The Maiden Voyage of Boogie Bike to La Bocana, Huatulco

Sunday, I took the boogie board bicycle rack out for the first excursion to La Bocana.  It worked like a charm.  The board didn't shake at all and, once I was on the saddle, it didn't feel like I was carrying any extra burden.  I learned that, when mounting the bike, the rack side pedal has to be down so I can adjust my foot to pedal from the heel with the first thrust.

First portage from taking the shortcut the sector of empty streets for future residential development.  People can enter by the Fonatur recycling depot but all other exits are blocked, which probably saves a lot of unnecessary accidents from commuters racing the clock and trying to avoid traffic lights.

 

 

Next obstacle was at the top of the hill descending to Tangolunda.  Traffic had been diverted to an older 2 lane road half a kilometer back that I hoped to avoid because of my extra width and the blind turns plus increased traffic.  I just kept going and hoped for the best.  Sometimes a bicycle can squeeze through where normal traffic can't.

 

Approaching the moment of truth.

 

 

Whee.  No problem.

 





 

This video is clearly staged.  I saw Marbella waving to me from EcoSpa as I cruised through Tangolunda so I spun around and asked her to capture Boogie Bike in motion to show it off better.  That's the name for the contraption from here on in courtesy of Francisco.  It works for me.

 

                    

 

Random photo from the journey.

 

 

 

La Bocana just ahead at the bottom of the next hill.  I didn't even notice at the time that the front pipe had been shaken free.  It was the one spot I hadn't glued because the reduction sleeve had been jammed in so tightly, I couldn't free it.  I thought if it was that tight, it wouldn't need glue anyways.  No problem when I pushed it back in but it freed itself one more time before I made it home.  Maybe it was the constant vibrations of the tarmac that worked it out.  It's glued tightly now and it won't happen again.  

 



Ta-dah.  Beautiful Bocana.  I caught a few little waves and had some fun.  Mostly it was a fishing day.  An enormous school of fish had landed and fishermen and seagulls were everywhere.  People were taking home buckets of fish.  I grabbed my space in the water whenever a fishermen carried his haul back to shore and made room again when he returned.

 

 

 

Wreckless Behaviour in the Big Pacific Ocean Can Get You Killed or Timing is Everything

Two tourists were lost in the ocean in the past two months.  The circumstances were unclear but the usual reasons are swimming while drunk, swimming in rough waters and/or panic. 

Unfortunately tourists who don't live on a coastal area are often unaware of hazardous conditions.  It's just one big wet playground to them.

 

I like to pride myself on being savvy but that is not always the case. 

 

Below is the view of Santa Cruz from the lookout point.

 

 

 This closer shot gives a better idea of just how far out from shore the buoys are.  Provided the conditions are good, it's a great swim.  Some people do it almost every day.  Will and I have done it a few times and quite a bit further  I would never dream of doing it in choppy or windy conditions.  That's just savvy.  Right? 

This is a good case of learning from my mistakes.  It was about 7:20 in the evening.  I thought it got dark around 8.  Will suggested a quick run out to the buoys and back but he was just kidding.   He started off to do the length of the beach and I thought he was just intent on getting a good workout.  He has become quite a fast swimmer.  He could leave me way behind any time but he slacks off and waits for me a lot of the time because he's a strong believer in the buddy system.  I appreciate that.  Not that I think either of us could save the other if something went horribly wrong but at least someone could explain why I wasn't showing up for work on Monday.

Off I went, figuring he would catch up in no time.  He did but only after reaching his own destination and realizing what I was up to.  Buddy to the watery end, he came after me.  It was above and beyond of him but I would have hated explaining to his wife how his loyalty plus my stupidity had lured him to Davy Jones locker.  I think we both reached the buoy at the same time but he might have beaten me again.

Sure enough, my timing was completely off.  I felt like taking a floating breather but he insisted we had to go back immediately.  He was right.  We didn't get far before it turned pitch black out there and we ended up swimming most of the way back under the rising moon. 

