1:00 in the afternoon, I reached Soto La Marina, 175 miles south of the border, and ate lunch at El Torito, behind the bus station. Seeing 3 or 4 burnt-out trucks beside the road north of town was rather sobering, obviously left over from some shootout. The highway is all new road from the junction to Soto, but 3 or 4 bridges and culverts were being rebuilt, probably damaged by last summer’s flooding.
Fuelled up and fed, I pushed on, finding the first ten miles of road south of Soto were torn up, being rebuilt as the road project extends itself on south from Soto. Rocinante makes no pretensions at being a dirt bike, but we made it through the packed dirt and gravel anyway. Since I was all about putting miles behind me, I didn’t take any pictures. The scenery on that part of the trip just looks like South Texas anyway, lots of brush and mesquite. Don’t worry though, there’s lots of pictures to come.
Keeping on, I made it into Tampico about 3:30 in the afternoon, just in time to hit traffic from the shift changes at the refineries. I took the coast drive to avoid most of the town traffic. The road was heavily patrolled, but I was keeping my speed down and my head down. Finally, I pulled over by the beach, pulled out the camera and took a couple pictures.
This is me with my old helmet and new jacket.
The Tampico beach is pretty nice.
I swung into the middle of town on Avenida Alvaro Obregon, went under the bridge, then swung around onto the approach and kept heading south. The Rio Panuco is the border between the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz. Once I'm in Veracruz, the travelling gets slower and harder. The road is mostly two lane, lots of speed bumps, potholes and heavy traffic. I also always seem to get sick when trips take me across the Panuco. I usually stay healthy if I stay farther north.
I made another gas stop south of Tampico and when the gas station attendant learned I planned to spend the night in Ozoluama, warned me to be careful there. Several businesses in the area had been robbed and some bad people were about. When I arrived in Ozoluama about 6:00, I found the hotel where I had stayed before was closed, but I didn't feel too bad about pushing on. About 7:15 I rolled into Cerro Azul and found a decent hotel with secure parking on the highway south of town. Seemed like a good place to eat dinner and put in for the night.
Trip Report Sound Track: Proper Cup of Coffee by Trout Fishing in America
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