November 22nd we left Villahermosa just before 10:00 AM for the trip to Palenque. We passed through the city without any problems and were soon on a nice wide highway heading east on Highway 186 for about 80 kilometers, when we turned south onto Highway 199 according to the road atlas. According to the highway signs we were on several other highways but not the 199! We were however on the only road to Palenque. Highway signs, when there are any, often have to be taken with a grain of salt.
The drive was quite pleasant, no untoward events and quite an easy drive. We arrived in Palenque around noon and found our way through to the road to the ruins where the campgrounds are all located. We made note of the turn we would need when leaving and soon arrived at the Hotel Los Leones. This hotel was mentioned in the Mexican Camping book as the best place for big rigs, the other parks only good to rigs up to 30'. Ours is 32. On arrival we were met by a staff member who told us the RV park was closed; the tourism department had revoked (or not granted) their permit! We were told we could carry on into the back where the park used to be in order to turn around, where we were met by another employee who told us in no uncertain terms that we could not stay there. Too bad, as the hotel looked nice and the restaurant had a good reputation.
We carried on up the road to the Mayabell campground where we managed to squeeze in. Fortunately the park was not full and we had no problem. We met a few campers that we had run into previously and when Tessa and the kids arrived it was like old home week! We had a great time there in the park. Food was good but quite expensive for Mexico and the area. There was music every evening, when young campers from many different parts of the world got together for jam sessions. Guitars, pipes, horns ,drums, all quite talented.
Late at night we were treated to the sound of howler monkeys. A weird sound, hard to describe; a sort of multi-tonal wailing, rising and falling in multipart harmony. Sort of like an audio version of the Northern Lights!
The Palenque ruins and museum were superb. Many of the the inscriptions and frescoes are intact and easy to view. We had a great time exploring, looking and just enjoying the lush tropical ambiance. Though not at any elevation (under 200 feet) the weather was great. Perfect T shirt weather.
Unfortunately someone (we won't mention his name) dropped the camera and damaged the lens mechanism so photos will be scarce from here on until we can get it repaired. It works very occasionally but is far from reliable.
9:00 AM Monday morning (the 24th) we were on our way to San Cristobal. We were glad we had made note of our turn, because we had yet another highway number! This time we were climbing; San Cristobal is at 6900 feet. We really would like to have had a working engine temperature gauge but we had no trouble. There was no room to pull off the very twisty road, though in a town halfway along the route there were two Pemex's (gas stations) where we could have stopped. We weren't desperate so we carried on, arriving at San Cristobal about 3PM.
We decided to stop for fuel at a Pemex that was mentioned as a key point in finding our way to the Hotel RV Park that was supposed to be next door. It wasn't until we pulled back into the street that we could see the entrance,which was tight as promised in the book but soon got parked in the big grassy field behind the hotel. We were the only ones there so found the best site and by 3:30 were ready for lunch! We decide to delay lunch a bit so we let the dogs out for a bit of a run and play, then went into the Hotel restaurant Steak Bar for a late lunch / early dinner. The steaks were very good and done to our liking but we astounded to find that they were out of wine! We washed them down with Mexican beer instead and were quite satisfied.
Dinner done we went across the street to the supermarket for a few necessities, still no pastuerised milk available! Back to the rig for an early night.
Next day we were off to town for a day of exploring and just poking about. We had dinner in a restaurant near the square. Unfortunately at this late date I can't remember what we had except that it was something regional and was very good. We were surprised to see both Sopa Tortilla and Sopa Azteca on the menu. (Sopa=soup) We had always thought they were the same. The waiter explained that sopa tortilla is usually tomato flavored chicken broth frequently with avacado and cheese,and topped with julienned deep fried tortillas. Sopa Azteca has bits of chicken, cheese, avacado, sometimes onion and the deep fried tortilla strips. At least that was his description. Every time we find Sopa Azteca or Sopa Tortilla on the menu its different from all the others. Some are very spicy, a few are quite mild, all are always good.
San Cristobal has a population of about 125,000 people and is surrounded by Indigenous villages and is somewhat off the beaten track. Most of the tourists were Mexican or European. The city is also a National Historic Monument,and we had a great time just walking around. The artisan markets are full of hand embroidered brightly coloured items reminiscent of Guatemalan styles. Not surprising, as it's quite close by, just over 100 Km to the south and east.
On the way home we stopped at the supermarket for the heavier items (wine, whiskey, beer!) and were soon back at the rig. Out with the dogs again (who had accompanied us to town, but spent a lot of time in the car) for a run and play.
We left San Cristobal next morning having scouted out our exit route by car the previous day and were soon on the new toll road to Tuxtla Gutierrez, just 80 or so kilometers the the west. We were now WESTBOUND on our way to the Pacific Coast! This new freeway (actually built several years ago) had just reopened, having been closed soon after its opening due to structural problems with one of the bridges!
In Tuxtla itself, taking the libramiento sur (south freeway and bypass) not by any means a freeway, we missed a turn and ended many kilometers to the south on a rapidly deteriorating road. We stopped to ask directions and as Gillian got out to get specific instructions Art turned the rig around. Fortunately, the road we were on did eventually T into the main highway, several kilometers west of where we should have joined it.
We carried on to and around the next town called Ocozocoautla. At a military check point just after leaving Tuxtla we learned how to pronounce it, the officer very patiently having us repeating it until he was satisfied! He must have been a school teacher in his previous life. We wondered whether this was a move up or a move down!
This time we had no trouble finding the bypass and the turn back into the south part of the town, but didn't recognise the bus terminal where we were supposed to turn left and had to turn around in the village. We had thought it was a truck garage and junk yard!
We soon found the entrance to the "Hogar Infantil" (Children's Home) where we planned to stay the night. Gillian got out to ensure the branches wouldn't snag anything on the roof as Art carefully manouevred up the the narrow dirt road. As we approached we were met and welcomed by a young American student volunteering at the school. We were soon backed in and settled.
This wonderful place is maintained by an American charity, the Mexican on-site directors making all operational decisions while the directors in the USA are responsible for the fund raising. About 15% of the kids are orphans, the rest come from very poor families who can't afford to feed their kids. The children can stay until they complete university. This gives the young adults lots of "family" support, instead of being out on their own in their teens which usually happens to kids in this situation--even in Canada and the USA. The Mexican directora of the home in fact is a product of the home as is a local doctor who volunteers her time to the Hogar clinic. The home has a small computer lab, runs a farm where they grow their own corn, raise chickens, sheep, and a few cows. They grind their own corn meal and make their own tortillas. The children go to local schools, have all their meals at the Hogar and many take special English and computer classes there after school. They learn to run the farm, do maintenance, drive the tractors and generally get prepared for life the the Big Bad World. The interesting thing is that they do not charge for camping, and in fact refuse to accept anything. To do so they would have to have a business license from the tourism board and would be subject then to interference and regulation. This way they are just accommodating visitors! We did discover that bicycles would be very welcome as would tools and computers.
We had a great time chatting with the kids, were given a tour of the home, the dorms (dozens to a room!), and the farm. Each dorm has an adult resident, study areas, relaxation areas etc. They had no TV but were allowed a DVD player.
Later in the day a small motorhome arrived, driven by a delightful lady ( who Arts mother would have loved and probably joined) who was walking from San Diego to Guatemala!!!
Here is her story: http://www.walkwithearth.org/?page_id=68
We would have loved to have stayed longer; it is certainly on our list of places to return to.
Their web site is http://www.hogarinfantil.org
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