To the Shore! Atlantic City!!

The boardwalk

On the Eastern side of America, when you feel like some time at the beach, you don't go to the coast, you go to the shore. We went to the shore, to Atlantic City. Atlantic City is a beachside mini-Vegas with all the class and sophistication you would expect from a gambling town. The boardwalk is the heart of the city. It runs along the beach and is lined with huge casinos, malls, gaming parlours and an infinite number of souvenir shops selling some really, really nice stuff.

Some of the classier merchandise

Perhaps the most shocking revelation I've had in a while came while we were strolling along the boards. It turns out that the original game of Monopoly was not based on London, but actually based on the Atlantic City boardwalk! Egads! It took me a while to get over that.

Cold water

One mall had beach-themed resting areas set high above the waves

Globe of DEATH!!

We went to a restaurant that gave out free paper hats

Surfer

La Ticla

Beachfront cacti

Another inspiring room, this time made completely out of concrete (even the bedheads)

Highway 200, the coast road

Barra de Nexpa

Barra de Nexpa is a miniscule village (population: 50) sitting in front of a fabulous left-hand point break. We spent a few days there: surfing and enjoying hammock time.

Our beachfront shack

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.

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.

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

Las Peñitas

Las Peñitas is a small village on the beach in the North of Nicaragua. We went there looking for surf, but instead found this thumping shorebreak. When the waves are like this, you don't go swimming, you just walk in up to your knees and then run away from the waves. I am still washing the black sand from my hair.