Road Trip Pacific Coast, Oaxaca to Nogales Mexico

Road Trip Coastal, Oaxaca City to Nogales

Driving through Oaxaca City (link)  is no delight. Traffic and topes are not the only concern; political demonstrators could close the streets at any time.
     Once out of the city, on the road towards the airport and eventually the Pacific Coast, you have two choices, Route 175 to Puerto Angel or Route 135 to Puerto Escondido (link). The crossroads comes up shortly after the airport (OAX) turnoff.

Route 175 is a better choice for several reason. The road is better maintained for one, and at times Route 135 could be congested with religious pilgrims traveling by bicycle to the mountain town of Santa Catarina Juquila. The pilgrims are most active during the months of November and December.
On route 175, you will go through Ocotlan a town with market day on Friday (link)  then into a broad valley towards Ejutla, and eventually Miahuatlan. Once you pass Mihuatlan, you start up into the mountains. The road narrows and the hairpin turns come at you rapidly. These mountains will test your brakes and patience. Although the distance by road between Miahuatlan and the coast is a short 90 miles, you will twist through untold peaks and valleys of the Sierra Madre Del Sur for five or more hours.
If darkness comes upon you before you clear the mountains it is best to park for a while until the heavy traffic subsides. The dangers are the buses and vans that shuttle to and from the coast. The drivers push the limits and often hog what little road is available.
There are hotels at a few of the mountaintop towns and you can pull off the road for a nap at the cleared spaces in front of the few roadside restaurants. Otherwise, there are no amenities on this stretch of mountain road. One interesting village at the three quarter point of the mountain trip is the coffee producing town of Pluma Hidalgo. The turnoff is 121 miles out of Oaxaca City. Pluma Hidalgo has a small hotel run by a former coffee broker. Find the hotel at the end of the one street village. The coffee coop roasts its coffee near the main street. You can visit and watch the process.

The mountain road will eventually flatten out as you approach the town of Pochutla where you will find the crossroads for Route 200. If you continue on 175 and cross the main highway, you will come to the coast and the fishing village of Puerto Angel. Route 175 ends in Puerto Angel, having gone about 320 miles and crossing Mexico over two mountain ranges while going from Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico to Puerto Angel on the Pacific Coast

Three interesting coastal villages might tempt you for a visit: Puerto Angel, Zipolite(link), and Mazunte.





Next: Puerto Escondido