Veracruz

Leaving Mexico City, we felt like we had to spend a couple days relaxing at the beach before heading to our next city, Oaxaca.  We wanted to check out the gulf side of Mexico.  Just outside of Veracruz, Veracruz, we found a great spot to park Cubby, right on the beach.  We got out the table and chairs for our typical beach set up - complete with some beers.

 

We had barely started the relaxation when, down the beach, we noticed a pickup truck stuck in the sand.  Ricardo went to the rescue to try to pull them out with the XTerra, but despite all their best efforts, the truck was so far stuck that it could not be pulled out.  An hour later, they finally ended up getting a backhoe from a construction site nearby that pulled the poor truck out. 

But all that time spent turned out to be for good: Ricardo got to know the truck's owner, Hugo.  He was a nice guy, and Ricardo invited him to come have a beer with us at Cubby.  We hit it off right away, and before we knew it we had gotten out the grill and were having a barbeque with Hugo, his wife, and a friend.  All of them were from just nearby in Veracruz.  We had a lovely night on the beach getting to know these great people.

With new friend Hugo and his dog

The next morning Hugo brought us breakfast and then took us to visit Mandinga, a tiny town just outside of Veracruz, before he had to leave for work.  In Mandinga, we met a friend of his, Pat, who is originally from England, but she and her husband, who is from Mexico, had been living in Mandinga for many years.  They actually built their own island in the lagoon in Mandinga, and have a restaurant there, called Isla de Paraiso.

crossing the rickety bridge to Isla de Paraiso

Pat's restaurant on the island

After we'd rested up just enough, we left Veracruz for the long drive down to Oaxaca, to celebrate Matt's birthday...