17 October 2011We departed Peubla today at 09:20 with the hope that traffic would clear. No such luck. Hectic city with much horn-blowing. Too many cars for the city streets.
Once on what we'd call the Interstate things move very well. Of course there are Tolls to pay. The trip today came to $16.53. There are non-toll roads but the going is very slow and they take you through every little village, all of which have toppes (giant speed bumps that would take out the bottom of a car). Thus Toll Roads are the way to go unless you plan to be here a month.
The road to Oaxaca is well engineered and the twistees through the mountains are fantastic. The nice thing about Mexican drivers, both truck and car, is that on the highway they signal with their left turn signal when it's safe to pass. They also pull way over to the right to let you by.
Stopped at an 'Italian Coffee Shop' we say signs for along the highway. It was next to the Pemix Station. 20p for a latte.
We got to the Anturium Hotel in Oaxaca at 15:00. The last five miles through town was a real challenge, with traffic and one-way streets. The Garmin City Navigator Mexico doesn't recognize one-way streets. The other problem is that you can't turn left on major streets but have to go around the block until you get in the direction you want to go. Problem here is that there might be five or six one-ways that won't allow you to turn right. I have no idea how anybody without a GPS would ever find an address in these big cities. And of course the street names are written on the sides of buildings, not always in the same location. Difficult at best unless you know the city.
I'd highly recommend the Anturium Hotel. Great Wi-Fi speed and off-street secure parking for vehicles.