Oaxaca Beachside: Puerto Escondido & Hualtulco

Oaxaca state, Mexico

Cozy!

After a delightful month in Oaxaca (City), we headed south and a little west to the Pacific coast, still in Oaxaca (State). We took a short 30-minute flight in a tiny airplane over the mountains (unfortunately shrouded in clouds), starting our coastal tour in the surfer town of Puerto Escondido. We stayed in the small village of Brisas de Zicatela, just south of Zicatela, which is known among surfers as the Mexican Pipeline, a very large tubular wave that is at its peak in the summer. We don’t surf but have read that this area is one of the Top 10 surfing destinations in the world.

Downtown Brisas de Zicatela

We checked in to our lovely Airbnb studio apartment and headed into “town,” which is mostly a packed sand road with restaurants, hostels, dogs, bars, a couple of Oxxo-like tiny tiendas, an organic market, and a tiny vegetable stand where they sold, along with the produce, ½ pound bags of pasta for 7 pesos (33 cents). 

We found one restaurant, run by an Aussie, where they had tasty meat pies … well, they sort of had them… since they were on the menu, but they were not always available. Once we had tried, and liked them, we asked the proprietor if we could order (and pre-pay for) a half dozen. Oddly, she said “no, I want to have them for my restaurant customers.” Which we thought we were. Anyway, we made a couple of runs at changing her mind, and she just dug in. Odd.

...no more pie for you!!

I love you, man!

Look, Marky likes it! he ate a corn tortilla!

The good news, though, is that we found a fish taco place, right off the beach, called Pepe’s. It was hidden away behind palm trees and foliage, sand floor, and 3 dogs in residence – 2 brindle hounds and a pit, all very friendly, despite the “perro peligro” sign on the gate. Pepe is a character in all senses of the word. He serves what he has, and if more people show up he heads out for a few minutes to get more fish, tortillas, booze, etc. We went 3 times in 15 days, because his coconut fish tacos were inspired by angels. Pepe also will take you on a fishing trip which transitions to a cooking class for his said heavenly coconut fish tacos. Next time! That said, we went 3 times!

Cue...angels singing

Turtle traffic jam

We connected online with a nice mexicana, Gina, who moved from DF to Puerto Escondido maybe 20 years ago. She was hired by the local government to run a tourist information booth and did so for years, until the government shut down her program. The good news is that while they quit paying her, they allowed her to stay in the booth, on a main tourist street, rent free, and she made the most of that – she is still there and goes by the moniker “Information Goddess.”

We went on a nighttime “turtle trip” with her and saw 80++? (It was DARK) Olive Ridley turtles coming in from the ocean to lay their eggs. There were so many we had to be careful not to get in their way, nor step on them. It was truly amazing.

Tiger Heron

Gina also connected us with a guide who took us in a boat into Laguna Manialtepec (which we think means “hill of springs” in Nauhuatl) for a birdwatching trip. This is not something we do regularly, but the laguna was so peaceful and calm, we might take up a new pastime. 

The laguna was like glass. We saw 40-50 different species, including a gorgeous tiger heron, and a peregrine falcon.

Drive along the coast to Huatulco

From PE, we took a local bus (2.5 hours, 85 pesos pp / $4 US) south to Huatulco, formerly known as Bahias de Huatulco, after the 9 bahias there. After the Spanish Conquest, Huatulco thrived as a port under Hernán Cortés' control serving as a vantage point for Spanish galleons and a distribution center for supplies on the Pacific coast. The latter half of the 16th Century saw Huatulco attacked by Francis Drake (per Wikipedia). In the 1980s, Mexico decided to develop the area of tourism, along the lines of Cancun.

yummm... tiramisu

We stayed in another Airbnb in La Crucecita, on the eastern edge of the centro area. Good restaurants, including an Italian place with some killer fresh pasta Bolognese and tiramisu. And a 3 course champagne brunch...sigh.

The largest Virgen de Guadalupe

For scale

The church on the plaza is relatively new, probably 1980s when the town was built up. The church is stunning. In the cupola of the church is painted a 20 meter tall image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is the largest in the world. It is kind of like seeing Lupita on the ceiling of Grand Central Station.

There are beautiful beaches in Huatulco, though access was challenging due to the presence of the resorts that are a part of the tourism plan. We decided to walk in from the public access area, which was an interesting path through a swamp over boards, tires, and dog food bags full of cement. But it was free!

It is always fun to see the Mexican Christmas preparations which lasts for weeks... including a fun little parade of groups of elves, snowmen, ornaments and a star (sort of) leading the wise men. 

Also, leading up to the day of an important Virgin Mary in the area, there are groups of pilgrims actually running (wearing sandals or barefoot) from their homes to the festival church, really amazing.

Here today, barbecue tomorrow!

Also a cow moooved into the neighborhood and was very louuud. When one day it got quiet, Linda asked our Belgian hostess about the cow… it had become the main course at the church’s fiesta up the street!

Happy Holidays in Mexico!

20 diciembre 2018