Veracruz & Tabasco

Still alive somehow, and still kicking. Today I'm writing from a rundown "Hotel" in Villahermosa, Tabasco; the capital of the state of Tabasco. The Hotel Degas is an interesting place, a crappy hole in the wall hotel, in Canada we would call this a motel, but here in Mexico that means something very different...

Here in Mexico, any respectable establishment is called a hotel or inn. Anything called a motel or auto-hotel is a seedy place, that respectable people would never go to. The function of the motel  is quite obvious when you stop to look at it. The property is surrounded by huge thick walls, all the rooms have garages with large steel doors attacked to them.

Figured it out yet? The answer is very simple.

The motel is place that people go to when they don't want to be seen. People having affairs on their spouses go to these places to have some alone time from prying eyes. Politicians and other important business people  visit these places for all the same reasons, so if you know what's good for you, stay away.

Now, onto Veracruz itself. Veracruz is a fairly large resort town and the second biggest city in the creatively named Veracruz state. Veracruz is like any other resort town, lots of hotels, beaches, and far too many people. The city is moderately big, with a metro area of over 700,000, Veracruz is not quite as big as Edmonton, but has nice cultural flair.

Now traveling with dogs is always a problem, so before we left Tuxpan, we reserved a place in town which we knew would take dogs. Now, this place isn't exactly the Holiday Inn or Best Western, but it took dogs, so that was good enough. Finding the place was a huge challenge, the GPS spazing out didn't help things either. 


We got so lost, we asked the Federal Police to give us directions, and received an armed escort. They were confident that we could get there, but from the incredibly convoluted route they took, I'm pretty sure that they were lost for part of the way. No matter, they pushed ahead lights flashing, and delivered us to the Nautica Inn safe and sound. My dad offered the officers some pesos for helping us, but they refused stating that it is their duty to help people. Good guys, they'll go far with that kind of attitude. 


The inn was a very rustic Mexican styled inn. Tiles everywhere, and the rooms were equiped with two beds, a TV, a bathroom, and some shelves. No BS, or anything superfluous, just a place to sleep. They claimed to have internet available, but I had no luck logging on, so I spent the night watching TV. 


The inn was also home to a pizzeria that made awesome flat bread pizzas. The internet is awful at this hotel, so I'll have to post pics later on. The bartender at the pizzeria was a charming young man about my own age. His uncle travels the world meeting people and bringing them to the inn, so he learns languages by talking to them. He speaks Spanish, English, French, and Italian; his French and Italian are very basic, but his English was surprisingly good. He was a pretty good guy, and I think if he continues to improve his language skills, he can go far in this country. 


After a surprisingly good sleep, we packed up and headed off for Coatzacoalcos, and Villahermosa. Coatzacoalcos is another resort city in Veracruz, much smaller, and has a bigger focus on Mayan culture over suntanning. Certainly there are beaches and hotels, but the city is dotted with Mayan sculptures and art, making it a worthy detour.


Villahermosa as stated previously is located in the state of Tabasco, an oil rich state in Mexico. The place is a lot like Alberta, and as I ranted about in Texas, Tabasco has the same oil rich attitude as back home.  You'd think that make me nostalgic, but it's really just annoying. 


My time in Mexico is coming to an end, it should only be two more days if everything goes according to plan. Hopefully I can update you further tomorrow at Palenque, Mexico.