That's another common way of dying in the ocean;  night swimming, which is usually only associated with drunk swimming.  They're almost the same thing.

We made it back alive of course but if I had been watching us roll in from the sand, I would have thought "What a pair of idiots."   In the future, I'll stick close to shore around twilight and so should everyone else.

A Perfect Beach Day at Playa Cacaluta, Huatulco

I haven't been to Cacaluta for a few years.  It isn't the quickest and easiest beach to get to when I feel the need to swim but it's worth the trip on special occasions like Rowena's birthday.  I don't know how old she is but she's still quite young.

There's a sign at the trailhead with dos and don'ts, some of which shouldn't be necessary, like don't leave your trash behind, but you'd be surprised.  One of them is a recommendation to only enter the woods in a group.  While you probably wouldn't be attacked, there are wild animals in there and a lone person is much more tempting prey.  I've come across packs of wild dogs myself.  They didn't attack or even growl but it might have been a different story if I'd been alone.  There are snakes, crocodiles (or alligators, I'm not sure) several species of snakes and wildcats.

A few years back,  I came across a young couple, tired, hot, dehydrated and completely shaken, stumbling along the road from the trail.  There were on vacation from Mexico City and had wanted to visit the site of "Y tu mama tambien".  They hadn't packed enough water.  However much you think you're going to need, double it.  This unfortunate pair hadn't even made it to the beach when they'd been chased by an aggressive giant snake, probably a python.  They can grow to an intimidating size, length and width.

After a 25 minute hike through the forest, the beach is always a welcome sight.

A friend had told me that morning that the beach had been steep on the previous day but that had been on the other end.  It couldn't have been much better on Saturday for us.

Life doesn't really get much better than this.

Here's our birthday girl, sitting with Lupita.

These two daredevils decided to jump off the rocks.  I declined. 

Just so nobody puts this on their to-do list, look at how close they came to hitting rocks beneath the surface.  It's also worth mentioning that you can't get a cellphone signal at Cacaluta and the beach is usually deserted.  Your best option, if you suffer a debilitating injury, would be to wait for a tour boat and signal for help.  Wave your arms and scream loudly.

Will, Romeo and I took the big swim to the rock island.  It was Romeo's idea and I didn't jump at the idea at first.  I was concerned about cross currents but a passing tour boat operator who knew what he was talking about, convinced us that the currents ran deep below and wouldn't affect us unless we were diving.

You have to approach the rock beach with caution.  The only way to do it is to crab walk backwards.  When a wave comes, plunk your bum down and hang on tight.  Move in between the waves.  Don't try to stand on the wet rocks and move slowly on the dry ones because they're not stable. 

The waves make a beautiful cracking sound when they shake the rocks but it sounds a bit sinister, like breaking bones, when you're trying to move on or off the beach.  Will gives a good demonstration of how to do it on the video.

Good times.  It was the sort of day when you have so much fun, you don't even realize how busy you were until you feel your aching muscles the next day.

Finally, for those who have never seen Y Tu Mamá También  ,
someone has posted the scene where they wake up and discover the beach they've been looking for for the first time.

Picture Day

I finally got around to putting my new smart phone camera to use and took a few random pictures yesterday en route to the beach and back.  As far as I can tell, there is no zoom. 

A section of Chahue Boulevarde has been closed to traffic for about a week now. 

 

I'm not sure what the protest is about this time.  I can't read the signs.

 

 

The protestors camp out at night with hammocks and tents.  It's all very peaceful and the detour flows quite well.  For me on the bike, it's been a bit of advantage because the traffic has slowed down and it's safer to cross 6 lanes.  I don't even have to look but I always do anyway.

 

   

 

Completely random shots.

