Just south of Veracruz, a side road leads down the coast to Anton Lizardo, where Mexico's Naval Academy is located.
A few miles beyond the turnoff to Anton Lizardo at Paso del Toro Junction, Highway 150 goes west to Cordoba, where it ties into the toll expressway that knifes across the Continental Divide to Puebla and on to Mexico City.
For 60 miles south of Veracruz, Highway 180 provides glimpses of the gulf and shifting sand dunes that sometimes cover parts of the highway.
At Alvarado, you cross the wide mouth of the Papaloapan River over a toll bridge.
South of Alvarado, the route goes through rich sugar cane country, then winds along the shore of Lake Catemaco, up into high volcanic hills, and down into the fertile valley of the Hueyapan River. At the small town of Juan Diaz Covarrubias, a sugar refinery, a molasses plant, and an alcohol distillery provide employment for the inhabitants.
At Acayucan, Highway 185 branches south across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to La Ventosa Junction on the Pacific side.
Eleven miles beyond Acayucan on Highway 180 is the humble sulfur mining boom town of Jaltipan. From under Jaltipan, believed to be the world's greatest sulfur "dome," millions of tons of this material have already been removed.
Minatitlan, 13 miles farther, is headquarters for the sulfur and oil expeditions into the jungles up the tropical Coatzacoalcos River. Beyond MinatitIan, you drive through about 10 miles of marshy mud flats to the leading town of the area the oil and sulfur seaport of Coatzacoalcos. The highway by passes the town and crosses the Coatzacoalcos River on a toll drawbridge that carries both a railroad track and the highway.
The highway winds through oil fields to the Tonala River, crossed by another bridge. Three miles
beyond the bridge, a side road to the left leads to the La Venta oil producing area. It was in the La Venta swamps that archaeologists found giant heads and other stone figures sculptured by the Olmecs, later removed for exhibition elsewhere.
Visit Villahermosa's outdoor museum
An attractive provincial state capital little known by tourists, Villahermosa is worth visiting even if you do not plan to continue into Yucatan. For many years the city had no road to the outside world; most transportation of both goods and people was by water, on the Grijalva River. This water culture has not appreciably diminished. Villahermosa still has a beautiful riverfront along the placid Grijalva, with an impressive boulevard and flowered plazas.
The archaeological museum in town is one of the best in Mexico. Another museum, an outdoor one called Museo de La Venta, is at the fairgrounds near the highway entrance to the city. This spacious museum is unique in its attempt to duplicate the original site of La Venta. The Olmec culture inhabited La Venta (see page 85); the huge basalt heads were transported here from the site near the Tabasco Veracruz border. Within the museum you follow marked trails to the various archaeological displays.
You'll find plenty of places to stay. A very good hotel opened in October, 1975, and two more chain hotels opened in 1976. Two important routes originate at Villahermosa. Route 195 is a road going south to Tuxtla Gutierrez. Now paved for the entire distance, the road has an abundance of curves
and you should allow plenty of time for driving it. Trailers and many cars should use extreme caution. The road passes near Teapa, where you can board trains to Merida.
The other route is inland Highway 186, from which a paved side road goes south to the Mayan archaeological ruins of Palenque. Highway 261 branches off at Escarcega and runs north to Champoton, where it joins coastal route Highway 180 to Campeche. Eighteen miles east of Campeche at Chencoyi, Highway 180 continues north to Merida, while Highway 261 runs east 32 miles to Hopelchen, and then north to Merida. This affords motorists a circle route south of Merida.
