Oaxaca – Wander With Stella

I have been coming here for nearly a decade almost on an annual basis and I have used it as my jumping off point for other destinations both within and without Mexican borders. The natural beauty in Puerto is unparalleled with tropical plants, aromatic scents wafting in the night air and an ocean breeze that lifts the oppression of the heat. Spirit quenching sunsets and cliff top ocean views or beachside restaurants magically conclude every day. These are the things that drew me to Puerto and kept me coming back.

But….and there is a but. Puerto has been “discovered” and the number of people crowding into this area is phenomenal. Unprecedented building and development on top of already overburdened infrastructure and public facilities means crowded beaches, plane loads of tourists from as far away as the Netherlands, (KLM now books to Puerto through Mexico City), giving rise to the usual controversy for the locals. Is development good, bad or indifferent? Opinions vary but one thing is clear some will benefit and others will not.

Puerto has been amazing over the years and some of my highlights have included excursions and day trips up and down the Coast highway that takes you to a variety of beaches, towns, lagoons, wild-life sanctuaries and mangroves, all with a backdrop of the Sierra de Sur mountains. Over the years I have visited the spectacular mangroves and lagoons of Chacahua National Park to the north of Puerto. To the south I have made trips to Mazunte, a hip kind of beach town, Zipolite a town known for it’s nude/gay friendliness, and further south to Hualtulco, a resort town popular with tourists due to daily direct flights from places like Vancouver. Also in that area I have stayed in and visited the town of Tonemeca where I have friends.

Not day trips, I have ventured up into the Sierra del Sur Mountains to visit the capital of the state of Oaxaca, Oaxaca City and also to the alpine town of San Jose del Pacifico home of alpine adventures, such as drop zones, zip lines and cliff top swings!

In Puerto itself there are several beaches, starting at the southern most part of town, there is the surfer beach La Punta with restaurants, bars and night life. Hard to swim if you’re not a strong swimmer but easier and safer than Zicatela beach which is north toward the center of town and a great place to sit in the sand or in a restaurant to enjoy the sunset, but not a swimming beach with wild waves and rip tides. The next beach is the main beach and toward the southern end it is swimmable and well used by locals for both swimming and anchoring fish boats. Around the point there is Manzanillo and Puerto Angelito beaches, favourites with locals as they are safe, swimmable and can be accessed easily, whereas the next beach, Carazillo has a ferocious set of stairs which going down at the beginning of the day are far less daunting than climbing them at the end of the day. And rounding the corner the final beach in Puerto, Bacocha, is truly beautiful but again the rough surf makes swimming difficult but an interesting site on the beach is the sea turtle sanctuary with a release program once the eggs hatch and the turtles are ready to take to the seas.

On this particular winter respite in Mexico I have paid more for my apartment, with granted, a lovely garden and pool which blessedly is rarely used by anyone but myself, than I have ever paid anywhere in Mexico. Is Mexico becoming too expensive for me? Will I need to look elsewhere for new places to discover and wander? Is it that a place too frequently visited does not remain frozen in time and is subject to the same changes that are rolling across the landscapes of this post-modern world. Not sure when I will return, as I have other plans for next year, I dedicate this post in the memory of my friend Rangel Cruz Valencia, and I leave you with my favourite photos from 2023 Puerto!

Returning to Puerto has become one of my routines in Mexico. As in Progreso, I have made good friends there and am always excited to return and catch up with their lives. In years past I have stayed at Casa Rosada, but this year I booked a place on the fourth floor of an apartment building in Rinconada, a trendy restaurant filled area close to several great beaches. I was really pleased with my apartment and the view was stunning. A bonus was that Inti, my landlord was super.. helpful, responsive and friendly too! Cielito Lindo is the name and they have studio and one bedroom suits.

Stunning View & Great Sunsets from Patio

With Covid in the picture I wasn’t too keen on sight seeing and exploring, but fortunately I have done a lot of that on earlier visits so going to various beaches, open air restaurants and sitting by pools had to do. I know…poor me. If you’re interested in knowing more about what you can do in and around Puerto here is a link to my previous posts on the area.https://wanderwithstella.com/2016/03/31/oaxaca-coast/ or scroll through the posts to see others including Oaxaca City.

