Oct 27, 2011

Terry's Catemaco

Remember the good ol' days when the hunting was great in Catemaco?
This is a snippet of Terry's Guide to Mexico from 1965. 


That was also the first time I saw Catemaco. For about 15 minutes, on a cold, rain storming day from a one horse gas station, on the way to Quintana Roo.

Oct 12, 2011

Catemaco Facebook


Catemaco News is now on Facebook

Oct 5, 2011

Catemaco October 2011



This is supposed to be about September, but I'll take a time out about October.

This was the eighth month in the old Roman calendar,  until January and February were added to the in use calendar. That should make it the 12th month.  Possibly because of that incongruity, the world sponsors the first week of the month as "Mental Illness Awareness week", or month, depending on whose side you are on.

Ok, back to September.

September was pleasantly drier most of the month than usual, and re-invigorated some of my spirits. Unfortunately that is all the news. Nothing happened. Deader than a door nail! No narco killings, no major scandals. No new good places to eat or raise hell. The doldrums, except for the annual independence day celebrations, whose decorations still hang around. I have about 50 pictures of the parade in Picasa, if you need to know what marching kids look like.

Governmentally, another half a dozen councils were added for a series of very worthwhile causes, but, they   usually last as long as the 3 year mayor, now at the end of his first year in office, can hold his breath.

October is looking good. A buffalo meat joint will open its doors and provide free tastes on the 10th.

The road to the south is still a misery, but surprisingly, a potential washout near Maxacapan, 2 miles south, that I had been bitching about for 2 years is now being rebuilt, BEFORE it actually collapses. Miracles never cease.

The road north to Veracruz is now a pain, where before it was almost tolerable. Stay tuned!

The peso has been gyrating, but in effect has been making everything cheaper for US dollar spenders. Now is a great time to buy one of those multi million dollar properties in Catemaco or elsewhere in Mexico, that  locals laugh about because they have been on the market for a dozen years while the owners religiously keep raising their prices.

PHOTO; Original art by Ramón Cano Mantilla. Release of  paper  hot air balloons to celebrate independence day in nearby San Andrés Tuxtla.


Oct 3, 2011

Catemaco Terrorists

I get so tired of Mexico message boards in English, where a handful of posters regularly spout narco terror messages on threads about people wanting to drive through Mexico. Lately, of course, Veracruz is getting a deserved bashing

Mike Vondruska is a former short term resident of Catemaco, who at one time, was involved in the kayak business on the Malecon. He now operates a Veracruz Tour business, so of course he has a selfish agenda. Nevertheless, the comments he recently made on his blog, are a good defensive read about the current situation and I would suggest forwarding the link to anyone who is interested in Veracruz.

Veracruz Hits the News
October 3rd, 2011
Yes, the city of Veracruz sure did get some attention this past week. Killings, Killings, Killings. Dead bodies dumped in the street.
So now the word is,
“Don’t go to Mexico!”
“Don’t go to Veracruz!”

Incidentally, I do not know of a single US tourist having been killed in 10 years on the principal gulf coast highway #180  running from Brownsville, Texas to Cancun. 


But I did find the curious item of  Texas having had 3,071 traffic deaths in 2009,  with almost half on its rural, non-interstate roads which you need to travel to get to Brownsville.


I am now considering to become a terrorist on Mexico's Spanish message boards about travel to the US.