San Agustinillo, Mazunte, Zipolite and Puerto Angel

September 2008
San Agustinillo, Mazunte, Zipolite and Puerto Angel

We left Puerto Escondido for Puerto Angel and the nearby beach towns. As expected, there were two, topes, reductors or vibradors to slow highway traffic through each village.


We reached San Augstinillo shortly after noon and settled in to our palapa at Punto Placar. Punto Placer was probably the nicest accommodation we saw in the area and is strongly recommended. The beach afforded great swimming, sun bathing and beach walking.




A small shrine was located on some rocks off the coast, right off the doorstep of Punto Placer. So scenic.



We were celebrating our wedding anniversary and Mexican Independence Day when we arrived in San Augstinillo. We headed to playa Zipolite to celebrate with a sunset dinner on the beach. Food and margaritas were delicious, but the real highlight was the company.





Our anniversary dinner was lit by a beautiful tropical sunset.







We journeyed over to Puerto Angel to confirm that it is scenic, but as a big fishing town, smells like so many fish.



After some morning book reading on the beach and the quick stop by Puerto Angel, we returned to Zipolite to walk the beach for the afternoon.







Nearby Mazunte featured a nice small beach and the famous turtle museum, where five of the world's seven marine turtle species are studied and nursed. Full grown tortoise:


Real men don't need to eat tortoise eggs to umm, yeah...


Turtle tree:


Baby tortoise:

Great eating atmosphere, but questionable hygiene at the Armadillo restaurant, off of a side street, off of dirt road and up a steep cobblestone driveway in downtown Mazunte.

Roca Blanca

September 2008
Roca Blanca

To take advantage of the mobility afforded by our rented Fiat, we took a day trip to playa Roca Blanca from Puerto Escondido.



Playa Roca Blanca offers seaside palapa restaurants a few bumpy kilometers Highway 200.


The best restaurants are located a short swim or long wade across an small estuary. Cold beer is 10 pesos ($1 US). Life is good.


The rocks created private little sunbathing nooks, this one outlined by coconuts.


There were numerous rock scrambling opportunities near Roca Blanca, some of them pretty high-ball boulder problems.


There was a real live Jesusito at the top of one of the rocks!



From the top of these rocks one could watch powerful Pacific sets roll in and explode on the surrounding rocks.

Puerto Escondido

September 2008
Puerto Escondido


Most of Puerto Escondido was slightly on the scruffy side, with raw sewage flowing through trenches as sewer mains were repaired, droves of friendly stray dogs (some healthier than others) and Fiat-eating potholes. Despite the scruff, Puerto was a friendly, cheap, laid back town with great food, plenty to do and many responsive tire repair shops.


We stayed off the beach overlooking Playa Carrizalillo.


Our hotel at Playa Carrizalillo, Villas Carrizalillo was nice, but missed some of the little touches (a common characteristic of the Oaxaca service industry). Nevertheless, the view was amazing the restaurant very reasonable and a short 168 stair step walk down to the beach for surfing dawn patrol on the gentle chest high rollers along the bay's rocky reef.

Villas Carrizalillo room:




Surfing:



Zicatella Beach featured consistent 15-foot ground shaking sets of pounding waves, good restaurants, a beautiful beach and a friendly atmosphere.

Sierra Madre Mountains

September 2008
Sierra Madre Mountains, Mexico

We rented a compact Fiat and shoved off from Oaxaca City to the Sierra Madre mountains via Highway 175. The Oaxaca Valley was a blur of agricultural country and road construction.




The Sierra Madre mountains rose sharply from the valley, and as the hill sides steepened and air cooled, cactus and corn were replaced by pine trees and agave.



At the crest of the Sierra Madre mountains lies San Jose del Pacifico, a quaint mountain town.


The finest restaurant in San Jose del Pacifico and Kate by the Fiat.


Cozy cabins are heated by fireplaces, especially welcome on cool nights at 9000 feet.



The mountain view from San Jose del Pacifico was amazing.


Mexican mountain roadside attractions:



Following a semi at 60 km/hr down Mexican mountain road is like following an icebreaker in the Arctic. Other cars, livestock, etc. scatter from it's path allowing those in the wake to pass with ease.