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Catemaco and Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz:
Almost Paradise
The arch at the entrance to the city of Catemaco says "Escape to Paradise!" Catemaco is both a town and a lake in the region known as Los Tuxtlas, in southern Veracruz state. The area is very green and wet, much of it covered by jungle. The Gulf of Mexico is nearby, and the area includes a biosphere preserve. The region is known for ecotourism.
The town of Catemaco has about 25,000 residents. The side streets are very tranquil, with pedestrians outnumbering cars, mopeds, and bicycles. There are few cars parked on the street. The people are very friendly and helpful, and the vendors are not aggressive. The area is relatively poor, and it seems that every fourth house has a mini-business of some kind or other. My favorite mini-business was the nearby Internet cafe, in an open air bamboo lean-to.
Mexican tourism is a major industry in Catemaco; we rarely saw Americans, Canadians, or Europeans on the streets. We used the Lonely Planet guidebook; some guidebooks do not mention this area. English is not widely spoken, although many people like to use the few words of English they know, learned during a stint working in the USA. Most Americans have never heard of Catemaco, but Mexicans jokingly ask if you are going there for a ritual cleansing. Catemaco is the site of an annual witchcraft gathering on the first Friday in March.
The town plaza is just above the lake, and is dominated by the Basilica. The street and sidewalk along the lake are called the Malecon. The Malecon is lined with restaurants, hotels, shops, and lanchas offering tours of the lake.
The most practical way to reach Catemaco by air is to fly to Veracruz City, and then take the bus to Catemaco. The first class bus ride on ADO is 3.5 hours, and costs around 10 dollars US. The ride is comfortable; the bus makes a few stops along the way, and then drops you at the station on the east end of the Malecon. ADO also offers service to Acayucan and Minatitlan, for those headed for the Yucatan and points east of Catemaco. For those with more stamina, one can take an eight hour ADO bus ride from Mexico City.
Buses run frequently from Catemaco to San Andres Tuxtla and Santiago Tuxtla, and then on to Veracruz. In addition to buses leaving from the ADO station, there is a second class bus station at the west end of town, near the entrance to the city. Many of the second class buses are very good, like first class buses without TVs or bathrooms.
There are colectivos, little pickup trucks, going to the surrounding rural areas. The colectivos are known as "piratas," and seat five passengers in the cab, and more on wooden benches in the bed of the truck. The piratas for Sontecomapan and points east and north leave from a parking lot a few blocks north of the ADO station. The piratas going around the west side of the lake leave from the street a couple of blocks above the west end of the Malecon.
In hindsight, perhaps we should have rented a car or Jeep to enable us to visit the various sites in the area; this would have been more convenient, and would have enabled us to see more. But you can see almost everything in the area using public transportation; it just requires more effort and time.
As in most Mexican towns, there are shops conveniently located on every block. Perhaps the largest Supermarket in Catemaco is the Rodeo, at the only traffic light in town. The San Miguel butcher shop, just down the street from the Rodeo, has roasted chicken, with all the fixings, for less than $4 USD. The traditional market is located just west of the central plaza, a couple of blocks above the Malecon. Our motto for the trip became “When you see what you want, buy it.” We would go by a street stand or store, see something that we were interested in, only to find the store or stand closed when we returned. It is best to shop in the morning, when the choices are better and all the shops are open.
For major shopping trips, we went to San Andres for the Soriana or the Bodega (Walmart), both on the main highway, easy to reach by second class bus. We prefer the Bodega, which is closer, cleaner and has better service.
As a tourist town, Catemaco is full of hotels of all price ranges. The high season is Christmas and Easter, with lower prices the rest of the year. In some cases, the rates are lower midweek than weekends...
My wife and I felt that region around Catemaco was one of the most beautiful in all of Mexico, rivaling Chiapas. The people were relaxed and friendly. Sometimes you would turn your head and stop to just admire the view. It is well worth the effort to get there.
Note: This article was based on a trip in January 2008, with the exchange rate 11 pesos to the US dollar.
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