For many people, Puerto is all about the beaches of which there are many and one can easily spend a whole day at the beach under a palapa umbrella with the odd chelada (cold beer and lime juice on ice) to quench one’s thirst. People watching is a great pastime at the beach and even in covid locals and visitors enjoyed swimming and playing in the waves. Mexican families are generally large and they tend to travel in multi-generational groups, making for lots of antics and noisy fun.

Playa La Punta – Javier & Gabriela, Surfer Beach like Zicatela Has Big Surf

Playa Principal – Popular with Local and Families

Watch Out for Pool Sharks Like Gabriela on Zicatela

Food in Oaxaca is among the best in Mexico and some of the worlds top chefs have made the State home, opening great restaurants in the capital, Oaxaca City, and other smaller locales. I have some personal favourite dishes: tacos pastor, pozole (soup) and tlayudas.

Mid-way through December, Christmas vacation brought large numbers of people to Puerto, which in a normal year would add to the fun. But given the crowds that began to cluster on the beaches I refrained from going every day unless it was to Bacocha Beach where there is plenty of room to social distance they have the most incredible sunsets…so again no real hardship. There are two beach clubs at Bacocha and for a fee you can eat, drink, use the pool and beach chairs for the entire day and the costs come out of you fee.

San Jose del Pacifico – A road trip from Puerto

Lucky for me, my friends Javier and Gabriela were game to rent a car and make the drive up the long and winding road to San Jose del Pacifico in the Sierra del Sur. A small town in the mountains, it is a place for adventure seekers, hikers and climbers to visit. It is truly beautiful and charming and due to its location in the middle of pine forests, the building practices incorporate more wood than is common in Mexico, giving the place a definite flavour of mountain retreats. The clima also reflects the altitude and out came the jackets, pants and socks from the bottom of the suitcase when the temperature dropped to 6 Celsius when the sun set over the mountains.

The highway between Puerto Escondido and the turn-off to San Jose is greatly improved since my last visit and and a by-pass road before Pachutla meant that we missed the traffic of this busy commercial centre. As you leave the coast and head up into the Sierra the road becomes narrow, with hair pin curves and even some “logging” trucks. The road as you would expect was lots of fun to drive and Javier and I took turns, and much to his dismay Gabriela favoured my driving to his!

Stunning Scenery Makes the Trek Up Worthwhile

We stayed in a very nice hotel overlooking a valley, built with lots of pine wood the cabins were post and beam with timbered rafters. There weren’t many people at this newish hotel and we generally had the dining room to ourselves. I can see where the visitors will come once covid is over and the word is out. From this same road that takes you to the top of the Sierras you can take a turn a little further down the mountain and take the original road from the coast to the city of Oaxaca. Javier recalled driving his entire family, most of it in the back of a pick-up from Mexico City to Puerto Escondido when he was just a teenager. Some of the folks in the back lacked an appreciation for his enthusiasm for the road as car sickness overtook them.

We hired a local guide who showed us the sights, taking us to all of the spots of interest for visitors. Our first stop was a combination resort, restaurant, fish hatchery and zip line, with of course Javier and I had to try out.

Guide Held This Interesting Insect for the Photo

Following our hike and zip-line adventure our guide took us to a local home where the owners have suspended a wooden swing close to the edge of a cliff and so you swing out over thin air, belted in you are relatively safe and again the views were spectacular.

This was the first of our human launch experiences and I must admit the next one did take my breath away.

San Jose del Pacifico is all about tourism and forestry including furniture making. There are many attractions for visitors whether you want to jump off the edge of things or stay firmly on the ground like Gabriela, there is something for everyone.

Christmas in Puerto Escondido

Back in Puerto, after our weekend in San Jose del Pacifico, it was clear that Christmas Vacay was really ramping up and the night market on the Adoquin in Centro was packed with people and possible regalos. Decorations sprung up all over town and Javier and Gabriela invited me to join them for their Christmas Eve dinner.

Lots of Christmas spirit in Puerto with lights, decorations and fireworks to celebrate the many special days in the Christmas season.

Javier and Gabriela invited me to their family Christmas Eve dinner which is the main event in Mexico. Javier picked me up at 8 PM and we drove to their home. They had set up a table in a neighbour’s yard under an almond tree strung with Christmas lights and along with four of their neighbours, Javier, Gabriela, their two sons and I enjoyed the typical Christmas feast of fish and pork. Both dishes took two days to prepare and the neighbours contributed a few dishes of their own including a sweet crepe desert with honey drizzled on top.