Beaches Around Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Each morning we walk barefoot in the sand along Zicatela Beach…what a relaxing way to start the day. Besides burning off last night’s indulgences, the sound of waves provides passive meditation  in the middle of this playground for dogs, surfers, fishers and walkers.

After huevos rancheros or huevos divorciados for breakfast, we plop under a palapa (thatch-roofed shelter usually found on a beach) for the remainder of the day and read or write or look and listen. Oh Mexico.

Let’s take a walk-about around a point that leads to another bay. The walkway twists around cliffs over the rocks to Bahia Puerto Angelito, a sheltered bay full of fishing boats and ocean activities, but that is not what we seek this morning. We’re looking for a little more solitude.

Farther along the coast and straight down several hundred stone stairs, we find Playa Carrizalillo, a small, hidden paradise with a beach safe for swimming. Go ahead…order a Corona with breakfast, it goes well with huevos a la Mexicana.

After a swim we find ourselves, well you guessed it, under a palapa again. What do you do under there? Whatever you want. Today we sit and just be and thank the abundant universe that we do not have to rush home to jobs back in the states.

We walk through town on our way back to Zicatela. El Adoquin (Paving stone) is full of relaxed pedestrians and shops and restaurants. A stroll across Bahia Principal, the public beach/marina, brings us back to our oasis at Zicatela Bungalows, where happy hour in the pool descends with the sunset.

Things slow down so much here that time is quickly passing by…and we wonder how long we could stay?

A few days from now we will say goodbye to our friends here and fly back to Zihua, where we’ll savor our final four days on a Mexican beach. 

Puerto Escondido, the Hidden Port of Oaxaca, Mexico

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake almost rattles us out of bed. I did not know that solid, cement box springs could quiver. After kicking-back here on Zicotela Beach for about a week, it may take more than an earthquake to get a rise out of us. We also enjoy a torrential downpour that is more rare than a quake this time of year.

Professional surfers flock to this International Pipeline destination. We watch them while sitting under our palapa, safe from the lethal undertow of huge waves, astounded by how the surfers keep getting back up after taking multiple body blows from the pounding surf. No swimming here…only with a surfboard.

Thong bikinis and board shorts rule the fashion, and I thank the Abundant Universe that Speedos have gone out of style. Still, the beach remains nature’s viagra.

A sea turtle lays about 75 eggs and buries them on shore. The crowd of folks is allowed to get near her after she finishes the  arduous task and then heads back out to sea. Her eggs will be dug-up and moved to a safer place for hatching. Baby turtle releases are a popular tourist activity.

Puerto Escondido derives its name from Andres Drake, brother of Sir Francis, who kidnapped and imprisoned a Mixtec Indian woman. She escaped, swam to shore and hid in the jungle never to be found. Since then, other Pirates referred to this place as Bahia de la Escondida, the hidden bay.

Dwight, Chuck, Judy, Chrissie and Scott share some cheer with us back at the casa. The biggest concern of the day is where to eat dinner, who has the best special, and whether or not we will go listen to live music.

For Mare and I, breakfast becomes the favorite meal of the day, and we often forgo dinner and music, opting to enjoy the sunset, take a midnight swim in the pool, and frolic in our room.

Tonight’s sunset reminds me of Planet Jupiter. If I did not know better, steam might ascend after the sun descends into the sea…and no I haven’t had a smoke, at least not today.