posted: Friday, June 20, 2014 9:06 pm
Referred to as the dry Panama Canal, the new highway between Durango and Mazatlan connects Mexico's east and west coasts. Years in construction, it has cut the driving time from five or six hours to just two or three.
My husband and I have driven the old highway several times. It is less than 300 kilometers, but includes 3,500 curves, earning its nickname, "spine of the devil." The views are spectacular for those brave enough to look. The road is two-lane with no shoulders.
Mexican truckers were helpful by putting their left turn flasher on when it was possible to pass them.(This does cause accidents, though, when someone actually is turning left and thedriver behind misunderstands that it is safe to pass.)
The new highway includes 115 bridgesand 61 tunnels. The highest bridge is the Puete Baluarte, which connects the states of Durango and Sinaloa. It is the tallest bridge in the world at 1,321 feet high. It's 3,688 feet long. It's cable-stayed, supported by 12 pillars that hold 152 steel cables. Many of the tunnels are smart tunnels with emergency phones and exhaust fans and 24-hour monitoring.
We took a one-day tour with Visa Tours. We had an excellent English-speaking guide. We stopped to take pictures of the bridge.
In Durango, we took a cable car ride to get a bird's eye view of this old city. This was followed by a trolley ride around town and a tour of the PonchoVilla museum. A box breakfast and lunch was included in the $100 tour.
Some of our friends had taken a three-day tour before we arrived. They visited a Mennonite settlement. Some of our Canadian Mennonite friends had relatives there and served as translators for the old German spoken at the colony.
Another attraction is the western movie set where most of the John Wayne movies were shot. It is still in use and gunfights are staged for tourists.
The city itself has a lovely walking mall lined with old hotels and restaurants, as well as McDonald's and Subway. There are museums for nearly any interest. The convention center grounds has a series of large carved stones depicting the history of the city.
The highway is increasing tourism for both Durango and Mazatlan. On weekends, our hotel was full of mountain Mexicans coming to the beaches of Mazatlan. Foreigners are discovering the beauty of the old city of Durango. It was a stopping place on the old kings highway between Mexico City and Santa Fe, N.M., and has some of the oldest churches and buildings.
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