Tecolutla

12 June

We arrived in the coastal town of Tecolutla, Veracruz.  It was only 35km from Tajin, but took us two hours to get here.  We stopped for gas which took a while, because we had to wait to get to a pump where we could be filled up.  The only motor fuel  in Mexico is sold by PEMEX, which is the Mexican state- owned gas company.  Therefore the price of gas is consistent throughout the entire country “except for the border stations,” according to Norm.  We have to pay cash for gas, because we don’t have a credit card that draws on a Mexican bank.  Only Mexican credit cards work at places that have signs that say ”pague electronico”, which means we pay cash at all pumps.  There is very little difference in price between regular and premium gas, so Roger has been filling with 92 octane and he thinks there’s a little more pep in the engine when he requires it to get up and go.  Sandra and Norm are both using diesel.

Tecolutla is located at the mouth of the Rio Tecolutla and the Gulf of Mexico.  The beach is very popular with folks from Mexico City on the weekends, but fortunately is a sleepy little place during the week.  

The center of the city is about 10 blocks, and there are the standard tourist shops selling Mercado type wares.  We walked around town some, to get a feel for the place and then were introduced to some longtime friends of Norm’s.  We ate at a friend’s restaurant, where Norm recommended the shrimp cocktail.  Roger tried it, and his review was “it was pretty good,” but not quite what we think of in the USA.  I chose to have a shrimp tostada, which wasn’t at all what I expected.  Think seafood omelet egg pancake.  It was OK and way too much food for me to eat.  No sooner did we finish lunch Norm was recommending “greasy taco’s” for dinner.  To which I said, “We’ll pass”.  After lunch we went to the beach.  It is not a pretty beach, when you think of Mexican beaches, (think South Padre Island Beach.)  You can also see the runoff from the Rio Tecolutla, merging into the gulf.  We’re scheduled tomorrow afternoon to take a boat ride up the Rio Tecolutla to see the mangroves, alligators etc.  Hopefully it will be a nice excursion.

We did hang out at a hotel pool, courtesy a friend of Norm’s which made for a nice afternoon.   I’m not a fan of camping on the street, which is where we’re currently parked.  Too much noise and hot off the pavement.  Oh well, after all, we are now south of the Tropic of Cancer, so we should expect it to be hot.