Mexico Day 75: Weaving our way through Oaxaca

Zapotitlán, Puebla to Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca //

It’s hard to leave the serenity of the desert this morning but it’s time to replenish our food and water supply.  At our typical departure time of 10:30am, we get back on the road and point the trucks towards the city and state of Oaxaca.  Our two route options today are either the toll road with an estimated time of three hours, or the free route, a curvy mountain road clocking in at over five hours.  To my surprise we choose the toll road.  I think my sense of adventure is waning due to my desire to get to an RV park in Oaxaca where laundry facilities await.

For nearly three hours straight we traverse the beautiful and rugged landscape of northern Oaxaca state.  A continuous climb takes us from the saguaro-covered desert and up to hillsides covered in pine trees before descending again.  The perpetual climbs and descents add to the stress of passing and being passed on this two lane highway that carries traffic traveling at a wide range of speeds.  Mark drives with precision while I practice taking deep breaths from the passenger seat.

Once we enter the city limits of Oaxaca we trade in highway driving hazards for city driving chaos.  The truck feels as though it swells in size as we get deeper into the city and traffic closes in tighter and tighter around us.  Intersections in Oaxaca are unlike anything we’ve seen before.  In some cases, oncoming traffic divides into two lanes on either side of us.  Continuing straight is not as simple as remaining in the right-hand lanes for there is oncoming traffic there too.  Trying to make navigational decisions while avoiding an accident is tricky business but once again Mark pulls it off with grace.

After stopping at Walmart for groceries, where we’re relieved to have fit inside the underground parking lot, we make our way to an RV park on the outskirts of the city.  What should have been a ten minute drive turns in to a twenty-five minute drive thanks to confusing interchanges that fool us into choosing the wrong lane not once but twice. This is in part due to our reliance on google’s incorrect navigation but it’s really hard to ignore the familiarity of a tool we’ve grown used to when everything around us is so foreign.  We conclude that in the future, one of us needs to be watching google while the other is diligently reading road signs.

When we pull up to the massive solid steel gate at El Rancho RV Park we worry that we were supposed to contact someone before our arrival.  Luckily within seconds a kind gentleman appears through the man gate and welcomes us in.  On the other side of the gate is a walled compound made for us travelers.  Alonzo shows us around to the various available sites surrounded by mature trees and green grass.  He points out showers, laundry facilities, a pool, cabana, and kitchen area.  This is the first place of its kind that we’ve come across on the mainland and it’s a breath of fresh air.  

As good as it looks from the outset, we stick with our usual approach of only paying for two nights.  This gives us the chance to get to know a place without overcommitting.  So far, we’ve overstayed our paid number of nights at several places and no one seems to care.  We simply pay our remaining balance on our way out.  

We waste no time settling in.  While I am eager to use all the amenities, I would say the stand out quality of this place so far is that there are other travelers here.  For only the second time in six weeks we are camping beside other people like us and it’s refreshing.  I’m proud of us for how much we have immersed ourselves in and embraced the culture.  At the same time, I’m pretty damn excited to get the chance to strike up a conversation in English.

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