Anton Lizardo, Veracruz

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 Jan 17 - 18

El Rey Beach Club

Anton Lizardo

( No WiFi available here so not posted until Jan 24 in Campeche)

The drive from Monte Gordo on the Costa Esmeralda to the El Rey Beach Club RV Park in Anton Lizardo (near the city of Veracruz) was only 123 miles but took us 5 hours and 45 minutes (a 2-hour drive almost any place in the US).   I now realize that the major determinant of driving time is not necessarily how strung-out nineteen RVs can get.  The greatest cause seems to be due to the deteriorating highways and the Mexican answer to stop- and caution-lights, the tope. Topes can do serious damage to a motorhome.  They are speed bumps on steroids! 

The highways are full of potholes, broken pavement, and unfinished construction projects due to the government’s inability to properly maintain the highways, which is primarily due to the decrease in tourism over the last two or three years.  Driving these roads in a motorhome is hard on the RV and the driver.  The decibel levels of road noise, squeaks, rattles, and vibrations make it very difficult to hear and understand what is said on the radio.  Items thought to be well secured are easily tossed to the floor of the motorhome by the constant shaking and bouncing. 

Enough about the roads.  Let me tell you about the city of Veracruz, the RV park, and the village of Anton Lizardo. Veracruz is large and has some very nice (as in “US-like”) shopping and residential areas.  However, Veracruz is a very industrialized city with a large seaport. It is a major oil exporter.

We went on a bus tour of the city, which included a 16^th century fortress, Bastion de Santiago.  One of the most fascinating things to me about this old place was the stonework.  In the stone could be seen the fossils of coral in many interesting shapes and patterns.  People probably thought I was nuts when they saw me standing a couple of feet from a stone wall and taking photos of it. 

After the fortress tour we went to the Paroquia Coffee House, which enjoys some renown as having been in the original location for 200 years (correct me if I have the wrong number of years).  I had a lechero grande, which was a shot or two of espresso and hot milk.  It was very good! 

We still had a little time to kill before the bus was to come back for us so I walked around the city for about an hour taking photos.  It was hot and we still had a little time until the bus came so a lot of us visited an ice cream shop.  On the bus ride back to the RV park we stopped at Wal-Mart (there are quite a few in Mexico, also Sam’s Clubs).  Except for the language and some of the items for sale it was almost like being in a US Wal-Mart.

Mexico seems to be a nation of salespeople.  Almost anywhere you look there are street vendors.  They sell anything imaginable.  And some things you would never imagine.  In the Wal-Mart parking lot I saw a man selling windshield wipers!