Puerto Escondido

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After our tour in the Valley of Oaxaca, it was time for some fun in the sun. We boarded our night bus at approx. 11:00 p.m. for a 9 hour trip to Puerto Escondido. Ironicially, our Italian friends were on the same bus and sitting right behind us. It was an uncomfortable night on the bus, but worth the night bus trip because we didn't want to spend money for a hotel that night nor travel during the day. The night buses are safe for travel as well. Most of the travel books warn against night travel because of past problems, but the security measures in place are good enough for us and we feel safe enough to travel. Entering the gate you have to clear through a metal detector, and typically the guys are faced with a body search and all carry on bags are serached. For the night buses everyone is videotaped and typically, it is full of international travelers as well. After two stops, Las Bahias de Huatulco and Pochutla, we arrived in Puerto Escondido. It was early, approx. 8:30 a.m.

We immediately headed for out hotel, which turned out to be a surfer's home away from home. The hotel was steps away from the beach located on Playa Zicatela, known for its world class surfing. We started our day early on the beach, but found ourselves watching the surfers for a good part of the morning. Only the expert surfers are allowed, or at least it is suggested, in the water at this location. The waves are just to fierce for anyone but a professional. There were a number of American surfers, but we found more Germans than Americans. Oh, later in the day, Carlos pointed out the Mexican surfer champion, who was just hanging out on the street with a friend.

As you can imagine, we didn't do all that much this day so there is not much to tell. We just enjoyed the day at the beach and the night walking around the main strip. The sun is so strong though that most off the day we were under an umbrella. You can only be in the sun for 20 minutes or so at a time. During the day, we encountered two Spanish girls that were on the tour with us the day before and continued to see them the next couple of days as well.

We had lunch at El Cafecito and dinner at La Hosteria. Both restaurants had good food and good atmospheres. Most of the accommodations and restaurants are still cheap in Puerto Escondido. There are a number of Italian restaurants because many Italians visit because of the Italian movie Puerto Escondido. All of the restarants are open as well so day or night you have the view and a nice breeze. It is a traveler's heaven. The beaches are not crowded and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. There are hidden coves throughout the beach, hence the name Puerto Escondido. The Oaxacan Coast, or at least what we knew at the time, was well worth the trip.

Wanna get away...visit the Oaxaca Coast!!!

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