The freaks come out at night in Coatzacoalcos!

We were so disappointed that we had to stay the night near Minatitlan. It was a 20-minute cab ride to the nearest coastal town of Coatzacoalcos , a city dominated by the petrochemical industry. As we neared town, the outskirts at least seemed to be dominated by a large mall, Home Depot, McDonald's and other typical big-town crap we had no desire to see.

On the way into town I saw some great hotels that I was thinking we should stop and perhaps stay at. They were along the highway on the outskirts of town - not centrally located at all. But, we were just going to stay the night and leave very early, so I saw no need to get any further into town. They were like walled fortresses with a big in-ward facing courtyard, looked very nice, and appeared to have garages for each room. The first one we passed looked lovely. I was going to suggest we stop, but then I saw the second one. It was called EL SECRETO. It's logo was a large pair of lipsticked lips saying Shhhhhh. Then I understood the garages. It all became clear. hahaha! The cab driver confirmed my suspicions. He also let us know that they are the nicest hotels in town - big screen TVs, hot tubs in each room, etc. He said they rent by every 4 hours.

We went on to the central area of town and picked a modest little hotel by the seawall. The town was absolutely dead. No one around. Boring. Nondescript. We wandered down the way to have some dinner and fell upon the most amazing seafood resto where we feasted on shrimp empanadas, caldo de mariscos (an amazing cioppino) with the freshest seafood EVER, whole pampano, and a vuelve a la vida that unfortunately needed a bit of coaxing to be all it could be.

Then we retired to our hotel room for some relaxation. But we wouldn't be kept down by this moribund place - Ricardo opted for a walk along the beach and I jumped into some running clothes and set off along the sea wall for a nice twilight jog.

All of a sudden ... things started to look alive. People were arriving on foot, by bicycle, in little cars with thumping sound systems. They were parking all along the sea wall to open their trunks and blast their music. They were strolling hand in hand and pushing babies in carts. Venders were starting to appear pushing their little carts laden with aguas, elotes, raspas, and etc. As I advanced along the seawall, the crowds grew. Arriving at the point where the pier juts out into the sea, I saw there was a HUGE ORCHESTRA filling the air for miles around with salsas and rhumbas. Everyone was dancing! There were lovers everywhere - young and old. It was a party that had sprung up from the quiet dust when I wasn't looking! And just as quickly, when the clock struck 8, the last dance was danced and the crowds disappeared.

But the party didn't end there. Then the "crazy buses" started appearing along the sea wall. They were double decker open top buses blaring techno music and bearing dancing fools from who-knows-where to who-knows-where. I did notice one club was advertising a DISCOSNACK PARTY! WTH? Anyone remember those? Wow...

Did I mention it was a Sunday night? They do it up right in good old Coatzacoalcos.