Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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This will be my first experience travelling the road between Huatulco and Oaxaca City and I'd like to ask for suggestions like places to eat and take a break... What is the road like? How long is the journey? Are there plenty of gas stations? I'd greatly appreciate any relevant information you can offer.

Thanks for the caring attitude I've observed as a Mexconnect subscriber, toward all who seek assistance via this Forum. It's a wonderful way to learn and to share our love of Mexico.

Vanessa

Nov 9, 2009, 8:37 AM

Post #2 of 31 (9631 views)

Re: [Vanessa] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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I would suggest you drive west on Highway 200 to San Pedro Pachutla (Puerto Angel area) and head inland on Highway 175 to Oaxaca City via Miahuatlán and Ocotlán. As best I remember, the drive will take you about eight hours. The first part of the drive inand will be mountainous and curvy and as you crest the mountain you will pass a spectacular Zapoteco mountain town on the crest which is quite a sight in beautiful mountainous terrain. You can have a Zapotec style lunch there in a nice restaurant on the highway soon after you pass the crest of the mountain. There are gasoline stations here and there but if you top off at San Pedro Pachutla you should be able to get to Oaxaca City on one tank if you get reasonable mileage.

This a a good road and. the latter part of the drive is much straighter than the first part.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 9, 2009, 8:41 AM)

Nov 9, 2009, 12:36 PM

Post #3 of 31 (9607 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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I am astonished at the lack of responses to the inquiry as to the best drive from Huatulco to Oaxaca City, a common problem experienced by folks living in that southern state and that tells me something that disturbs me. MexicoConnect is, in realty, today, a Lake Chapala phenomenon at present patronized by old farts glued to that sorry lake and uninquisitive regarding the inordinate surprises awaiting the curious explorer.

I´ll tell you what. The best parts of Mexico you who cling to the lake are those you will never encounter because you think you are among those you have never and never will have met when you exit the planet. Your loss.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 9, 2009, 12:39 PM)

Nov 9, 2009, 2:45 PM

Post #4 of 31 (9577 views)

Re: [Vanessa] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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OK, Vanessa, I´ve now recovered from my pique and I am no longer responding to you irritably and personally whoever you may be but am informing others who may wish to drive from the Oaxaca Pacific Coast to Oaxaca City.

There are at least three ways to do that.

Salina Cruz to Oaxaca City
Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca City
Puerto Angel to Oaxaca City

Thre are also other routes that make sense but please do not request alternatives unless you are posing a serious inquiry. I detest trolls.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 9, 2009, 2:46 PM)

Vanessa

Nov 9, 2009, 6:38 PM

Post #5 of 31 (9532 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Muchisimas gracias, Hound Dog, whoever you may be, for the advice as to how to reach Oaxaca City from Huatulco. I'm certainly interested in the shortest route, as I need to be in Oaxaca City before night falls.

I look forward to that Zapotec-style lunch and to the journey that will take me through yet another beautiful part of Mexico.

Que Dios te bendigue, Hound Dog.

All the best
Vanessa

Nov 9, 2009, 6:47 PM

Post #6 of 31 (9526 views)

Re: [Vanessa] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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I wish you the best, Vanessa- Have a nice trip. Forgive my inexcusable and unwarranted petulance-

Dawg

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 9, 2009, 6:49 PM)

Zorba

Nov 10, 2009, 11:52 AM

Post #7 of 31 (9481 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Personally I enjoyed stopping at Juquila along the way. Attended a misa that was magical.

In Reply To

Nov 11, 2009, 8:45 AM

Post #8 of 31 (9453 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Nov 11, 2009, 10:50 AM

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Re: [Mac539] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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I went from Oaxaca to Puerto Angeles, which I really liked. Stop at the small beach. It is really quaint. Places to eat, more or less. A few small hotels. From there I picked up Rte 200 and went to Huatalco. I did not stay, but kept going to Salina Cruz. The reason you do not hear much about this part of Mexico is that it is mainly ejido territory. Not much to stop and see. As you look at the map, Rte 200 is not near the coast in many areas. Even when you are near the coast, there may not be roads to the ocean. Salina Cruz is a small port city. I would call it run down. I am told a lot of drugs come in here. From Puerto Angeles to Salina Cruz I was stopped 4 times by the Federales looking for drugs. In one day. I could have continued to guatemala, but if you look at the map, there basically is nothing south of Salina Cruz worth going to. I headed inland to Tuxla Guiterrez. This is a nice city. If you are ever in this area, go to Chamula. It has the best indian market I have ever been to.
Tim

Tim:

I´m sure you are a neat guy but please refrain from speaking beyond your experience. Your narrative tells me you are entirely ignorant of the coastal area between Puerto Angel, Oaxaca and San Pedro Tapanepec , Oaxaca where you ascend into the mountains to the state of Chiapas enroute to the Chiapas state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez. Between the old and historic naval port of Salina Cruz you speak of as a dump and the Chiapas border you are driving on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a crucially important region which was the primary transportation route between the Atlantic and Pacific until the Panama Canal was constructed and you say this historic coast with its many attributes is unworthy of exploration?

