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Mexico 🇲🇽

January - February 2024
A 57-day adventure by A and Js World Adventure Read more
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  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    Day 54–57

    Last day in Mexico

    February 24 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After our chill week in Chacahua we made our way back to Zicatela. We had arranged to stay with Roberto and Marley (the Dalmatian) again at our favourite guesthouse.

    Even though we had only stayed there a week when we first arrived to Puerto Escondido it had really become our home away from home. We enjoyed a few more afternoons of sunsets over the water and chill days by the pool.

    By this stage we had been in Mexico for 2 months and had loved every bit of it. By far our favourite country of the 14 we’d been in the past 7 months. To say we weren’t ready to leave doesn’t come close. Especially with so much more explore across the rest of the country.

    Well, I guess that’s just an excuse to be back soon 😎🙌    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    1
    Day 47

    Trip to Laguna de Chacahua

    February 17 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    So this will be our last new destination before heading back to Oz. After 3 weeks of absolute bliss in San Agustinillo, it’s hard to imagine how this is going to compare. Everyone to whom we had mentioned that we were going to Laguna de Chacahua had told us we would love it. But apart from the positive responses, we still didn’t really know what to expect.

    The online travel blogs we found had limited information beyond that it’s a place still relatively unspoiled by tourism due to the difficulty involved in getting there. And beyond that, it’s simply a place to surf, read, kick back in a hammock and have a thorough digital detox. All things considered, that was exactly what we needed.

    Now when I say “difficulty involved in getting there”, it’s mainly because of how many steps are involved. First we caught a colectivo (tray back truck), then a bus to an undefined turn off the highway, then squashed 6 passengers into a small sedan taxi, before catching a boat 40mins across a lagoon. Yep, just a few steps. Ordinarily probably pretty easy, but with our limited Spanish it was a bit harder.

    We’d already recce’d the bus stop and knew the buses departed fairly regularly. For $8 each we made the 1hr trip west along the coast from Puerto Escondido. The marker for where to get off the bus was a simple taxi stand at an intersection with the highway. With 6 of us disembarking and one taxi, there was a moment that we all looked at each other; considering the ratio of people to seats. Our awkwardness was quickly interrupted by the taxi driver gesturing for us all to get in. Obviously for a second there we had forgotten we were in Mexico and seatbelts aren’t a thing. With Jessie and I clearly the pick to squeeze ourselves into the front passenger seat, we contorted ourselves into a version of “taxi-twister” which resulted in Jessie on my lap with her head out the window like an excited puppy. Thankfully it was a short 10minute ride with not too many bumps so we made it to the boat ramp without any issues.

    Now arrived at the boat ramp, it was now a case of choosing between a series of boat skippers all trying to fill their boat.

    The Lagoon of Chacahua is actually pretty impressive in its own right. Designated as a National Park for the immense ecological value it has to the area. A vast lagoon, much of it covered in mangroves that are the habitat of water birds, crocodiles, and fish. It’s actually such a highlight that there are tours to come from Puerto Escondido just to spend a day on the lagoon. With a culminating point being seeing bioluminescence in the water after sunset.

    We’d been told there were 2 options for the boat:
    1. the cheap “local” option - a short boat ride across to the beachside island, with another colectivo truck taking you the remaining 40mins along a gravel road to the village of Chacahua, or
    2. A boat direct through the mangroves to the village on the far side of the lagoon.

    Opting to take the direct route, we got to see some of the lagoon at the same time. It was incredible to see how much of the lagoon was covered in mangroves. And how many water birds were among them. The satellite view on Google Maps makes it look like so much of the lagoon is land due to the dense vegetation. But once we were making our way through the mangroves it became clear why this was such a protected ecosystem.

    We arrived in Chacahua to the point where the lagoon meets the ocean. We made our way along the beach to find our accommodation was built directly on the beach, and our room with an uninterrupted view of the water. Immediately we knew that this was going to be a great week! With perfect waves, mostly basic restaurants and Cabañas lining the beach, and the entire town built on sand, it was the perfect beach town for our last week in Mexico.    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    1
    Day 38

    From the fisherman to the Kitchen

    February 8 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Being very much still a working fishing village, each morning we would see the fisherman returning with piles of fish. One morning Jehan had come back from a walk with some delicious fresh fish filleted right on the beach in front of him. Keen for the same experience, we stopped at one of the boats a few mornings later and asked if we could get some.

