Puerto Escondido

This blog isn't anywhere close to being current. 

     I didn't go far this summer vacation.  When you already live in one beach resort, it seems pointless to travel long distances to other beaches.  What am I going to find that I don't already have?
      Puerto Escondido is just 2 and a half hours down the road by scooter and it makes a nice change of pace.
That's the end of the restaurant drag in Zicatela.  I decided to see if I couldn't get a good deal beyond the heavier traffic and didn't look far at all before I found Casa Olga. 

For a great price, I got a panoramic view of the ocean, access to a pool, and a table and hammock right outside my door. 

It's a bit isolated up there on the hill.  Several of the neighboring hotels were closed up for the slow season.

The nights were hot and I slept with the glass doors open for the first two.  On the second night, I woke to a thump and someone screaming.  The commotion settled down very quickly.  I figured someone had just had a bad dream and went back to sleep immediately.

In fact, someone had snuck in through the open doors of the young Australian couple above me.  The man had managed to save his laptop from the intruder but found out later that his wallet was gone.  The victims said they had come home pretty drunk and were probably followed  for easy pickings.  No doubt that was true because I was on the floor below with my door wide open and he didn't stop to visit me.  Everybody slept with closed doors after that.

      Beyond the restaurant strip, it gets pretty dark and I felt a bit vulnerable walking home at night.  On my first night, I went downtown for dinner and noticed the same shady looking tattooed guy hanging out outside Oxxo from the afternoon, apparently for hours.  By the time I left the restaurant, he had finally moved, to outside my restaurant.  I stopped at a bar for some watered down mojitos and there he was again.  When it came time to return home, I stopped at the corner before stepping into the dark lonely street and turned around to confront anyone following me.  There was no one.  I stopped again before turning into the even darker alley/ driveway of the hotel.  I saw someone else turning the corner and shifting into an immediate power walk/run up the hill without looking back.  I wasn't the only one on alert.  It's wise not to let your guard down too far in any tourist town.  Wherever there are tourists, there will be predators and basic street smarts should be the rule. 

Over the rocks from Zicatela to Principal.  It looks a lot safer these days with a bar parked right at the midpoint but I still wouldn't recommend this shortcut after dark.

I must not have been here during the rainy season before because this is the first time I've ever seen this moat separating the town from the beach.  I hesitated but other people were crossing it so I tried it too.  It felt as swampy and nasty as it looked.  I recommend the longer route.

Promising clouds for a cook refreshing rain.  Nothing happened.

Two guys, probably not locals judging by the English, with spray paint cans and time on their hands.  Maybe the second one was mad because the first beat him to the clean concrete.

Puerto Escondido weekend

Here are some pictures from a run to Puerto Escondido a couple of months back. It's such a beautiful place but I don't get down too often.

Last trip there was a lot of street construction in Zicatela. That's all been completed now except for a few finishing touches. Check out the spanking new public shower building. It looks ready for business. It's still locked up for now though.


I arrived in plenty of time before sundown to check out Zicatela beyond the paved road.
Those clouds ahead moved in quickly and turned dark, putting a little pressure on to find a room for the night.


All the affordable places in Zicatela were packed for a big surfer competition and a lady advised me to move on to Carazilillo.

There isn't too much accomodation in Carazilillo to choose from but I found my sanctuary after a few misfires. First I tried a nice looking place with a bell to ring for service. A maintenance man came along and called the front desk on his cellphone. I didn't even know if I could afford that place and five minutes and several warning rumbles of thunder later, we were still waiting for a response and the sky had turned black.

I moved on to Shalom. The gate was open and I gave myself the complete tour of the premises without seeing a soul. The first rain drops had started to fall.

I ended up in a nice place with an ocean view and a pool I had completely to myself during the day until a huge family returned from the beach for 150 pesos. It was a great place to watch the heavy lightning storm.




Here's a great view of Carazilillo from the balocony of another hotel I couldn't afford. I checked the place out anyway.

I left early Sunday morning. No one was awake to open the gate at the hotel. I pushed the scooter through the pedestrian door.

I bombed around town before breakfast and found a whole section I had never seen before, full of palatial hotels.



I nearly always have breakfast at Cafecito's in Zicatela when I'm in town. I felt like a change. Some of these other places had to be worth a try. When I saw the giant shark mouth for a door, my decision had been made.

What could be more inviting?

The food was very simple and cheap. They weren't as organized as Cafecito's. They're new after all. The menu was a choice of 5 set breakfasts and they were running out of almost everything by the time I got there. But they have a giant shark mouth for a door!

