Beaches

ZIPOLITE, Mexico- “I’ve heard that around 50 people a year drown in these waves, that is like a person a week,” a young tourist informed me on Zipolite beach one sunny day. We both looked off into the waves — they were rising around four feet up from the ocean surface before quickly crashing into [...]

Plane Crash in Ventanilla Mexico VENTANILLA, Mexico- The wing of a plane rose as an ominous monument in the distance down Ventanilla beach on the Oaxaca coast of Mexico. Plane crashes often leave more behind than parts and rubbish: they leave stories. This is perhaps for no other reason than plane wrecks often happen in [...]

ZIPOLITE, Mexico- I found a place of refuge from the storm of drunken Mexicans on Christmas holiday at the Posada Carrizo Hostel in Zipolite. The place is owned and ran by a sociable French woman who bought the land twenty years ago and built up a hostel and a restaurant. “I saw a good opportunity [...]

ZIPOLITE, Mexico- Business as usual was the carol that was sung on Christmas 2010 in Zipolite — a beach town on the coast of Oaxaca. All the shops were open, people went to work, and tourists walked through the street as if this holiday was just another day at the beach. It was. I could [...]

The Character of Mexican Beaches on the Oaxaca Coast ZIPOLITE, Mexico- “What beach near here is your favorite?” I asked Juan, a guy that we hitched a ride with from Mazunte back to Zipolite. Juan was on vacation, he said he comes to this part of the Oaxaca coast every year from where he lives [...]

Collectivo Transportation on Mexico Coast ZIPOLITE, Mexico- I love traveling in coastal regions, if for no other reason than the fact that it is simple: there is often only one road and two choices, you either go this way along the coast or that way — go any other way and you are inland, not [...]

Mexico fishermen use coolers and tubs as dinghies PUERTO ANGEL, Mexico- I walked by an old busted up cooler filled with some junk laying next to some fishing boats on Pateon beach near Puerto Angel. The cooler had the logo of the Sol beer company on it, and I cannot say that I thought too [...]

Or, The Mexico Snorkeling Tour That Wasn’t PUERTO ANGEL, Mexico- After a week of hanging out on the beaches of Puerto Angel watching snorkeling tour boats full of tourists coming in from and going out to sea, I found myself the acquaintance of a fisherman. We would drink beer in the shade together as he [...]

PUERTO ANGEL, Mexico- My first impression was that Puerto Angel was, simply put, a butt town. Most of the shops were closed down, many seemed abandoned, the sidewalks were gruff, the stuff in the supermarket caked in dust, nobody was really in the streets save for a few barnacles who only seemed to move in [...]