And, by the way, if the Chamula market is the "...best `Indian´ market (you) have ever been to¨ then you have been sorely deprived. Rethink your priorities, amigo.

Otherwise, thanks for your post.

Dawg

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 11, 2009, 2:21 PM)

Nov 11, 2009, 12:37 PM

Post #10 of 31 (9422 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Don't put words in my mouth. It is perfectly fine to disagree, but other than referring to me as ignorant, make a point!! If you think Chamula sucks, tell what you like better. If the soccer stadium in Salina Cruz is not it's saving grace, tell me what is so hot about the town. Discuss it's great restaurants. Tell me about all the hot spots between Salina Cruz and Guatemala. If there are any, I certainly need an education. You are right. I am not an authority on the area. I was there once. But I do have a home in Tabasco, so I am not a total idiot concerning Mexico.
Thanks
Tim

Manuel Dexterity

Nov 11, 2009, 2:15 PM

Post #11 of 31 (9407 views)

Re: [Mac539] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Nov 11, 2009, 2:39 PM

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Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Don't pay much attention to the mutt. He considers himself quite the daring explorer as he travels the modern paved highways of Chiapas in his airconditioned SUV with the cel phone at the ready to summon Mr. Wizard whenever he confuses the orange-clad machete-wielding highway maintenance crews with militant indigenous thirsting for the blood of their next ladino victim.

Manuel:

Tim clearly doesn´t even know where he is when he traverses the highways between Oaxaca and Chiapas along the Pacific Coast and you clearly overestimate yourself. The Dawg did not contribute to the rape of the Chiapas and Tabasco woodlands for filthy lucre; an effort upon which you pride yourself. You and I may disagree but surely you can see that Tim is in beyond his depth. Why would you take sides with someone so myopic. I, at least, respect your days in the woods even if you pride yourself on your contribution to their destruction. Who is it among foreigners you respect? Perhaps Tim, who asserts there is nothing of interest between Salina Cruz and Guatemala. Unbelievable.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 11, 2009, 2:41 PM)

Nov 11, 2009, 3:14 PM

Post #13 of 31 (9394 views)

Re: [Mac539] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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I will pass on the beauty of Salina Cruz for obvious reasons but I like staying in Juchitan and Tehuantepec. The fiestas there are great, they have good seafood and some of the most entertaining women you will ever meet.
The food in the area is very good especially the homemade food.

The reserva del Triunfo, Chiapas has some incredible rare birds and I like the deserted black beaches of the coast. I never made it to the Boca del Cielo beach but I am planning to check it out in January.

The Chamula market is a sad place, not a place I would go for my daily shopping. The artesania market in Chamula is the typical tourist trap where the Chamulas sell everything under the sun, none of which are made in Chamula.

I like the Chivit in San Cristobal also known as the Municipal market which has some great veggies fresh from the various surrounding villages.

Since you have a home in Mexico you should try to spell the names of the places correctly, please make an effort , it is Puerto Angel .

(This post was edited by Vichil on Nov 11, 2009, 3:35 PM)

Nov 11, 2009, 4:53 PM

Post #14 of 31 (9364 views)

Re: [Vichil] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Actually, 1/2 my family is Mexican. We raise cana, corn, harvest cacao, ranch cattle, sheep, pigs and own 2 tiendas
(mine) in poblados 16, 20, 28 in Cardenas. I am the only one I know from there that has been to Salina Cruz. The cana just got wiped out so it will be a very hard year coming up. Fortunately, Ida missed.

BTW, blankets and serapes are hand woven in the Chamula area.

Here is a question for you professional tourists: What happens if you do not stop before crossing the 2nd nylon cord at a federale roadblock?

TigerTonio

Nov 11, 2009, 5:21 PM

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Re: [Vichil] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Nov 11, 2009, 6:45 PM

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Re: [TigerTonio] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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The area is populated with Zapotec and Mixtecs. The story goes that most men died during the Revolution and that the Zapotec women "imported men to the area. How true this is I do not know but the fact is that the businesses are run by women. Some people say it is a matriarchal society some others say it is not but the fact is that the women there act very differently from other zapotec areas.
It is the customs for the women to handle all business aspects and all the money while the men work the fields or go fishing.

I have ask several friends from the area if it was true that the women were the bosses and they laughed and said that the money was handled by the women as they were better managers.
Another difference with other Zapotec villages is that homosexuality is totally accepted. Women are proud to have gay sons as it is believe the gays have the best of both sexes.

