OAXACA
Road report to Oaxaca
We had to wait in Carrizo Springs, TX for a package to come in the mail so got a later start than usual plus having to drive further than we normally do from the Texas Welcome Center north of Laredo on I-35. Once over the border we found MX2 to be pretty rough over the MX85 / 85D which was also quite bumpy. There was lots of potholes and broken concrete. We took 40D around Monterrey which involves a few tolls but we didn’t want to risk the time it could take on the libre. Then 57D down from there to the San Pedro Pemex and rest area in the middle of the highway. Still bumping and bouncing. Sorry but I did not keep track of which areas were rough and which were not. We were able to keep a pretty good steady pace most of the way so it wasn’t a killer. No construction zones to speak of.
Carrizo Springs to San Pedro Fuel Stop 366 miles
In fact it could be said that most of the trip was bumpier than we remember. I am not sure but I think the bumpiest area was after crossing in to Guanajuato from San Luis Potosi. Fortunately we turned off and took MX110 over to Dolores Hidalgo and then MX51 down to San Miguel de Allende (a nice new wider smoother road).
San Pedro to San Miguel de Allende 291 miles
We stayed in San Miguel a couple days to get organized and get our Telcel stick working. Then off to Cholula by way of the Arco Norte. MX 111 from San Miguel to Queretaro is a pretty nice new road though there are still some topes, not as many as before. MX57D from Queretaro down to the Arco Norte was in pretty good shape other than the entrance/exit ramps. Arco Norte was in worse shape than you might expect for a relatively new road – at least for the first portion. Closer to the end it smoothed out a bit. 150D from the Arco Norte to Cholula was being paved and we benefitted for a bit from the new surface – traffic was slowed but not a whole lot. 190 to Cholula provided more bumping and bouncing.
San Miguel de Allende to Cholula 240 miles
Stayed in Cholula a couple days to tour the pyramid and go to Puebla to tour a Talavera Fabrica. Leaving Cholula we took 150D and right away found a great deal of construction and very confusing traffic patterns. They are building an elevated highway through Puebla which will eventually put 150D up in the air. For now it is a mess. Took quite a while to get through town. Didn’t ruin the day so probably not as bad as it seemed at the time. We took 135D down to Oaxaca and it was rough most of the way with mountain climbing and curves - for a cuota it is only 2 lanes with wide shoulders so passing is done by using the shoulder in the Mexican style. When we arrived at the new Oaxaca Campground we were told by Del that we should have taken 190 from Cholula down to Oaxaca as it is a nice road. We looked at it on maps as well as Google Earth and it looks very curvy as well as going through villages and being 2 lanes with no shoulder. We are going to research this more to see if the road is improved from Google Earth pictures. According to our mapping program it is 235 miles taking the 135D route and 250 miles on 190 which could be due to more curves. We need to learn more about these two routes. Anyone out there have experience with these routes?
Cholula to Oaxaca (Lachigolo) 235 miles
New Oaxaca Campground has 9 spaces and plenty of extra room. A work in progress. Located less than 10 miles from Oaxaca (you have to sort of go through Oaxaca traffic on 190 to get there) but seems a good location for visiting rug weavers and mezcal places. There are also many villages making things like pottery , baskets, woodworking, and whatever.
https://oaxacacampground.wordpress.com/
We expect to be blogging quite a bit about things we find here. We’ve been wanting to get here for years and with this new campground we thought it was finally time to make the trip. Glad we did so far.
We had to wait in Carrizo Springs, TX for a package to come in the mail so got a later start than usual plus having to drive further than we normally do from the Texas Welcome Center north of Laredo on I-35. Once over the border we found MX2 to be pretty rough over the MX85 / 85D which was also quite bumpy. There was lots of potholes and broken concrete. We took 40D around Monterrey which involves a few tolls but we didn’t want to risk the time it could take on the libre. Then 57D down from there to the San Pedro Pemex and rest area in the middle of the highway. Still bumping and bouncing. Sorry but I did not keep track of which areas were rough and which were not. We were able to keep a pretty good steady pace most of the way so it wasn’t a killer. No construction zones to speak of.
Carrizo Springs to San Pedro Fuel Stop 366 miles
In fact it could be said that most of the trip was bumpier than we remember. I am not sure but I think the bumpiest area was after crossing in to Guanajuato from San Luis Potosi. Fortunately we turned off and took MX110 over to Dolores Hidalgo and then MX51 down to San Miguel de Allende (a nice new wider smoother road).
San Pedro to San Miguel de Allende 291 miles
We stayed in San Miguel a couple days to get organized and get our Telcel stick working. Then off to Cholula by way of the Arco Norte. MX 111 from San Miguel to Queretaro is a pretty nice new road though there are still some topes, not as many as before. MX57D from Queretaro down to the Arco Norte was in pretty good shape other than the entrance/exit ramps. Arco Norte was in worse shape than you might expect for a relatively new road – at least for the first portion. Closer to the end it smoothed out a bit. 150D from the Arco Norte to Cholula was being paved and we benefitted for a bit from the new surface – traffic was slowed but not a whole lot. 190 to Cholula provided more bumping and bouncing.
San Miguel de Allende to Cholula 240 miles
Stayed in Cholula a couple days to tour the pyramid and go to Puebla to tour a Talavera Fabrica. Leaving Cholula we took 150D and right away found a great deal of construction and very confusing traffic patterns. They are building an elevated highway through Puebla which will eventually put 150D up in the air. For now it is a mess. Took quite a while to get through town. Didn’t ruin the day so probably not as bad as it seemed at the time. We took 135D down to Oaxaca and it was rough most of the way with mountain climbing and curves - for a cuota it is only 2 lanes with wide shoulders so passing is done by using the shoulder in the Mexican style. When we arrived at the new Oaxaca Campground we were told by Del that we should have taken 190 from Cholula down to Oaxaca as it is a nice road. We looked at it on maps as well as Google Earth and it looks very curvy as well as going through villages and being 2 lanes with no shoulder. We are going to research this more to see if the road is improved from Google Earth pictures. According to our mapping program it is 235 miles taking the 135D route and 250 miles on 190 which could be due to more curves. We need to learn more about these two routes. Anyone out there have experience with these routes?
Cholula to Oaxaca (Lachigolo) 235 miles
New Oaxaca Campground has 9 spaces and plenty of extra room. A work in progress. Located less than 10 miles from Oaxaca (you have to sort of go through Oaxaca traffic on 190 to get there) but seems a good location for visiting rug weavers and mezcal places. There are also many villages making things like pottery , baskets, woodworking, and whatever.
https://oaxacacampground.wordpress.com/
We expect to be blogging quite a bit about things we find here. We’ve been wanting to get here for years and with this new campground we thought it was finally time to make the trip. Glad we did so far.
