The journey today was through much a more moist area with more rolling hills and beautiful views. We spent most of the day again on the "Cuota" highways (toll routes), which allow for much faster travel. Along these routes we saw more Colin than we have in other areas with trees in bloom in yellows, oranges, pinks and purples. The colours are so vivid and bring the green countryside to life with character.
We also drove by many fields of sugar cane which is a popular agricultural activity in this area. Many trucks were on the road taking their harvest to market while the farmers burned off the field which covered the area in a light smoke and haze.
Our drive today should have been approximately 5.5 hours, but as we reached Villahermosa city limits, we realised we were arriving during the paving festival. Parts of this highway are now seeing their age and rather than doing one section at a time so as to minimize the effect on the traffic flow, they have tackled it all at one time which has lead to serious traffic jams. So on our estimation of 5.5 hours, we ended up being closer to 6.5 hours. Oh well, at least they are dealing with the bumps in the road so to speak.
When travelling throughout Mexico, I highly recommend using the Cuota highways as they are the best maintained routes throughout the country. The Autopistas are also a fairly well maintained highway and are usually more of a scenic option.
While travelling on the Cuotas, be sure to have lots of pesos with you as they are not the cheapest way to travel the country, but are good thoroughfares. These routes usually bypass the small towns so you are not up and down the speedometer and we have felt extremely safe on them, even at dusk last night as we wrapped up our crazy day.
When not on the Cuota highways, we have been sticking to the Autopistas. They are not quite as well maintained as the Cuotas, but are still better than the secondary highways which frequently have no markings, major potholes and have some rather sketchy areas for tourists. These routes often travel through small towns which is great to see more of the true Mexican life and countryside, but makes for much slower travel as a result of the fluctuating speeds and the poorer level of road maintenance.
We checked in this evening at the Hilton Villahermosa as we felt we deserved a little treat for ourselves after yesterday's challenges. Tomorrow will be our last full day in Mexico as we move on to Guatemala on Sunday. Until tomorrow from All Paths Lead to Roatan.
Awesome trip so far guys! No drunken events, no waking up with splitting headaches, you actually are reaching your daily goals! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Le Mec. It is very tiring so about the last thing you want to do is go out drinking. With some of the mountains we are driving through, I don't think my stomach would take it. Hope you are enjoying the posts!
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