November 4, 2009
Minatitlan to Pueto Real, or Isla Aganda
Well we left the Pemex station this morning amid rain and headed to Villahermosa. This was on the cuota road which was really nice (4 lane divided concrete for the most part) but the rain alternated from drizzle to rain to monsoon rain. Why is it that every time there would be road construction, a huge semi truck and trailer or we had to make a highway change it was monsoon time? We did not think we would ever escape the rain which has plagued us for the last three days. But this afternoon finally we saw sunshine. Lots of puffy white clouds with dark clouds on the horizon but there it was the sun was still in the sky above us.
We missed the turnoff in Villahermosa to Ciudad del Carmen, because all of the road signs up until then had said Hwy 180 to Frontera. But, when we were in major city traffic, with the monsoon rain coming down and streets flooded the signs say that Hwy 180 is to Ciudad del Carmen, which turns out to be farther down the road. We did manage to find a returno, after about three miles, and then got back onto the right road.
Hwy 180 is a libra road (free road), which turned out for the most part to be a Mexican three lane. These travel quite well, but due to the rain, we were slowed down. Now we were traveling thru a large vast flood plain with lots of rivers and grazing land where the elevation of the soil permitted. Otherwise, it was bull rushes and swamp rivers.
We stopped in Ciudad del Carmen at an Arreato Grocery store(?) for supplies and had lunch and an iced cream cone there.
After passing thru Ciudad del Carmen, which is a huge port city sitting between the Gulf of Mexico and Laguna de Terminos, we were on our second long and large causeway. The city sits on an island, one of a chain of islands separating the ocean from the expansive lagoon on the west side. You could not see land when looking over the lagoon westward toward the mainland on the causeway. All along the road we could see the ocean on the eastern side of us with its pounding waves. Yes, when the rain stops you get wind.
We are now stopped for the night on the outer islands at a restaurant parking area on the ocean. We are somewhere between Ciuadad del Carmen and Campeche ( please tell Dr. E. to post a map in the break room so you all can track the route). There are some palapas in front of us to break the wind and then the ocean. I had hoped to get a sunset picture but I think that the rain clouds have a different idea. But we have a shoreline for 100 miles both ways that we can see, and nothing but ocean on the horizon in front of us.
Mexico seems to be building a huge electrical transmission line along the coast and a pipeline for something. This must be a very costly project as we have been traveling beside it for almost 65 miles.
It is hard to imagine that there were no roads into the Yucatan just some 20 years ago just as there was no road down Baja up until about 1970. Well, progress certainly is being made.
Tonight, if there is a sunset or not a small vaso de vino to ease the tension of the driving day. Tomorrow, it is on to Xmal to see the first of our really large Mayan ruins.