Beach Bum in Puerto Escondido

My original plan was that Kate and I would stay in Puerto Escondido for a day before we had to catch a bus to Acapulco and she flew home. I would then bus back to Puerto Escondido and stay for 2 or 3 days. After Kate told me I would be an idiot to take a 9 hour bus ride to Acapulco with her only to drop her off at the airport and then take the same 9 hour bus ride back to Puerto Escondido I decided to stay while she left.

On that same day I turned my original 2 – 3 day stay turned into 7 days so that I could take surfing lessons. As my guidebook says, Puerto Escondido and Playa Zicatela “claims to be the best surfing beach in Mexico, with the Mexican Pipeline producing the fastest-breaking waves, at times over 12 foot high, anywhere in the world.” So, it only makes sense that I learn to surf while I’m here. I currently finished surf lesson 3 of 5 and would like to start trying to surf on my own. I completely suck but want to get some extra practice time.

Of all the parts of my body that I thought would be sore I never thought my rib cage would be one of them. Paddling around on my stomach for an hour and half each day leaves my ribs sore, my shoulders achy and more salt water up my nose than I care to admit. It’s not a pretty site when I get onto shore and bend over to see a steady stream of water draining out of my nasal cavity.

What is a pretty site are my surroundings. I’m staying directly on the beach. For the first time while I’m in Mexico I’ve found a beach with miles of golden sand, no trash, no monstrous resorts, no vendors trying to sell me some cheap bead necklace, and a chair or hammock to sit in and read a book while drinking a beer. Yep, I think I’ve found a small piece of heaven on Earth. Puerto Escondido contains my ideal beach and I’m perfectly happy being a beach bum for the near future.