The first half of our Mexican journey, we travelled through the North Central regions. The scenery mainly consisted of cacti and occasional mountains, with little greenery. The air was dry and warm during the day, but due to the higher elevations, it would often drop into the low 50´s during the night. Who would have thought it´d be cold in Mexico?
Yesterday, we headed East towards the coastal town of Veracruz. As we drove, the climate began to change from desert-like conditions to a lush, tropical one. The turning point had to be when we drove through a fog covered section of mountains with dangerous curves — can you say, “fahrfegnugen”.
We made it to Veracruz, where we gladly traded in our jeans for shorts. Veracruz is a popular tourist destination for Mexicans. There aren´t many gringos around here, but English is definitely more readily understood than previous towns. Veracruz is on the Gulf of Mexico. There are visible oil refineries on the coast, which is probably what makes it unattractive to many Americans. On the plus side, we were able to find a nice pet-friendly hotel overlooking the ocean for $60.
Last night, we took a walk along the ocean towards the zócalo (main square). We got drinks at a small sidewalk cafe and watched the tourists’ antics around the zócalo.
Today, we were hoping to spend the day laying on a beach, but the numerous palm trees needed some rain. Maybe tomorrow…
Since we were restricted to indoor activities, we decided to get some neccessities at the local Wal-mart. Here, we were able to sample Pan de Muertes, literally Bread of Death. This bread is very popular on the upcoming holiday, Dia del Muertes, the Day of the Dead, on November 2.
We´re not quite sure how long we´ll be here before moving on. Traffic may be negatively impacted due to the holiday festivities — Mexicans take their holidays very seriously! We would much prefer to be stuck in Veracruz, with it’s many beaches, to our next destination, Villehermosa, an oil business town.
Happy Halloween!
Do you have the ability to send any pictures?
John’s reply: Yes. We’ll be posting photos soon.
You mentioned “pet friendly hotel”… can you elaborate on that? We are going to be driving from Merida to Patzcuaro in August with our two dogs… and I don’t know where to stay. Was it hard to find hotels with pets? Can you give us some names?
In more Mexican hotels than I care to remember, asking if cats/dogs are accepted gets you the kind of reaction you’d expect if you had asked whether your pet howler monkey would be welcomed in the room. Dealing with that was the only low point of our drive through Mexico. I have 3 tips for you.
1. Do research before you leave. Check out this site. Call or e-mail hotels before you leave to see if they’ll take your dog. Confirm on the way. Write down names. Print out e-mails.
2. When that gets you nowhere, find motel style lodging and sneak your pet in.
3. And when even that doesn’t work, lower your standards. The nicer the hotel, the less likely they’ll be to accept your pet.
Good luck!