WHAT'S ON THE OTHER side of the highway? We've often wondered, as we've
driven along the coast to la Laguna de Manialtepec. So, one fine day, we left
Puerto heading west and took the dirt road to Santiago Cuixtla. The sign
on the highway said it was 8 km away, but we had been forewarned that the
road up the mountain was steep and slow. In fact it took us almost a half an
hour to ascend to the village.

It was dry season when we , the land was parched. It reminded us of the deserts of
Sonora and Baja California. But here and there, in a valley, we'd see a
cornfield, and we crossed a small stream. The real payoff, however, were the
spectacular views of Manialtepec, which at this time of year is a lake cut
off from the sea.

The village of Cuixtla is on top of the mountain, and is made up mostly of
reed houses with palm leaf roofs, although there were some houses of brick.
Everything sparkled in the sun and looked well maintained. The two short
streets that run though the town, connecting one dirt road to another, were
paved and there were several shops. There was a school, a public health
dispensary, and an evangelical church. We saw boys riding new bicycles. It
seemed like a nice place.

We wanted to continue further into the mountains, hoping to reach Nopala
through the back roads. But we were told that the road was not passable by
car, but only by foot. So, we headed back down the mountain the way we had
come.