Coatzacoalcos

October 4, 2021

There's not much to write about today. A busy road, quite a bit of rain and nothing of interest along the way.

We were in two minds as to ride only as far as Minatitlan or push on to Coatzacoalcos. But when we got to Minatitlan we grabbed a quick lunch at an OXXO, put our heads and reached Coatzacoalcos before two o'clock.

There were a few small raptors along the roadside today, mostly Roadside Hawks (Rupornis magnirostris) but also what I think was a Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus). The rain didn't make for easy photography.

Roadside Hawk showing the typical rufous wing panel.

Coatzacoalcos is the center of Mexico's petrochemical industry and the lingering pong in the air makes it difficult to forget that. At least our hotel for the night is right next to the large Corona brewery and not next to one of the petrol refineries.

Coatzacoalcos was part of the Olmeca cultural heartland, it had already fallen under the influence of the Mayan's by the time of the Spanish invasion.

While the Coatzacoalcos isn't an oil painting, the gates to the city are quite attractive.

Now that we have crossed the isthmus our next real target is Palenque, one of the major Mayan sites, which lies just over three hundred kilometers from here. Our first stop will be at La Venta where we hope to visit the major Olmecan archeological site located there.

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 986 km (612 miles)

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