Tabasco

---

On Thursday the 5th of March Chuck and I were on the east coast of the Yucatan in Playa del Carmen for the sunrise. That day we drove across the peninsula and watched the sunset on the west coast at a beachfront restaurant on Isla Aguada, where we camped for the night.


The next morning Chuck and I drove to Villahermosa, in the state of Tabasco.

Villahermosa is home to La Venta Park, where there is a zoological park and a collection of monuments from the ancient Olmec cities. The Olmec monuments date from hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. La Venta Park is located adjacent to the Lagoon of Illusions, which is partially located within a city park with beautiful gardens and walking paths.

After visiting La Venta Park we took a taxi to the Anthropology and History Museum, said to be the best in Mexico outside of Mexico City. Unfortunately for us, the museum was closed for remodeling. We then walked the malecon to the historic center of town and walked through the local history museum, housed in a colonial era mansion.

When Chuck and I checked in to the Robert Palace Hotel we were told that the hotel bar and restaurant opened at 7:30 each morning for a breakfast buffet and stayed open until midnight. After walking around town and visiting the local sites we returned to the hotel for dinner and drinks. The bar was open and we were welcome to sit inside, but there was neither food nor drinks available to patrons. We walked to the corner convenient store, bought beers and snacks and returned to the hotel bar. While sitting in the hotel restaurant, with our own food and snacks, we noticed that there were just as many roaches as employees. In the morning we skipped the breakfast buffet and hit the road.


On Saturday the 7th of March Chuck and I drove to the Mayan ruin site of Comalcalco. There are two complexes of temples and palaces at Comalcalco constructed around plazas and aligned to the four cardinal points. This site is unique because it has the only Mayan structures built of brick. Also particular to Comalcalco are the carvings of men with beards exhibited in the site museum.

After Comalcalco we drove to the ruin site of La Venta, a short distance from the border between the states of Tabasco and Veracruz. There are no temples, palaces or excavated structures at La Venta. There is one large earthen mound which can be climbed to take in the view of the surrounding area. All of the monuments at La Venta are replica pieces, but have been placed onsite to provide visitors with a degree of historical context.


From La Venta we left Tabasco and drove into Veracruz, our last state to explore on our four month adventure to and through Mexico and Central America. More on Veracruz and final thoughts about our adventure later…

---

Photos

Isla Aguada
Our seaside restaurant and camping spot

Puente de la Unidad
seriously long bridge from Isla Aguada (peninsula) to Ciudad del Carmen

Villahermosa
walkway in the park

Monkey Family
La Venta Zoo

dinner for a snake
poor little things

Comments

[Bergie]

Is that where Tabasco sauce comes from?

[anonymous]

RUN Forest RUN! I had the funniest damn dream about Chuck last night. Well, it wasn't THAT funny to anyone else, but I woke myself up Laughing Out Loud, then couldn't stop laughing while trying to fall asleep... Safe travels! Marmie