Villahermosa

On the bus trip from Campeche to Villahermosa our bus was stopped by the AFI (Agencia Federal de Investigación -- the Mexican FBI).  The agent got on the bus and checked out some dude's ID and talked to him for a bit, then walked down the aisle taking a look at us all then left.  An hour or so later we were stopped by the immigration police and the same thing happened.

In Villahermosa we stayed at the Best Western which seems to be a lame hotel no matter where you go.  It was constructed very poorly (I meant to take some photos to torment Jeff but forgot).  The sink was installed at a five degree angle off center, the laminate flooring had random gaps in it, and the walls were paper thin.  The bar across the street kept us awake until 3AM. 

This is where I received my second dose of food poisoning.  The restaurant in the Best Western wasn't too bad but something made me sick.  The waiters (and this is general for what I've seen in Mexico) were very good and took their jobs seriously -- all earning their tips.  Villahermosa is in the state of Tabasco and you know I couldn't resist the temptation to ask the waiter if they had any Tabasco sauce (well Emma did the asking for me).  I'm not sure he was amused with my request (as it turns out Tabasco sauce is made in the USA).

The first place we went was a museum we found accidentally (by walking towards the most beautiful building).

One thing about Mexico is that they like their tiles and this place was decorated with an abundance of different tile designs.

We went to La Venta which is kind of an archeological park and zoo.  I got a million pictures of Olmec stone heads, and a few really good videos of ant eaters which were walking freely in the park.  They were very friendly and would walk right up to you, but don't try to pet them as they will try to bite you.

Then we went to another zoo which had a bunch of domestic and African animals (Zebras, Elephant, Rhinos, Hippos, Giraffes etc).  Unfortunately I didn't get many good photos of the main attractions.  But I did get a pretty good video of some parrots which decided to bite my shoes.



It was very hot and humid in Villahermosa and we were going to have to wait two hours before we could leave on the bus -- so instead we got a taxi to drive us around for an hour and a half (read: air-conditioning).  It only cost 180 pesos ($15) but I paid him 200 pesos because he probably burned most of his profit away in gas.