We happened to be in Tehuantepec in July during one of the smaller festivals and my friend and I were invited by the women to join them. We participated in the procession and were offered lots of mescal by the women, then a meal was served to everyone as people danced.

The women have many different types of dresses. The better known is the more expensive black velvet, beautifully embroided with lace and the funny lace head dresses. They also wear lots of gold jewelry. When I asked why they had dresses made out of velvet as it is so hot a woman responded ," because it is the most expensive fabric we can buy".
The women have an attitude, they stroll around , proud as peacocks and obviously in charge.
The women are large and tall as a rule and the men are usually smaller. They sit in a corner at the festivals while women enjoy themselves. A very different scene that the ones you can observe in the Oaxaca Valley.

You can also see a lot of women from the Ithmus in the fairs in Chiapas as they run the food booths and bars.

The music there is one of the best in Oaxaca and many of the great Oaxaca folk songs come from the area. Actually some of the famous musicians come from Salina Cruz.
Juchitan is not as picturesque as Tehuantepec but the same culture prevails and women run the show there too. The two towns are far from being beautiful but the people make the town. The climate is very tough, one of the drawback of the area.
The area is famous for its Carnaval and its fiestas. It seems that there is a fiesta going on at all times of the year depending on which barrio is celebrating its saint. The most famous fiesta is la Vela Sandunga on Dec 26 and another one Vela Tehuantepec during the last week of May but there are a whole lot more . I think that San Sebastian on January 25th is also a big fiesta there.
Do visit if you get a chance it is a fun area.

Nov 11, 2009, 6:54 PM

Post #17 of 31 (9338 views)

Re: [Mac539] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Sorry they are not blankets but Chamula women skirts! Some are transformed into rugs but that is for the tourist use only...

Manuel Dexterity

Nov 11, 2009, 7:22 PM

Post #18 of 31 (9329 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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In Reply To

Manuel:

Tim clearly doesn´t even know where he is when he traverses the highways between Oaxaca and Chiapas along the Pacific Coast and you clearly overestimate yourself. The Dawg did not contribute to the rape of the Chiapas and Tabasco woodlands for filthy lucre; an effort upon which you pride yourself. You and I may disagree but surely you can see that Tim is in beyond his depth. Why would you take sides with someone so myopic. I, at least, respect your days in the woods even if you pride yourself on your contribution to their destruction. Who is it among foreigners you respect? Perhaps Tim, who asserts there is nothing of interest between Salina Cruz and Guatemala. Unbelievable.

The thing is mutt, I don't really care how the other poster feels about ANY part of Mexico and if he prejudges places and deems them unworthy of his time then that is his business. You might give other posters enough credit to decide for themselves if his info is worthy.

Concerning the deforestation of the Lacandon, this is a subject that I can guarantee you know next to nothing about. It is easy to point to the logging operations as the main culprits but there is plenty of blame to be shared by all involved in the area. In my opinion logging was probably the least to blame.

We went into an area ahead of the PEMEX exploration teams and were allowed to cull all valuable hardwoods that otherwise would have been burned as roads were cut through the jungle to the exploration sites. We had to skid the logs outside of the survey stakes using winches, come-alongs and sometimes mules and then collect them once the road went past them.

The logs were purchased through the government's logging program that was supposed to deliver part of the funds directly to the local indigenous and the other part into a trust that was supposed to be used in conservation and restoration of the Lacandon. Don't blame me if the money never arrived at its intended destination.

Nov 12, 2009, 4:16 AM

Post #19 of 31 (9300 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Perhaps Dawg should stay in Florida and worry about the saving the Everglades.

Would someone please tell me the points of interest south of Salina Cruz along the coast? Obviously I need edification.

"Out of my depth" seems an odd phrase. Rather academic as opposed to sightseeing.

Do most of the posters here hang out in English speaking enclaves? Just trying to get a handle on things.

(This post was edited by Mac539 on Nov 12, 2009, 4:57 AM)

Nov 12, 2009, 6:03 AM

Post #20 of 31 (9292 views)

Re: [Mac539] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Next time you go to the area stay way from the bypass road around Tehuantepec and Juchitan and you may see something.

By the way I speak Spanish and know more Tzotztil you probably will ever know, not bad for a French kaxlan. Being retired has its advantages.

Last night we had some wonderful enchilada (a mole type from Oaxaca) made by our friends from Oaxaca. Life is good in our English speaking enclave!

Nov 12, 2009, 2:10 PM

Post #21 of 31 (9249 views)

Re: [Mac539] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Mac 539 writes:

Perhaps Dawg should stay in Florida and worry about the saving the Everglades.

