Posada Kaly, San Agustinillo

Well it seems we found the Unicorn 🦄 🏝️

On the day we arrived at Mazunte, we had already followed the road over the headland to the next village of San Agustinillo. We had strolled the 10 minutes from our hotel in the afternoon and settled in at a beach bar with a beer to watch the sunset. Of the three beaches, Mazunte, Zipolite and here, we already knew we liked this beach the best. It has a road that parallels the beach with only cabanas and some beach bars on the beachfront. The beaches are longer than Mazunte with multiple coves accessible along the sand. And it had less of a hippy vibe and more of a local feel.

Our issue was still finding any accommodation for an affordable long-term stay. Booking.com had barely any options, and those that were available were expensive. On the Sunday, we woke up early and walked over to San Agustinillo for a stunning sunrise! Determined to maintain our routine and productivity from Zicatela we were down the beach for a yoga session and to start the day energised. With a sunrise like this, it was shaping up to be a lucky one. For breakfast we did a quick search on Google Maps for anywhere along the beachfront with wifi and set off to find our workspace for the morning, and hopefully our home for the coming weeks.

After dropping by all of the spots we’d listed, and almost to the end of the beachfront (10mins), we still hadn’t found anywhere suited. The last place we had marked that was apparently offering rooms called a guard dog onto us as soon as we entered the driveway! In one final attempt before heading back to Mazunte to continue our search, I saw a sign on the property next door saying, “Habitaciones disponibles”. All I knew was that “Habitacion” means “rooms”, so it was worth the question.

We were greeted with the friendliest smile of Lucy. A petite Mexican lady who was happy to entertain our attempts in broken Spanish to ask if she had any “Habitacion availibales?” (not correct Spanish by the way). With a big smile and enthusiastic “Sí”, we followed Lucy to the top balcony and were shown a simple room with a pedestal fan and a mosquito net over the bed. The shower was combined with the toilet and had a shower curtain for privacy. But what we loved was the balcony directly out front. On the level above the ground floor, there was light, airflow, and shade. And it was lined with hammocks, tables and chairs! Everything we needed! For half the price of everywhere else that we had found, this place was the best! $50 a night and it was a 2-minute walk to the beach! Possada Kaly would become our home for the next couple of weeks.

Of the 6 other rooms available on the top floor, only one other room has anyone in it. On our first inspection with Lucy, we met two older guys who had fully set themselves up inside, and outside, their room. Both OG travellers, they’d met almost 20 years before and Mazunte had become their annual pilgrimage to escape the North American winter. Both in their fifties, they were sporting hippy linen pants and settled amongst their hammock and chairs. Immediately they offered us a coffee from their percolator that was running permanently, and made us feel like we had just joined their Posada Kaly family.

As if our chilled-out beach village wasn’t local vibes enough, a fresh fruits and vege truck comes to San Agustinillo every few days and sets up in an alley leading to the beach. The first time we found this we started doing our groceries here and meal planning. Our neighbours Jehan and Robbie jumped at the opportunity and within days of us moving in we were having regular cook-ups in the communal kitchen.

Of all the places we had been, finally we had found somewhere we felt that we could stay longer-term. We had a space to work for as long as we liked, the beach was right across the road for morning exercise and whenever we needed a break, and it was cheap! And as a bonus, it had the kitchen so we could organise some of our own food. San Agustinillo and Posada Kaly, the unicorn that we had been searching for 🥳

Oh yeah, and there are the coolest little squirrels that hang out just off our balcony.Read more