We rolled into Puerto Escondido expecting changes from when we were here 10 years ago. We were pleasantly surprised to find it is still a sleepy, funky surf town despite the international airport being built since our last visit. For old times sake we stayed at the same boutique hotel for a couple of nights that we stayed in ten years ago. Quinta Lilli is still owned by the same family and is a very chilled out place to stay.
Puerto Escondido has three distinct surf areas; Zicatela (mex pipe) is the prime wave and only for the most expert surfers. It is one of the top five waves in the world, and is either small and scary, or big and unthinkably scary! At the south end of the beach is La Punta, this is a good intermediate left hand point but it also gets very crowded. Two bays north of Zicatela is a small bay called Carrizalillo. Here, close to Quinta Lilli is a pretty bay with a learners left on one side and a intermediate/ advanced right on the other. Glen surfed here 10 years ago and again this time finding the right uncrowded and fun.
At La Punta there is a thriving backpacker beach scene with super funky cafes/bars/reasturants and accommodation. We went down for a night and really enjoyed the vibes and meal that we had.
After a few days in Puerto Escondido we started moving south down the Oaxaca coast. We passed Playa Agua Blanca, a beautiful beach with a good right point break, and then onto Mazunte. The first thing we noticed when we got out of the van in this Pueblo Magico is it was pretentiously hippy, and half of Europe was here. We didn’t like the feel of Mazunte. I am sure if you like tie died clothes, smoking weed, and being in touch with your organic inner karma you will enjoy Mazunte. So we carried on after a European priced lunch to San Agustinillo. This had a really nice feel but we couldn’t find any accommodation, and as Glen was feeling sick we booked into a AirBnB above Puerto Angel, a 15 minute drive away.
Pablo and Alma, our AirBnB hosts have a stunning spot on the sea cliffs above Puerto Angel, and we relaxed and Glen recuperated here for two nights. They are superb hosts and we left feeling really recharged.
Backtracking to Zipolite we found a super nice camp spot at Ranchos Los Angeles right under the mango trees!. Zipolite is Mexicos clothing optional beach, and while there is a really nice secluded beach dedicated to nudist bathing many just get their kit off on the 1km of sand at Zipolite. None of the nudists were Mexicans. After getting our gears off and going for a swim at the nudist beach (sorry no pics!!) we settled in for a few days to enjoy this funky, arty town. Jeanette found a really good yoga class, Glen got some good surf and we really enjoyed the grovey restaurants.
During a meal at a funky and flash restaurant we had just finished our main course and a young girl and boy came up to our table in the restaurant selling cake for desert. They had come off the street and were nothing to do with the restaurant, and everybody was cool with that. We brought a piece, ate it for desert in the restaurant, paid and left. The cake tasted as good as it looked, try doing that at home!! We love how anything goes in Mexico and people are really entrepreneurial from a young age.
After four days in Zipolite we headed south to San Augustin – a beach known for its snorkelling. We pulled up at a headland to see a humpback whale and calf frolicking 50m off the beach! After watching for five minutes we decided to try and snorkel with them, but by the time we got organised they had moved off. We camped right on the beach with some other overlanders and then continued on south the next day.
We passed through Huatulco, a very flash resort area and drove down to Barra de la Cruz. If you are a surfer this is where the Rip Curl Search Mexico competition was held in 2006 – google it. While it was not firing it was fun and we met our first kiwis in Mexico. Jesse, Ryan and Caleb, who were from Nelson and Westport. After five months it was good to hear a NZ accent again. We stayed at a surf camp called “Pepes” and surfed/fished/hung out for five days. Close by at the resort area of Huatulco there is a port for cruise ships, international airport, big hotel/resort chains and lots of shopping. One day we went in for a look around, to get some internet, avoided the overpriced restaurants and sampled the local taco stand which was delicious. This area is very achievable from NZ, and Glen can see the opportunity for a two week surf trip in the future. Who’s keen??
Glen had heard of some epic surf places from travellers and Mexicans south of Barra, so we dropped into La Bamba for a look, but it was flat. We kept driving on south but didn’t get far as there was a road block, after waiting for a hour we returned to La Bamba to camp for the night. The local Zapata people had blockaded the road and no vehicles could pass between 8am and midnight. There was no other roads around the blockade so we got up early and passed at 7am with no problems. The reason for the road blocks was they were protesting to get the money to build a school, the money had been paid out by the government but not reached the local people – fair enough I suppose.
We drove past stunning beaches and crazy surf setups (flat) to the port town of Salina Cruz. We stayed one night here and resupplied then headed towards San Cristobal de la Casas. We drove past massive wind farms that harness the Gap winds blowing from the Caribbean to the Pacific. These can get very strong and it is not uncommon for trucks to get flipped onto their sides! It was windy but not too bad and we made it to our campsite at Cascadas El Aguacero. This is the perfect stop enroute to San Cristobal. The waterfalls were well worth the 700 steps down and back up, and exploring past the first waterfalls we found a stunning pool to swim in.
We left the next day and climbed our way to 2800m enroute to San Cristobal and cool weather after the heat of the coast.
Dream Home Minders 