Dawg is from Alabama, not Florida and thinks the destruction of the Everglades to be a national disgrace for the United States just as the ongoing destruction of forestlands in various parts of Chiapas is a national disgrace for Mexico. The disgrace in Mexico is worse because The Everglades is flatland while much of the deforestation in Chiapas has taken place in hillside and mountainous areas causing terrible erosion and mudslides and flooding killing hundreds and destroying homes and villages on a wide scale. All one has to do is explore the destructive logging of parts of the Zona Marques de Comillas compared with the extraordinarly beautiful unlogged (at least recently) forests of the protected adjacent Reserva de La Bisofera Monte Azules in the Lacandon Forest. If you can drive and hike through this region without feeling sick to your stomach at the grossly irresponsible forestry management then you have no soul.

Would someone please tell me the points of interest south of Salina Cruz along the coast? Obviously I need edification (SIC).

There are far too many points of interest south of Salina Cruz to cover here in a few minutes but I promise you that Dawg will be posting many thoughts on this this winter when I return there and dispatch news items from the area. Please remember, however, that you need to exit the autopista at Tehunatepec in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and take the time to explore that very interesting matriarchical town and adjacent Juchitan and explore coastal areas in both Oaxaca state and Chiapas from the huge lagoons in Oaxaca state to the primitive coastal areas in Chiapas such as Boca de Cielo and down the coast of the Soconusco west of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and the Ruta de Cafe around Motozintla and Tapachula towered over by the magnificent Volcan Tacana before one enters equally beautiful Guatemala.

"Out of my depth" seems an odd phrase. Rather academic as opposed to sightseeing.

I can´t respond to that. I don´t understand the point.

Do most of the posters here hang out in English speaking enclaves? Just trying to get a handle on things.

Well, it is an English language forum, no? And if you think Chiapas is an"...English speaking enclave...." you are disoriented.

Mr. Mac. I think you seem an intelligent fellow and admire your enterprise if you and your family are engaged in ranching and agricultural pursuits as well as owning tiendas in Tabasco. I regret to hear you lost your cane crop this year and am aware of the flooding in Tabasco that seems to have destroyed this year´s cane crop on your lands. My remarks to you are not presented in any antagonistic manner; rather, I just want you to know there is much to see and do in the territory you saw little benefit in visiting. I hope you return there and have a more pleasant experience the next time.

Best wishes to you.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 12, 2009, 3:05 PM)

mevale

Nov 14, 2009, 7:58 PM

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Re: [Vichil] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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In Reply To

By the way I speak Spanish and know more Tzotztil you probably will ever know, not bad for a French kaxlan. Being retired has its advantages.

The only thing I admire more than you and your husband's many, many, many accomplishments is your (and his) lack of decent manners or even a hint of humility or graciousness. I find it truly breathtaking.

Nov 15, 2009, 8:57 AM

Post #23 of 31 (9142 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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Concerning the deforestation of the Lacandon, this is a subject that I can guarantee you know next to nothing about. It is easy to point to the logging operations as the main culprits but there is plenty of blame to be shared by all involved in the area.

Manuel:

Dead-on accurate assessment in my view including the fact that Dawg knows next to nothing about the deforestation of the Lacandon. It must irritate you to no end that I agree with you. Sorry. As Willie Boy has observed in another post on this thread, Dawg lacks even a modicum of human decency. You need to start keeping better electronic company.

By the way; regarding deforestation, Dawg´s home state of Alabama is the most forested state in the U.S. union. The magnificent forests there were mixed conifer/hardwood woodlands of great beauty and big paper mills came in there in the 1950s and guaranteed my friends the landowners that there would be more board feet of timber on the then virgin forestlands at the end of their proposed 99 year lease for tree harvesting than at the commencement of the lease. Well, as we know from experience; things are not always as they seem. They weren´t lying about the density of woodlands at the end of the lease - at least as far as we know in 2009 - but those magnificent forests are now pine tree farms with spindly little trees destined to be pulp lined up in neat little rows for miles and miles as far as the eye can see. After 60 years of forest management by the big paper manufacturing companies, my Alabama friends now live in places like San Francisco and New York feeding off those monthly lease payments while the paper companies turn those once beatiful forest lands into fodder for toilet paper. . Dawg did not just arrive on the turnip truck.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 15, 2009, 9:16 AM)

Manuel Dexterity

Nov 15, 2009, 7:52 PM

Post #24 of 31 (9103 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip

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The same problem exists in southern Mexico with monocultivos such as eucalyptus for paper pulp and the palma de aceite for palm oil. Although the palm plantations are supposedly helping to restore depleted soil and help avoid erosion. Like all of our brainstorms when it comes to nature, they rarely work out as planned but let's hope for the best.

Besides the usual culprits that you never fail to blame, the loggers, I have noticed you haven't mentioned how much those Whoppers you so proudly scarf while you cruise the relatively new highways crisscrossing the state as you visit your pals in their quaint villages and enjoying other scenic splendors of that magnificent state have contributed to the massive loss of virgen forests.

Nov 16, 2009, 7:17 AM

Post #25 of 31 (9085 views)