By 9:40 we were rolling towards the 150D. Looking for our exit Art spied the small 150D sign and hit the brakes. Not quick enough! We overshot the exit/entrance ramp by several metres! Our options here were limited: 1) carry on north along the periferico and hope that we could find a retorno, 2)disconnect the jeep and reverse each vehicle, enter the ramp, stop and reconnect and continue—this option screamed for a run-in with the police—or, 3) just back up the 3 or 4 meters and turn onto the on ramp. This last option is against all cautions in the towed vehicle manual since it can force the front wheels hard over in the wrong direction and cause them to skid sideways, straining or even damaging the suspension and or steering.
Art opted for Door Number 3 and with Gillian closely watching the road sign beside us on the right to let him know the instant we were clear of it he inched the rig backwards focused on the front end of the jeep in the backup camera. Just as Gillian said that we were clear Art notice the rear of the jeep drifting to the right. We just needed a few more feet! Art turned the wheel very slightly and move back a little more, put the wheel hard over and drove onto the ramp. So far so good. Time will tell if there was any damage. (Several days later all seems well, the jeep handles just like it always did.)
Slow and heavy traffic around Puebla but it eventually diminished and we were eastbound once again. Still not sure of our final destination for tonight, we will decide as we approach the southeast running 145D. Do we cross it and stop on the coast just south of Veracruz or do we follow the 150 south then cut into Catamaco, a much nicer a park, and much closer to Villahermosa?
Just out of Puebla was farming country, lots of cornfields, the dried stalks heaped in loose piles or stacked in stooks in the fields. We supposed they would be used as cattle feed.
We came across a very long stretch of highway of newly poured concrete, the west bound lane having been dug up was in the process of being rebuilt. Also some interesting traffic on this freeway!
This highway too crossed some spectacularly rugged countryside. Huge vertical canyons covered essentially in jungle. We came across a long down hill section, the signs warning trucks of an 8 kilometre down grade. After several kilometres at least we came across an identical sign! There were also several tunnels. Fortunately most of the steep hills were down grades--our fuel use was pretty economical! The sign reads "Check brakes, 8 kilometre down grade".
One "runaway" lane looked no better than staying on the road should a truck loose its brakes; the very short fairly flat lane of deep soft gravel ended in a precipice. A long way to fall if the truck didn't stop!
Though there were a few corners to navigate as shown on the GPS screen it was in pretty good shape and we made reasonable time. Catamaco was looking better, or at least do-able, as we rolled on.
We reached the 145D at about 1:00PM, the GPS said we would reach Catamaco at 3:30, as well as I can remember. Even allowing an hour for lunch and possibly fuel, though we still had just over half a tank.
Now we had another decision to make; Which route to Catamaco? The red road from Cosamaloapan, or a bit further along the 145d and take the straighter and slightly shorter yellow road?
At Cosamaloapan we pulled it the rest area at the toll booth and had our lunch and walked the dogs a bit. Since there was a Pemex right next door we took the opportunity to top up the diesel.
We were off again 50 minutes after stopping, decision made, 36 kilometers to our exit onto the yellow road which we would follow to for 45 kilometers to Santiago Tuxtla on the 180 with only 28 kilometres between there and our destination for the night. Our only concern was the possibilities of low bridges or very narrow streets and turns in a village along the way.
A bit further down the road we noticed some large concrete structures obviously built to be part of an overpass. The curious thing is, there is no cross road to connect to it! Also the dirt and grime indicated that they had been built some years ago.
As we approached our turn we were heartened to see a large dump truck then a semi-trailer crossing the overpass in the direction we would be taking. Gillian was warning Art that at the end of the ramp we had a hard left. Art noted the road merging in from the left but did not think it was our turn as it was a hairpin and possibly too tight.
The decision was taken out of our hands by a cowboy on horseback carrying a large pole with a red flag on the end which he was using as a traffic direction tool as well as for herding cattle. Yes cattle. There were several horsemen moving along side and around a group of cows steers and young bulls that seemed determined to go anywhere but where the riders wanted. Most were in the brush at the side of the road, but a few were obstinately kept heading towards us and the freeway exit ramp we had just travelled!
Art proceeded slowly the right side of the road ahead and a couple of hundred meters along we were clear of the cattle and there was a wide area where we could turn around. Art made a U-turn and pulled up behind the cattle. Here another cowboy with red flag was controlling the back of the herd. He indicated that he wanted us to just stay behind and not to pass.
We waited for a while watching the goings-on with great interest and no little amusement. It soon became apparent that the cattle were being moved, probably just changing grazing fields. They were being herded up and over the overpass to the other side of the freeway. It was a very entertaining 15 or 20 minute delay.
But that was just the beginning! Once we got clear we ran into a very poor section of road, potholes several feet across and up to 6 inches deep. In some places efforts had been made to fill the worst with dirt. At a couple of points the edge of the road had completely fallen away, 5 to 10 feet down. Somewhere along here we came across 4 or 5 very young boys, probably not over 10 years old, with shovels, filling in the holes. We called them over and gave them a handful of pesos.
We wished that we had noted the time that we started down this road, but we did time the last 10 kilometers; 24 minutes. I'll even do the math: average speed of 25 kilometers per hour. That was probably about right for the whole 45Km. One minor incident along the way--a cupboard came open and several items hit the counter and the floor, including a tetra box of soup that somehow remained intact!
As we entered Santiago de Tuxtla at the junction with the 180 we were pleasantly surprised with the picturesque little town. The roads weren't any better until we turned onto the highway.
The last 28 Km along the 180 we did much better and though traffic was slow and fairly heavy eventually we reached the RV Park. We stopped on the street while Gillian opened the second gate and as we drove through we were met by Gene, the owner who recommended the best spot.
We unhooked and parked, jacks down, slides out, power connected and satellite dish set up and then it was dark.
Tolls today: 1140 pesos, just under 100 bucks.
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