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andyc740
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Bato wasn't looking well when he showed up Sunday evening at the hotel in McAllen, the night before leaving for Mexico. He was feverish and coughing but was determined to go along when I left for Huatusco Monday morning. He did decide he had too much gear along and left his top trunk and saddlebags at the hotel, only taking along his strap-on duffel bag.
I was making my fifth annual winter trip to Huatusco to visit my friends, Manolo and Hortensia and this time, Bato wanted to come along, definitely improving my wife's outlook for the trip. She doesn't like my travelling solo in Mexico, even though I've now invested in half a SpotTracker. My first farkle!
We left the hotel shortly after 7:00 Monday morning, gassed up and bought some pesos before hitting the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge. Both of us had our travel papers, so once the gate let me through on the Mexican side, we were on our way.
Bato's ride:
Rocinante II: (This is a photo-Guzzi.)
I've said it before, the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge at the end of Business 281 in Pharr is one of the best places to cross the border if you're heading south from the border. The bypass around town is complete and gets you out of Reynosa without having to deal with any of the traffic. I had a pleasant surprise at the toll booth when we were charged just half of the toll for cars, 3 pesos instead of 7. Google maps shows the road, but won't route me on it.
The fellows at the aduana checkpoint south of Reynosa wanted to see our bike papers, but then we were on our way. Our first stop was a break at the Pemex where Hwy 97 hits 101. Bato got one of the locals to tighten up his rearview mirror on the bike.
We stopped for gas in Soto la Marina, about 175 miles south of the border and ran into two fellows riding their motorcycles on a trip to Mexico. Turned out they were two Russian brothers. One lived in Iowa and spoke English. His brother settled for a handshake.
They warned us about road construction south of Soto la Marina and said it had been raining when they came through 2 days earlier. One of the guys had dumped the Vulcan twice in a muddy bit. I thought, "What do Russians know about bad roads?"
When we hit the construction zone, things had dried out nicely. Other than being surprised when we crested a hill at 70 and found ourselves riding in loose gravel, we made it through just fine. In Aldama, another hour down the road from Soto, we stopped for lunch at the Super Creme.
We hit the main highway a bit north of Tampico, took the beach road to avoid the downtown traffic, crossed the bridge over the Panuco and continued on South. Traffic was tied up at one point and it turned out a heavy load had shifted on a lowboy and several cranes were on hand to get things sorted out. Bato chatted up the Federale while we waited for things to clear.
When they reopened the road, the police let us through first and we had miles of open highway before finally catching up to other traffic headed South.
As dark approached, we stopped at the Hotel San Carlos on the South side of Cerro Azul.
After checking in, Bato wanted to find a doctor to see if he could get some medicine for cold/flu or whatever he had that was making his trip a rough one. We caught a taxi downtown and after a few minutes wait, Bato was in to see the doctor, then off to the neighboring pharmacy for the medicine, then back to the doctor for a shot. I passed the time buying some platano chips street vendors were frying up in the park, dosing them with hot sauce, and plowing my way through the bag. After a sample, Bato decided he liked them, too, and wound up eating half of them. Next time he can buy his own bag.
Back at the hotel, we had some supper at the Restaurante San Carlos and called it a day.
Maybe if we're lucky, Bato will include some of his own pictures and write-up of the trip.
I was making my fifth annual winter trip to Huatusco to visit my friends, Manolo and Hortensia and this time, Bato wanted to come along, definitely improving my wife's outlook for the trip. She doesn't like my travelling solo in Mexico, even though I've now invested in half a SpotTracker. My first farkle!
We left the hotel shortly after 7:00 Monday morning, gassed up and bought some pesos before hitting the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge. Both of us had our travel papers, so once the gate let me through on the Mexican side, we were on our way.
Bato's ride:
Rocinante II: (This is a photo-Guzzi.)
I've said it before, the Pharr-Rio Bravo bridge at the end of Business 281 in Pharr is one of the best places to cross the border if you're heading south from the border. The bypass around town is complete and gets you out of Reynosa without having to deal with any of the traffic. I had a pleasant surprise at the toll booth when we were charged just half of the toll for cars, 3 pesos instead of 7. Google maps shows the road, but won't route me on it.
The fellows at the aduana checkpoint south of Reynosa wanted to see our bike papers, but then we were on our way. Our first stop was a break at the Pemex where Hwy 97 hits 101. Bato got one of the locals to tighten up his rearview mirror on the bike.
We stopped for gas in Soto la Marina, about 175 miles south of the border and ran into two fellows riding their motorcycles on a trip to Mexico. Turned out they were two Russian brothers. One lived in Iowa and spoke English. His brother settled for a handshake.
They warned us about road construction south of Soto la Marina and said it had been raining when they came through 2 days earlier. One of the guys had dumped the Vulcan twice in a muddy bit. I thought, "What do Russians know about bad roads?"
When we hit the construction zone, things had dried out nicely. Other than being surprised when we crested a hill at 70 and found ourselves riding in loose gravel, we made it through just fine. In Aldama, another hour down the road from Soto, we stopped for lunch at the Super Creme.
We hit the main highway a bit north of Tampico, took the beach road to avoid the downtown traffic, crossed the bridge over the Panuco and continued on South. Traffic was tied up at one point and it turned out a heavy load had shifted on a lowboy and several cranes were on hand to get things sorted out. Bato chatted up the Federale while we waited for things to clear.
When they reopened the road, the police let us through first and we had miles of open highway before finally catching up to other traffic headed South.
As dark approached, we stopped at the Hotel San Carlos on the South side of Cerro Azul.
After checking in, Bato wanted to find a doctor to see if he could get some medicine for cold/flu or whatever he had that was making his trip a rough one. We caught a taxi downtown and after a few minutes wait, Bato was in to see the doctor, then off to the neighboring pharmacy for the medicine, then back to the doctor for a shot. I passed the time buying some platano chips street vendors were frying up in the park, dosing them with hot sauce, and plowing my way through the bag. After a sample, Bato decided he liked them, too, and wound up eating half of them. Next time he can buy his own bag.
Back at the hotel, we had some supper at the Restaurante San Carlos and called it a day.
Maybe if we're lucky, Bato will include some of his own pictures and write-up of the trip.
