Allende, just outside of Monterrey

Sunday March 29…9:45pm

We left Matehuala at about 8:15am, and drove north on the Mex 57 highway. This is a four lane highway, through a desert area. For the most part, it was in good condition, and we averaged 80 kmh (50 mph). Lots of truck traffic, but because it was a Sunday morning it was pretty quiet otherwise.

To avoid the major city of Monterrey, we turned left on Mex 31 towards Linares. All of the maps call it Mex 31, however the road signs all say Mex 58. This is slightly confusing, however it is the only road going to Linares through the mountains, so it had to be the one.

This is the last mountain range we would drive through in Mexico. It was a beautiful drive, except there is one 30 km section of highway on the 100 km (62 mile) long roadway that is in bad need of repair. And, the fact that we missed a turn due to the lack of a sign. We ended up doing a 15 km drive to the small city (pop 42,000) of Galeana. We quickly learned that a motorhome has no right being on the streets of Galeana! We asked a bus driver about taking a shortcut towards Montemorelos, and he kept telling us to return to Linares. So we did. Once back on the mountain road towards Linares, it was slow going but at least the road was recently paved and in decent shape.

View of the mountains on Hwy# 58/31

View of the mountains on Hwy# 58/31

I had emailed someone from the internet who had mentioned a place for an RV to stay near the eastern side of Monterrey. Chris had answered my email, and said he had a piece of property outside the city near the town of Allende. We took him up on his offer, and he met us at a predetermined spot in the town. We followed him to the parking spot, and made sure with his neighbours that we could park there for the night.

Then, he asked of we would join him for a late lunch. We went to a nice little seafood place that was really busy…that’s usually a good sign. Ruth had a seafood soup, and I had a shrimp cocktail. Had to be the best shrimp cocktail I’ve ever had…I should have taken a picture of it! Then we went back to his place where he shared some info about our drive to the border tomorrow. Chris is originally from the US, but has lived in Monterrey area for the last 20 years or so. He’s also an avid RV’er. He also knows a lot of info about the Monterrey area, and it turns out there’s a lot to see around here. We’ll be back again next year! Thanks Chris!

Tomorrow, we cross the border back into Texas. We do so with mixed feelings. We have had a great time in Mexico and look forward to returning.

Total nights sleeping in a motorhome…519

March Fuel $419.20 CAN

March Grocery $269.31 CAN

March Overnight costs $171.79 CAN