 

Marina Park Chahue

This is something new.  This lot has only recently been flattened.  It was mounds of dirt, occasionally used by dirt bike stunt riders, previously.  Open up the full picture and you can see a few pieces of equipment remaining from a cross fit obstacle course.  I didn't notice it myself until returning from Arrocito later when I saw some people swinging on the monkey bars.  I haven't done this since the playground in Korea.  I lost a lot of strength in my left shoulder back then after a bicycle accident.  I'm proud to say I made it across this time but 2/3rds across I knew I couldn't do the Tarzan swing anymore and finished up by baby steps.  But I finished.    

 

A new hotel going up, possibly an extension to Isla Huatulco.

 

Arrocito.

 

 

 

 

 

I had the Sony Action Cam with me to test out the advice on anti-fogging from this video. 

Fogging was a problem at last Umarela. 



 



A few water drops are to be expected but the difference in temperature didn't affect it all.  Success.

 

Arrocito

I'm still finding a few hitches with the Sony Action Cam.  I burned almost a tank just driving around and found out afterwards that the lens  had become fogged up after a while.  This little jaunt to Arrocito is all that survived of a Sunday afternoon joyride.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfd3iJ1J3Ak&feature=youtu.be

Catching Up

It's been a while and some photos are two months old.
Hong Bo, William and I at Jose's birthday bash at Chahue.

New teachers.
Our newest recruits. Meet Donna, the mystery woman on the left, and Rebecca beside her. We gathered at Alex's restaurant way up the hill in Sector J. It's bit of a hike there to the top of the second hill and the streets are formidable but it's definitely worth the trip. Besides our own table, those are almost all UMAR people you see in the background

It's not easy to catch everyone smiling at the same time with a group this large. This will suffice.

I managed to get a peek in Brisas Hotel in Tangolunda when the regular English speaking announcer wasn't available for a concert. It was all written out for me, a no-brainer. I just showed up and saw the show for free for 2 minutes of speaking or less.

What I saw seemed vast and I was only in the lobby where gift shops offered deluxe prducts you'd expect to find in a huge international airport.

Maybe I'll find time for more random pictures tomorrow.

Cacaluta, Maguey, Organo and Violin

I've been losing my pictures. Too many places to put them. I have no idea where they end up sometimes. All that has survived recently is the vid of four beaches I visited one Sunday. The plan was to go to every beach I could in one day. I think it's possible to visit every beach in Huatulco in one day if you just show up, take a picture and run off to the next but I walked each one, took a swim, read a bit of my novel and so on. I plan to visit the beaches systematically just for a lark. i wonder how long it's going to take. At least by the end, everyone will have a complete account of each one.

New- to-me Beach

A lot of my Saturdays don't start until late and by the time I arrived at Playa Cacaluta this weekend, there wasn't a soul around, not even a boat. I didn't stay long.



Last time I went there, I didn't take the first turn and ended up going most of the way on a soft sandy arroyo and got stuck a couple of times. This is where I should have come out. This little road runs past the banana plantation and joins the arroyo at the far end.


The gate at the end of the tiny dirt road was shut when I returned but there was no trouble moving it
I wanted to check out a road I spotted last time. It looked like it might actually go somewhere. Of course it did.

Right back to the arroyo.

I didn't go too far. It was a bit late in the day for exploring the middle of nowhere but I took the scooter down the arroyo a bit further. I didn't get stuck this time but I had to stop and push to get turned around. It felt like I was as far from civilization as I could get until I saw the cooking pot.
It may have been swept there from miles away during rainy season but, when I turned off the motor, I heard people from somewhere not too far off. All would be revealed before I pulled in for the night.

I had a vague plan to go for a dip at Conejos or body surfing at La Bocana and I was heading that direction when I saw a car pull off on to a dirt road to the right. I knew there was a beach there but I had never tried it before. I drove past that exit without seeing it for almost 2 years. I like to concentrate on what's in front when I drive. This was the day. Excellent choice.

The couple in the car I'd followed told me it was Playa Arena. Very friendly people. We talked a bit and the man told me the arroyo eventually comes back to town in Sector something or other in Santa Cruz. I probably hadn't been too far from the exit when I turned around. It's a great beach, maybe even a new favorite.