Exploring the park in downtown Crucecita, Huatulco

I've been living in Huatulco for over 6 years and ridden past at least one of three entrances to this park every day without entering. This park has no apparent name unless its called Parque Rufino Tamayo but my tourist map says it is distinct from the public performance park across from Pemex.

Parque Rufino Tamayo

 

 

This section of Parque Rufino Tamayo is a small short cut on my way to work

 

so I've been passing this intriguing entrance almost forever

 

 

as well as the second one.

 

 

The third is on the other side by the canal.

 

Last Sunday, after years of postponements, I finally stepped inside.

 

 

 

I love the concrete slides built into the hill.  I want to ride them some day when no one else is around.  Wheee!

 



 

While not exactly a maze, there are countless trails and connections.   You could pick different routes for months.   

 

I took the first left.

 

And up.

 

 

 Keep going.

 

 

First landing.  Up or down?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several of these landings offer barbecue grilles.



 

Sadly, they don't always get the love they deserve.  Eventually, the Fonatur maintenance crew will pick the trash up but it's a big park.   

 

 

Second entrance.  Walking by this entrance on my lunch break one afternoon, pressed for time, I considered taking an experimental short cut but remembered a student telling me she had been lost inside for two hours.  I'm so glad I passed on that plan.  I would have been late for work for sure.

 

 

I've been told there are some great views of town from the higher points of the park during dry season but we've received some good rain recently and everything is green.  This was the most that could be seen.

 

 

I didn't encounter too many people on my hike.  The isolation made me feel vulnerable.  It felt like a good place to get mugged.  If you ran into the wrong person on some of these trails, there would be no witnesses so I felt a bit wary when I heard the occasional person approaching from around a bend.  

 

 

 

This is the boundary of the Cocoa industrial park.

 

 

The only dead end I came across.

 

 

 

At what is probably the highest point in the park is this interesting structure that has seen better days.

I scared a young couple coming up a different stairway as I walked the perimeter.   They startled me too so fair is fair.  They immediately turned around  for a quick retreat but settled down when they decided I didn't look threatening and smoked the reefer they'd brought to enjoy in isolation.

 

 

At least now it serves as a reminder that the park can be a haven for vagrants at night. All of my pictures turned out blurry but this video shows the place pretty well.   

 

If you can imagine what this place looked like before nature and vandals trashed it, it's clear that the original designer had big plans for a picturesque sanctuary for the community.  I like to picture it the way it was planned; bustling with carefree picnickers and joggers;  everybody carrying out their own trash at the end of a happy day, enjoying the shade, maybe holding special community events.  The cost of maintenance and security would be huge.  It would have to be patrolled by police and double at night.  This poor old bathroom is proof of that.  Just imagine if the city budget had no bottom.

 

The park is locked up at night but very easy to break into.  Friends were walking their dogs there one night and found themselves  locked in.  It wasn't a huge problem.  The dogs squeezed through some gaps  and their owners just jumped the fence.   

 

This eyesore is the worst of the place and the park is really quite beautiful and otherwise well-maintained.  I'd recommend a visit some day if you felt like breaking up the beach routine but go with friends if you plan on exploring the trails beyond the wide open entrance areas. 

 

 

 

 

 





UMAR Huatulco upgrades and downtown development

It has been almost three months since I visited the campus.  It's quickly changing into an entirely new world.  I'll have to visit it more often or I might not recognize it when I return from sabbatical.

Check here for before and after comparisons.  http://alackofcleardirection.blogspot.mx/2015/03/moving-earth-at-umar-huatulco.html

Our newest building has taken shape.  The construction workers are already busy on the second story.

The street in front of Centro de Idiomas has doubled in width.  The original one lane might have been more park like but this is so much more practical for high traffic days and deliveries.

I've been meaning to take photos of this new hotel coming up near the bus station.  At least I think it's a hotel.  I like the design of an elevated arrow shape with a connecting skywalk.  Previously, I'd thought that lot was too small to build much but they have really used the space well.

  

Rough Day at Chahue May 2015

Yesterday was one of those occasional days where it's as hazardous to step on the sand as to go in the water.   The waves swept over the entire beach and rushed back with an undertow that could pull away anything not anchored down.

 

A disappointed skim boarder watches waves crashing over the pier.

 



 

The wheelchair access ramp lying in a pool of flood waters.



 

 

 

The first time I've seen police emergency tape at the beach.

 

 

Probably a wise precaution as there were lulls that could have lured an unwary vacationer on to the sand. 

 

Here it looks like the water may have reached all the way to the road.

That red flag has to be cemented to the rock.  I watched it take pounding after pounding.

 

The entire stairwell buried under sand.

 

 

I just checked the news and learned it has been a scary business all the way up the coast from Chiapas to Guerrero.  In this disturbing time lapse webcam video, you can see little objects being swept out to sea.  Let's hope those are just lawn chairs and umbrellas.   

 

Reports are all over the news about a young man who disappeared from Playa Violin here in Huatulco.

http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2015/05/04/1022264

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/2015/mar-fondo-huatulco-desaparecido-1097269.html

 

http://www.tiempoenlinea.com.mx/index.php/using-joomla/extensions/components/content-component/article-categories/41919-desaparece-joven-por-ola-en-mar-de-fondo-en-huatulco-hay-danos-en-municipios-de-tonameca-y-pochutla

 

I got out this morning for a splash in Santa Cruz.  The wave action is not completely over yet but SC is our calmest beach  and it was low tide but I suspect the restaurants are going to have to move their beach front tables in out of harm's way before the day is through.

 

 



Ocean Bar Bistro Cosmo Residences at Arrocito

 

 

While at Playa Arrocito 2 days ago, I scratched visiting the Ocean Bar Bistro, Cosmo Residences off my to-do list.  I already knew about the luxury condo complex, Cosmo Residences , but it wasn't until I visited their website, that I learned the restaurant bar was open to the public.

 

The word of mouth reviews have been good and it lives up to its reputation.  It's super clean, tastefully designed and comfortable.  The staff were genuinely friendly. Nice people.  What more could you ask? I'm told it looks even better at night. 

 

Naturally, I took some shots with the new camera.  Some didn't turn out.  I tend to forget where the lens is and get my fingers all over it.

 

There is a parking lot entrance.   This is where I entered from the beach.   Let's go.

 

 

 

The parking lot entrance.

That's all I have that turned out.  Everything else smudged.  See it for yourself.  I was impressed.
For such an upscale elegant place, the menu is reasonably priced, even competitive with a lot of downtown Crucecita restaurants.

There's a great video of this place.  I like it partly because I did the voice over but it's just a slick professional video with cool angles and vantage points.  It's on Vimeo so I don't think I can just post it but here's the link  Cosmo Residences. on Vimeo   

That's almost the end of Picture Day but the route to Arrocito has one serious hill.  It's so steep that I broke a chain last time I was this way, trying to tackle it going up.   This time I didn't even trust it going down.  A faulty brake and I'd be in trouble.  So I couldn't go all this way without visiting the point on my way back.

Stepping out on this ledge to get a better shot.  Oh, look.  There's my finger again.

 
It's a long way down with no soft landing.

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.

 

Moving earth at UMAR Huatulco

 

I don't know what's coming next but we have some massive construction coming our way here at UMAR Huatulco.   I pass the site every day checking out the development.     

 



 

It's already hard to picture but this site started as a hill.

 



 

Work continues across the street as men complete a roof over our new basketball court.  By the time I return from sabbatical, UMAR will be an entirely different world.