Travel update from Oaxaca

Greetings from Oaxaca
28 Marzo 2006
¡Aye Caramba! ¡Me amo Mexico! Sooo here I am in Puerto Escondido. I have been here for about 15 days and I willl depart this wonderful city on the Bay on el primero de Abril or April Fool day as it is known in some parts of the world.
I think I have been to Mexico 7 times. I dont remember the exact number. But ever since the first time I have always been enamored with this place. Its just the Anarchy or the feeling of freedom through corruption that I love so much. It is really a place where you feel you can just do whatever you want and if it goes all to hell, well you just give the nice man in the uniform a 1000 peso donation to his favorite charity (usually a small dark cantina) and your problems just disappear.
Puerto Escondido, is a small city of maybe 10 or 20,000 people. It is divided into two parts the alta and the baja. The alta is on top of the cerro (hill) and the baja is down below by the beachs. This is home of the famous Mexican Pipeline at Zicatela one of the worlds great surf breaks. These waves come in at about 20 feet (6meters) and even if you dont surf it is great to watch the kids getting wiped out and boards broken in two and the great wave riders doing their thing! It is cheap to stay here. I am not drinking very much and this being the case and cooking for myself, why I am only spending about 15 to 18 dollars per day.
The weather is hot and sunny day after day. Everyone here walks around in bathing suits and shorts and the locals are very friendly. Along the top of the beach, there are these little stalls where they sell the fishermans catch right off the boats. All fish costs 70 pesos per kilo,(6.50 US) and the fish is gorgeous!! fresh tuna, red or black snappers, corvina, cocinero,sierra, bonito mackeral wahoo, aye aye aye I am eating very well thank you. Plus Oaxacaños are famous as the best cooks in Mexico, so when you do eat out it is always extraordinary. The salsas are simply superb!! Quite picante going in and oh mine babies like napalm coming out in the morning!! Great sauces, napales, chayotes, freshest shrimps or fish you will ever see. I love Mexico.
Here in Oaxaca Mescal is king. They are not tequilla drinkers. Mescal here is cheap and smooth and potent, and you can buy it without the worm. Something I appreciate. I dont like bugs in my booze. They also make GREAT cheeses here... and ahh well you get the idea, eh? Cheap, beautiful beaches, Great food, great booze and the buds here are of high quality as well, nice and green and pungent but sometimes a little seedy but the price is un beatable, so a few semillas are certainly tolerable.
I have fallen in with a good crew of travelers, and having good friends makes everything that much better.
Well thats all for now. I will update you all from Oaxaca city which will be my next stop. I will be at Hostal Pochon beginning 1 April for a week or two. Here is a parting thought from Benito Juarez who was one of the greatest statesman and libertarians of world history. 7 times president of Mexico and Mexicos only indian president in her history, He too is from Oaxaca
"respecting the rights of others brings peace"...Benito Juarez
Love and Happiness to all of you!
Robert

