Across to the Gulf of Mexico via Toytown, the Garden of Eden and a big lake

We said goodbye to El Tule and our friends at Overlander Oasis on Thursday 16th June and started heading north east. We had just over 200 km to drive to our next stop at Tuxtepec but 160 km of it was across yet more mountains, at least as high as when we were in the cabana in the clouds, with yet more steep and windy roads. The terrain was dramatic with stunning views at almost every turn.

The view wasn't all that we had to entertain us, however. After about 4 hours of these mountains and coming down very steep sections with tight hairpin bends our brand new brakes started to get spongy and there was a great deal of hydraulic huffing and puffing going on. Over the next half hour they got steadily worse and then ceased to work completely! Alan put the vehicle into 1st gear and, mercifully, coasted to a halt near a small cafe where a group of men were eating lunch. We asked if there was a mechanic around, one of them laconically gave a loud whistle, then like a genie out of a bottle, a mechanic appeared from the next door compound.

After getting underneath the vehicle and checking everything the mechanic concluded that the brakes had become seriously overheated whilst coming down the mountain which had caused them to fail. Alan felt this  was a reasonable explanation as he had kept his foot on the brake rather more than usual once it started to feel spongy. Once the brakes had time to cool, all was well again and we continued on our way.

Our next bit of excitement was a road block, some 15 km from Tuxtepec. This had been created by some people who had come out in sympathy with the teachers who have been protesting in Oaxaca and other parts of Mexico. They'd been burning some tyres, put some logs across the road and they had placards up and had strategically placed the road block on a major junction. It was all fairly friendly, however, and after about an hour they let us through.

Although the brakes were working fine, we were still concerned so the next morning we found a garage down a back street at Tuxtepec and asked if they would check them over. A mechanic was assigned to our job and he duly lay in a puddle and got underneath the vehicle and then jacked up each wheel individually. As it was so hot, he got an extremely tatty beach umbrella which he moved around from wheel to wheel whilst he was working. The brakes were pronounced to be in perfectly good working order which was a considerable relief and the consequence of overheating brakes has been added to the memory bank.

Mechanic checking brakes at back street garage, Tuxtepec

We set off again and this time our journey was uneventful and we reached the delightful town of Tlacotalpan on Friday afternoon. Tlacotalpan is a world heritage site and is located next to a very wide river. It has two squares with two churches, both of which could come out of fairy tales. One is blue and white, the other one is a shade of pink. All the houses and shops are painted in bright colours and we decided that it was like nothing so much as Toytown. You almost expected to see Noddy coming down the road in his little red and yellow car going 'beep, beep!'

Sugar plum church in Toytown (Tlacotalpan)

Brightly painted shops in Toytown

Street view, Toytown

We spent an entirely enjoyable couple of days at Toytown, strolling around the town, eating delicious fish lunches at the riverside restaurants and taking boat trips on the river in order for Alan photograph yet more birds. In the evenings the plaza came to life as families came out to stroll in the cool of the day. We were also treated to some traditional Mexican music and dancing which was taking place in one of the side streets on Saturday evening.

Toytown from the river

Fishermen on the river

We're your friends.................

Universal gesture from young boy in the river

Cormorants in conversation

On Monday 20th June we moved eastwards, just 50 km or so, to an area known as the Reserva de la Biosfera los Tuxtlas, a volcanic region with nature reserves, rainforest and a very large lake, all just a few kilometres from the Gulf of Mexico. We camped at a place owned by a biologist called Felix and we called it the Garden of Eden because of the profusion of flowering trees and plants that were in full bloom. Unfortunately, we then had two days of almost continuous tropical storms which, whilst very dramatic, limited our appreciation of the Garden of Eden. Our little tent was put to the test as it trembled from the massive claps of thunder and the rain hammering down. We are pleased to report that it stayed perfectly dry, as did we. In the brief lull between storms, Felix took us out on an 'ecotour' a short way into the rainforest, enthusiastically pointing out all the birds and telling us their Latin names, none of which we could remember.

Camping in the Garden of Eden

Hummingbird on Crabclaw flower

Our last night there was also the night of the termites. With the rains under way the termites took wing and went on their various nuptial flights, many of them around Sue's head, in our food and just about every orifice in the vehicle. There were thousands of these things and we were still finding the discarded wings all over the place the next morning.

On Thursday 23rd June we moved on, not very far, to Catemaco which is on the shore of Lago Catemaco and we have just spent a wonderful couple of days exploring the area. We hired a boatman who took us out to some islands in the lake which are home to some monkeys, we visited some very impressive waterfalls which were easy to find and a wonderful swimming hole which was almost impossible to find, being several kilometres down a dirt track and then accessed through an unmarked barbed wire gate. It was down in the middle of some deep rainforest area, there was a little wonky track that led to it and, when you got there, there was a narrow gorge with intermediary pools, cascades and then it dropped down into a glorious deep green pool, lovely and cool, to swim in. A memorable occasion.

Sunset over Lake Catemaco

Supper by the lakeside

Monkey on island in Lake Catemaco

Waterfall at Salto de Eyipantla

View of waterfall from above

Breakfast stop on the lakeshore

Fellow travellers on the road

Alan taking a dip in swimming hole at Poza Reina

Yesterday, Friday, we woke to the news of the EU referendum results and the only comment we will make is that we were totally shocked. We didn't let it spoil the day so we headed up to La Barra, a little fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico. It was a delightful place, almost deserted, and we enjoyed a swim in the beautifully warm, clear water followed by fresh prawns at a beachside restaurant. After that we found our way to a hidden beach which involved going down a very steep set of steps and path through some jungly bits that didn't look as though they are very often trodden. Very hot and sweaty!

We made it! The Gulf of Mexico

To hidden beach from a very long and sweaty footpath

So, we have now made our way across from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and tomorrow we will continue our journey eastwards into the Chiapas region.