Saturday, 12 March, 2011 – Tula to Ciudad Victoria
We woke up early-ish and without breakfast and wifi to distract us, were back at the 24 hour restaurant at the truck stop by 7:45 a.m. By the time we left 20 minutes later, the 24 hour restaurant was still closed. 24 hours per week, I suggested. We got a coffee and some oatmeal cookies to keep us going for the 100 km drive along an excellent asphalt road to CD Victoria.
While getting a new tyre was a clear priority, the road took us 40 m. from a location of Obregonia denegrii. This plant has always intrigued me, especially as I have never been able to grow it very well for very long. We took the turn ontoa track very near the spot and parked out of the way for the 325 m walk to the coordinates. Again, the walk was through dense scrub so we collected more scratches to arms and legs, then a barbed wire fence, fortunately in need of repair and again, spot on the coordinates, we started to find the plants. As usual, at this time of year, the plants were extremely dry and many were pulled into the soil with the best looking plants growing in the shade inside small bushes. If I did not find another plant today! It nearly made us forget that we were tyre hunting. We found what looked like a large car supermarket with the logo of just about any tyre manufacturer painted on its wall. We asked the shop assistant if they had the Goodyear tyre with spec to match our injured one, but he looked at us blankly – ‘We don’t sell tyres!’ Argghh!!!
Again many helpful Mexicans pointed at various directions as to where we might succeed. we headed off in one of the suggested directions but before we had completed the directions drove by a quick – fit type tyre vendor with workshop to fix the beast. 45 minutes we were on our way, only to get lost in the warren of streets and markets all without sign posts.
We had spotted a nice looking hotel as we drove into town, managed to find it again and decided to book in, dump the luggage and head back the way we had come, along MEX 101.
Eunice had been wanted to see the Agave and Dasylirion in the hills around Mehuihana and today got her wish. S2319 was for pictures taken along MEX79 to Miquihuana. The plants were huge and impressive and a nice change – both for us as photographers and for potential audiences at our talks. There were small palms here as well. Names to be researched. As we left town the way we had come, Eunice spotted the largest clump of Ferocactus echidne that I’ve seen to date – how did we miss that on the way in!?!?
The Cactus Trip Diaries 