Greetings from Mexico Pacific Coast

Greetings from Zipolite and Mazunte.
Well its been about 2 weeks since my last update. I have left the lovely highlands city of Xela (Quetzaltenango) Guatemala and now I am in Zipolite, in Oaxaca Mexico.Mexico´s real name is the United States of Mexico. One of the states is Oaxaca (wah-HAH-ca).I am staying in a little (population 200) beach side village on the Pacific Ocean about 50km from Puerto Escondido. I have been here since the 27 of February I guess I will be in Oaxaca for another 4 or 5 weeks.
Zipolite is a tiny beach town. The beach is perfect. It is about 1.5 km long and it is soft white sand. The waves are strong and they break real close to shore. A couple of people are washed out to sea by undertow each year and are never seen or heard from again. Those are the lucky ones...
Well no, but...So I have a typical el-cheapo beach front hovel. It costs me 40 pesos per night ($4.00US)It is your basic cement cube.It has a coconut leaf roof. The wood there is in the room is raw unfinished lumber the kind that gives you a splinter if you rub against it. My door is closed at the bottom but is warped to about a 3 inch gap at the ceiling. There is no door nob. There are two eye hooks and a padlock. A nice comfy queensize bed with a moscquito net. The big problem with this place is the complete lack of indoor plumbing.
The big plus is the windows, it has some kind of windows. They are windows but have no screen or glass, but they open onto the most glorious view of the ocean you can imagine. Just unfurled in front of me, pale blond colored sands, crashing waves, blue skies, and people strolling along the beach...Did I mention it is a nude beach?
So my first night in town at about 5 pm we spotted big whales off the coast which turned out to be blue whales.I have seen them for 9 of the 12 nights I have been here. Also I saw my first scorpion. He was about 6 inches long and was in my room. I was freaked out a little, but he scurried away beneath the crack in the door. He has since been back and we have had two violent confrontations, unfortunately he did not survive the ultimate encounter. I wish he had just stayed away.
So anyway, The two American guys, John and Mike are gone after 4 days here and I might meet them in Puerto Escondido or Oaxaca. Probably John will be in USA before I get to Oaxaca and if so well, it was good to travel with you dude.
Mexican food is fantastic. Honestly one of the worlds great Cuisines. You see Mexican restaurants all over the world but they are never as good as in Mexico. Like Thai restaurants in London, or French restaurants in California y´know?
so I have just been chowing down. Mexico is also home to a bunch of the worlds great lager beers like Sol and Corona and XX (dos Ekis) and others and there is this stuff here called Tequilla...
So I leave this tranqillo little playa hermosa tomorrow for Puerto Escondido. It should only take me an hour to get there. Next update from There or Oaxaca.
Here is an interesting thought on the value of frienship especially significant for me since most of the people getting this will have not seen me for more than a year!!
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth."-- Robert Southey

Peace to all who read these words,
Rambling Robert

Greetings from Mexico Pacific Coast

Greetings from Zipolite and Mazunte.
Well its been about 2 weeks since my last update. I have left the lovely highlands city of Xela (Quetzaltenango) Guatemala and now I am in Zipolite, in Oaxaca Mexico.Mexico´s real name is the United States of Mexico. One of the states is Oaxaca (wah-HAH-ca).I am staying in a little (population 200) beach side village on the Pacific Ocean about 50km from Puerto Escondido. I have been here since the 27 of February I guess I will be in Oaxaca for another 4 or 5 weeks.
Zipolite is a tiny beach town. The beach is perfect. It is about 1.5 km long and it is soft white sand. The waves are strong and they break real close to shore. A couple of people are washed out to sea by undertow each year and are never seen or heard from again. Those are the lucky ones...
Well no, but...So I have a typical el-cheapo beach front hovel. It costs me 40 pesos per night ($4.00US)It is your basic cement cube.It has a coconut leaf roof. The wood there is in the room is raw unfinished lumber the kind that gives you a splinter if you rub against it. My door is closed at the bottom but is warped to about a 3 inch gap at the ceiling. There is no door nob. There are two eye hooks and a padlock. A nice comfy queensize bed with a moscquito net. The big problem with this place is the complete lack of indoor plumbing.
The big plus is the windows, it has some kind of windows. They are windows but have no screen or glass, but they open onto the most glorious view of the ocean you can imagine. Just unfurled in front of me, pale blond colored sands, crashing waves, blue skies, and people strolling along the beach...Did I mention it is a nude beach?
So my first night in town at about 5 pm we spotted big whales off the coast which turned out to be blue whales.I have seen them for 9 of the 12 nights I have been here. Also I saw my first scorpion. He was about 6 inches long and was in my room. I was freaked out a little, but he scurried away beneath the crack in the door. He has since been back and we have had two violent confrontations, unfortunately he did not survive the ultimate encounter. I wish he had just stayed away.
So anyway, The two American guys, John and Mike are gone after 4 days here and I might meet them in Puerto Escondido or Oaxaca. Probably John will be in USA before I get to Oaxaca and if so well, it was good to travel with you dude.
Mexican food is fantastic. Honestly one of the worlds great Cuisines. You see Mexican restaurants all over the world but they are never as good as in Mexico. Like Thai restaurants in London, or French restaurants in California y´know?
so I have just been chowing down. Mexico is also home to a bunch of the worlds great lager beers like Sol and Corona and XX (dos Ekis) and others and there is this stuff here called Tequilla...
So I leave this tranqillo little playa hermosa tomorrow for Puerto Escondido. It should only take me an hour to get there. Next update from There or Oaxaca.
Here is an interesting thought on the value of frienship especially significant for me since most of the people getting this will have not seen me for more than a year!!
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth."-- Robert Southey

Peace to all who read these words,
Rambling Robert