Monterrey To The Colombia Bridge Via Highway 1

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It was an interesting day, to say the least.  I was determined to drive straight through Monterrey without getting stopped by transito.  And, we did it!  Juan took the time the other day to go to the transportation department.  They explained the route and told us that there are certain hours that you can drive through although you need to stay on the truck route.  It’s not a truck route like a libramiento, this is using Monterrey streets.  You cannot drive your rv through Monterrey Monday through Friday between the hours of 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and in the evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  The route is outlined on this paper map we took a picture of.  I may replace it this week with a Google Maps route.

It worked great and we got to the north side of town in an hour and ten minutes from our house.  I had planned on driving all the way around from the south end of our town to the Monterrey periferico which would have taken more than two hours and included tolls.

We hopped on Hwy 85 libre and as we approached Sabinas Hidalgo we took a detour from the 85 to Villaldama.  It is a beautiful drive and one we have never taken.  It was about a forty-drive before arriving to Hwy 1 just before Bustamante.  

The highway, sad to say, deteriorates after that.  This highway at one time was supposed to be the pride of ex-president Salinas Gotari who was responsible for the construction of the Solidarity or Colombia Bridge.  It never came to fruition.  The idea was to move semi-traffic directly to the border from southern Mexico and into I-35 up to Canada.   Five state governmental administrations and it still hasn’t happened.  I wonder if Salinas Gotari who now 

As we rolled into the last town before the bridge, Anahuac, Nuevo Leon, the SUV took a dive and just stalled out as I let off the accelerator.  I was able to pull over and out of the way.  It would start and then die right away.  A woman sitting on her porch just houses away told us there was a mechanic around the corner.  The place was filled with more parts and pieces than you could ever imagine.  He looked at it, tried several things, and then took off the gas valve (valvula de gasoline) and showed us the inside.  There it was, a piece of carbonized gunk in the shape of a little ball.  He washed it out with gasoline and off we went.  Twenty-five dollars and a new friend. 

We crossed the Colombia bridge.  They now offer the Mexican tourist visa for the U.S. online because of Covid.  So, instead, you show them your phone or a screen print and then they manhandle your passport, the $6 USD that you pay them for the permit and then they hand back a paper receipt.  Make sense?

We spent the night at the famous Texas Travel Information Center where you have free wifi, a place to park, palapas, and access to clean restrooms.  We don’t have an inverter big enough to use our coffeemaker so we plugged it in outside the restrooms.  Today we headed to Eagle Pass to stay the night at the now-infamous Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino.  That story comes next.