The rest of the place was two stories made up like an old wooden ship. Great panoramic beach views.





Riding home, the highway was a cool tunnel of green, merging ahead at the vanishing point and I almost smashed through this fallen tree.

Playa Principal in the morning

Just a few shots of Playa Principal early in the morning before heading back to Huatulco.






I had never seen the seawall walkway before. Looks like it may extend all the way to Puerto Angelito. Parts of it looked treacherous. I didn't go too far.










I left before the crowds arrived, drove straight back home in 3 hours flat. Passed the wreck of a less attentive or just unlucky driver on the way.
Spotted this intriguing sign between Pochutla and the airport. Might be worth checking out some other day.

Epic Beach Trip: Puerto Escondido or Bust

It was 1:30 in the afternoon when I hit the main highway again. All of those detours were burning up the day.

Once you get past Pochutla, those curves and turns straighten out. Visibility is great. You can let the bike rip and ignore those silly 30 kmh signs just like everybody else. The downside of a straight highway, which I had never considered before, is the wind. The boogie board causes a bit of a drag to begin with and every transport truck or bus that came by gave a mean smack. I was forced to pull over and readjust my strap when the wind pulled the helmet right off my head. It doesn't work as well dangling off the back.

A little self-awareness can come in handy and I realize I am neither the best driver in the world or the smartest person. That's why I quickly faced the fact that my plan to document the scenic journey on video with the little Sony in my left hand was the worst idea I'd had so far that day and gave the whole thing up.

That is one video that will never be made. It wasn't exactly a matter of driving one-handed as one and a half-handed but that still didn't feel adequate. The wind was so strong. I wanted a tighter grip for those power blasts from transport trucks. At a certain point, it all becomes flat and bland anyways.


Well, well. I made it alive.
After all that travelling, turning around wasn't an option. I'd been forewarned that prices would have risen for Semana Santa but I hadn't realized how bad it would be. This is the place I stayed at last time I was here. It's not bad and I was prepared for a price hike but not triple. Sheesh.

It was the same all the way down Zicatela. What I brought with me wouldn't be enough so I headed into town for a bank machine. As it turned out, there were more affordable places on the hill. I'll check this area out again for low season. My first instinct is always to get a place as close to the beach as possible but it's really no hardship to walk a little way.

I ended up at Hotel Naxhielly for about what I'd been hoping to spend. Nothing spectacular but the people who ran it were very accomodating. He had no parking lot but he let me pull the scooter in past the gate before he locked up for the night. There was a small pool.

The day was still young. Time enough for another beach or two. I headed up the steep hill to Playa Carazzalillo. A horn tooted and I pulled to the side to let a taxi motor pass and his passenger screamed something angry and threatening in Italian at me. I smiled and shrugged apologetically; for what, I don't know but road rage has to stop somewhere and trust fund brats can get pretty mean and erratic with all the drugs and alcohol they can afford. Try to avoid their attention.

I met so many people coming up the stairs to the beach as I was going down, I thought the place was going to be vacant. Hardly. Great swim.

I was feeling so tired but I steered the scooter to a place called Puerto Angelito only because I'd never been there before. This was the heart of Semana Santa where the density of population was at its worst. I almost made it to the bottom of the driveway when I was scared off by the snarl of buses jammed in together and all the exhausted sun drunk people weaving up the hill. I was too tired myself to deal with that. Someone was bound to get hurt. Somewhere during the journey, the bike started acting oddly. The accelerator had gone quite stiff. I had to give it a much harder yank and, when I did, the bike had a tendency to jump ahead unpredictably. The worst thing I could have done would have been to take that bike any further.

The buses and camionettas at the bottom weren't all there was. There were more parking lots, mostly full, all the way up the drive. I parked at the top and hiked down a trail. I didn't stay. I didn't take a picture. It's a tiny beach. Too too crowded. When any place gets this crowded, it's a ghetto. Wikipedia says the color of the water here "varies from emerald green to turquoise blue." No surprise. I expect Semana Santa is the emerald green season and it eventually returns to turquoise blue after a few tides take out all the urine.

I was fading at this point. I felt as tired as everybody else looked. Time for dinner, a short walk along Playa Principal under a big bright moon and straight to bed. Back at the hotel, families were still enjoying the pool. Children were having such a great time, splashing and laughing. My room was right off the pool but they didn't keep me awake. They probably would have played there all night if Mom hadn't called it quits. I heard the first and last squawk of protest against bedtime and then complete silence for the rest of the night.

Holy smokes. That was seven beaches in one day.