Puerto Escondido Photos

This seems to be one of the few places in Latin America that doesn't have a central square for everyone to hang out in. Instead, families go down to the beach an fly kites.

Sunset on Zicatela

A strange ornament

This is the rug in one of our rooms

Room controls

From the Troll House to the Penthouse

After lots of messing about in Puerto Escondido, Angie found us a room. We'd hoped for something with a kitchen and a balcony, somewhere where we could settle for a week or so and cook and relax and enjoy a bus-free existence. Sadly, the hypothetical hotel room we had envisioned seemed not to exist in our price range. A terse German hotelier gave us this room instead:

Note the staircase-shaped ceiling and curtained-off toilet

The room was a dark architectural afterthought. They had built the hotel and noticed the space underneath he stairs might just be able to accommodate visitors at the low end of the price spectrum. I was reminded of my troll status every time I went to the toilet; in an Alice in Wonderland-style perspective trick, the ceiling tapered off in the shape of an upside-down staircase the closer I got the bowl, leaving me unable to stand by the time I was within range.

It wasn't all bad, though. The room was literally the closest room to Zicaleta Beach, and the delights of Mexican Pipeline.


But, on our second day, Angie discovered another hotel, run by a wonderful group of people. What made them so wonderful was the fact that they sometimes give away their rooms at reduced rates if you stay for long enough, look destitute enough or in some way manage to tickle their sympathy bone. So for the next four days, we were housed in this:

Note the kitchen, equipped with a coffee maker and oven! Also note the lack of any staircase-shaped ceilings (we were on the top floor)

Our private balcony

It was all a little overwhelming. We were sure they'd made some sort of mistake. They'd obviously given us a per-person price, which we had taken as a per-room price, but, unbelievably, there had been no error. These were the kinds of digs we hadn't even dared to dream about. It was the best room in the hotel, and for four wonderful days, this was the view:

Of course it came to an end, and when the people who'd booked the room after us showed up, we were thrust straight back in to the murky depths of true, budget accomodation.

Rare Sighting of Us

Angie says there aren't enough pictures of us on the blog, so here's a photo of us a breakfast in Zipolite. You can see my hair is getting rather long these days, resulting in me being called Gringo Rasta (as in Rastafarian) more than once by local kids.

Yellow Flag (moderate danger)

A Room with a View

Good morning...

After a night in Mazunte, we returned to Zipolite hoping to find surf. The waves, however, had vanished. But we did find this room, which we decided had the best view of any room so far on the trip.

And good evening...

The bathroom, in Duplo chic

And the ceiling fan.

Mazunte

Mexican Beer

Most beer in Central America tastes like off dirtwater, so it's nice to be in Mexico where the local beer is awesome. One of the best things about Corona over here (apart from the price- this litre bottle costs $2) is the way they classify bottle sizes- the bottle shown is the 'family pack'.

The Coast!

Hammocks all lined up and ready for action

Finally, we reach the coast of Mexico. It's hot and the Pacific is pounding into the beach. It's fantastic. We're in Zipolite, a tiny village with a few hotels and a big long beach.

The surf was too crazy when we first got here, so I had to wait a couple of days until I could paddle out.

Red flag (danger flag). It doesn't look like it here, but the surf was massive

Each day, this guy would come scuttling through the rafters in our room, look around for a while, and then leave

Zipolite night

Oaxaca (wah-hah-kah)

So far, Mexico is great. Traveling is easy, people are nice and there's lots of good coffee about, served in minimalist cafes like this one.

Three Clowns. Wrestling is popular entertainment, and the marketing is pretty nifty

We had to get the last of our Hepatitis A/B shots while in Oaxaca. The price was well over $100 per jab. When the doctor told us this, my face resembled the mask of this penguin suit.

Old el Paso - Liars

Aztec Soup, which is a spicy broth full of cheese, avocado and sliced tortillas

Just as I thought, the stuff Old el Paso markets as Mexican Food in Australia is wildly different to what we've actually found in Mexico. Food is much more interesting here, and there's not a bright yellow crispy taco shell or plate of cheese drenched Doritos to be found. Instead...

Salsa Verde, a spicy sauce that comes with almost everything

For mains today, Chile Poblano, a mild chilli covered in beans and cheese

Te de Jamaica, tea made from hibiscus

and for desert, a cookie.

San Cristobal de las Casas

Markets

Three Veedubs lined up in Mexican colours

Hello, Mexico

...and hello glittery gimp masks

Adiós Central America!

Atitlan at Sunrise

I'm not sure what came over me but one morning I got up with the sun...

A fisherman in one of the boats from the last post