Oaxaca state - much diversity

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The bus trip from San Cristobal to Zipolite was a very tiring one. 11 hours on a bumpy road with stops every couple of hours. I didn't sleep at all. In addition there was an idiot on the bus who played mariachi music from his Ipod at 2am and nobody would say anything(!)

I felt sad leaving San Cristobal as it was such nice place to spend some time. But I had to move on especially as I booked a flight back from Mexico City to Cancun on 10th of May.

Zipolite

Zipolite was the first stop on my way. Origanally I planned to stop at Bahias de Huatalco but everyone said that Zipolite or Mazunte is the place to be not Huatulco. While getting off the bus I immediately got struck by the warm, humid air. Also the entire vegetation was more of a tropic climate. I actually felt like being in another country so different the Oaxaca coast appeared to me.

Zipolite itseft is a small village with very nice beach and really laid back atmosphere. If you want to litteraly do nothing then that's the right spot. Of course as we are talking of doing nothing and lazying around you can imagine that this village was full of hippies. But they somehow didn't bother me that much. I found myself a very nice hostel. A place called Shambahla. High on a hill overlooking the entire bay with a room for meditation, free yoga classes and a nice restaurant. (not that I would meditate or taking yoga classes....)

The beach was nice but the ocean very treacherous. Lonely Planet states: "Going deeper than your knees means risking with you life". And that is goddamn true my friends! Very strong under current pushes you hard into the open sea, very dangerous. But at least one could plunge into the water and get some refreshment.

I stayed two nights there. It was cool relaxing but the hostel was almost entirely empty and also in the small village wasn't much going on. So I decided to move to the next town.

Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido has very good reviews from many travellers. Myself, I wasn't that much fond of it. Yes, it is a nice small town perched on small hills over a stunning bay but then again, you can't swim in the ocean. The waves a big and good for surfers but not for taking a bath. The center of Puerto Escondido wraps around a bay that's full of motor boats and locals who enjoy the calm waters (the bay has the shape of half moon and is protected from the open sea by a landmass).

Further south from town center there is the strech of a beach called Zicatela where the famous Mexican Pipeline is supposed to be. It's a big wave that breaks very fast and is best surfed by experienced surfers only. If you wanna try calmer waters you go all the way to the south to a place called Punto. That's where I got me a bed in a hostel and spent another two nights there.

The hostel was far from town center (10 minutes taxi ride) but the location was straight on the beach and there were lots of surfers. I just love the well proportioned body of a surfer woman! :-) Also those guys are very funny for talk. I met there a nice guy from New Zealand (one I could clearly understand as usually those guys have the freaky accent). There were also lots of people from Europe especially from France and Italy (the owner was French himself).

Watching those guys riding the waves was our main activity. And some of them are really good! They do it with such ease and grace that I said to myself that in my next life I am going to be a surfer, too as for that life it's too late for me...:-)

The Zicatela beach is lined up with some bars, restaurants and clubs. We went there one night but were disappointed by lack of people. I mean I am talking about the second week of vacation. One could expect crowds filling up the bars but there was emptiness. I don't know what's the reason for that.

Oaxaca City

Lazying around the beach was good but it was about time to move to the capital of state. The guide books say that the ride from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca takes 5-6 hours, well in my case it was 8(!). Moreover, the road there was one of the worst I've experience. I think we made something like 30 km in one hour! Not only that the street was winding like hell (a danger to get motion sickness) but also there were plenty of potholes, and I mean a really big ones!

Upon arrival in Oaxaca city I was very tired. During the whole 8 hours I didn't dare to eat anything because I was too worried that I might throw up. I got me a very nice hostel this time, too. It was highly recommended in Lonely Planet and also another traveler recommended it to me. It's called "Don Niño" and it even exceeded my expectations. The hostel was clean beyond anything I've seen so far in Mexico. The bathrooms and showers even smelled well, the kitchen was equipped with brand new facilities. Flat screen computers with internet were for free, clean tidy common areas with big TV screens and a nice big lobby make you feel like in some western countries and not in Mexico.

Regarding cleanliness I also have to tell you that Oaxaca made a very good impression on me. I mean I love San Cristobal and it's atmosphere but Oaxaca's got the better infrastructure. The streets are wider, better maintained and really clean. The houses, all renovated and colorfully painted. Compared to San Cristobal where you can see lots of hippies in the bars, the people from Oaxaca seem to me to be from the upper class society. Particular the women dressed gorgeous! I just love them! In Oaxaca it's like being on a fashion show and they all march in front of you in their best dresses.

However, Oaxaca is also an expensive city. To find cheap food wasn't that easy. Even the market, usually the filthiest place in any Mexican town I guess, seemed to me quite tidy. (Especially if I compared it to the one in San Cristobal). Around the market were also the places where you could eat some cheap food. Especially so called "comida corrida" is a very good value. They serve you for 50 pesos a soup, main dish, dessert and a refresco with refill(!).

Oaxaca's got few very nice buildings but the most stunning structure was the Santo Domingo church. I am telling you guys, that blew me away! This church is full with 3D relieves. Most of the decoration is painted in gold color. I can't recall seeing such rich ornamented church recently. Just adjacent to the church there is the Museo de las culturas de Oaxaca. As you might know in Oaxaca state the Mayan didn't rule. It's the place of another ancient culture in Mexico calles the Zapotecs.

Near Oaxaca city the Zapotecs built their capital Monte Alban. It's high above the city on a big mountain. The view is stunning and you can see far behind the borders of the town. By the way, the location of Oaxaca city itself is worth mentioning. It's located at a merging point of three big valleys which stretch from there in three different directions. All of it is encompassed by high mountains whose highest peak reaches above 3000 meters (around 8000 feet).

Monte Alban is an interesting site. The first non-Mayan that I saw. It's big and the buildings are formed in pyramid-like shape. There are massive stone structures but the decoration is different from the Mayan one. It's better not to go there during midday as the sun might be really strong at this shadeless area.

Besides those mentioned already things, Oaxaca has also an nice cathedral, where it just happened on Sunday, a mass in honor of the beatification of the former Polish pope Juan Paublo II took place. Apparently the Polish pope is still very like in Mexico so I usually refer to him because not many people can associate anything with Poland at all.

Next to the celebration of the former pope a political demostration on the Zocalo took place. I of course couldn't get what they were exactly talking about but the leader was shouting pretty loud. I think it must have been sort of communist party as there were posters of Lenin, Stalin and Marx.

I also met some nice people here. A young French hippie guy but very smart and two girls, one from the States and the other one from Isreal. Other than that the hostel was very empty. It seems like not many people are traveling in this country now. For me it was time again to move on. My next destination: the city of Puebla!

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Photos

Paseo Juarez
A park close to my hostel