    In my broken Spanish, I asked if they had any “Dorado”, which is what they call Mahi Mahi. Now I don’t know exactly how big Dorado or Mahi Mahi normally are, but the size of the fish this guy pulled out of a big esky on the boat was ridiculous! Keep in mind that these are just a small basic long boat that are common around here and places throughout Asia, not a trawler or anything like that. Once we had corrected a misunderstanding between 1kg and 11kg, the guy sliced off a fillet, seamlessly removed the skin and handed me a massive chunk of delicious fresh fish.

    With some inspiration from a very extroverted Mexican neighbour that we’d had at Posada Kaly, we set about making our very own Ceviche. It’s made by simply marinating the diced fish in lime juice, before mixing it in with diced tomato, cucumber, coriander and red onion. Both fresh and super easy.

    Anyway, its definitely something that the pictures tell the story much better. With Ceviche barely making a dent in how much fish we had, dinner was an easy stirfry vege with delicious grilled fillets and still there was enough for our own battered fish tacos the next day.    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    Day 35

    Daytrip back to Puerto Escondido

    February 5 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    After 2 weeks we had definitely adapted to the laid-back pace of San Agustinillo. As much as we’ve loved being so settled in one place for a while, we know we need to plan where to from here. It’s been 6 months since leaving Sydney so the decision on where to next is also considering heading back to Oz. There is still so much more to explore in Mexico alone, before even considering further south into Central America.

    Eventually, we decided that we will head back to Oz in March which would give us about 3 more weeks in Mexico. Rather than try to squeeze in an entirely new area like the Yucatan Peninsula, we figured we’ll spend another week in San Agustinillo before checking out one more chilled surf place we had been hearing about - Laguna de Chacahua. With that decided, we made the trip back to Puerto Escondido for a change of scenery and to run some errands.

    The bus ride back up was even easier than the way down. Now knowing the process, we rode the Colectivo back up to the main highway and picked up the bus from there all the way through. The week we spent in Zicatela at Roberto’s had been so relaxed that we’d barely ventured further than halfway back towards the main town.

    We had heard about a few beaches there so they were our first destination. The first and most commonly mentioned was Playa Carrizalillo. And as we arrived at the top of the stairs that led down to the cove we understood why! A perfect point break wave was peeling off both headlands with perfect turquoise water. Its only con was that being the closest beach to the town it was packed! The wave was super crowded with people doing lessons and the sand and shallows were covered with people. It turns out that by chance the Monday we chose to come up is a local public holiday so all of the locals were enjoying a day out as well. Welcome back to reality from our magical serene paradise we’d lost ourselves in the past few weeks.

    After enjoying a cool down among the crowds we made our way toward what we had heard is the best beach in Puerto, Playa Coral. We had been told that the way to this beach is through a hotel that you pay for entry. After walking the hot dusty streets to the hotel, we arrived just behind a large rowdy group that obviously had the same plan. Figuring we would be back in a week we gave it a pass and made our way to the next beach.

    Playa Angelito and Playa Manzanillo had been described to us as having a more local crowd. And that certainly was the reality! Being the holiday, and also a stunning sunny day, they were both packed. Two stunning smaller beaches, and slightly more protected, the mostly Mexican crowd were out in big family groups and enjoying every bit of it. We grabbed a beer and enjoyed a couple of swims as well before making our way back to Zicatela for the afternoon.

    By chance, we ran into the couple that we met the first night we arrived in Zicatela. Aside from confirming that Laguna de Chacahua was a great choice, they also mentioned that the bus back down the coast towards San Agustinillo likely stopped running at sunset. Fortunate for that advice, we made our way back to the highway and got ourselves home. A simple adventure for the day, yet nice to see some other beaches and remind ourselves how great our little patch of paradise is.    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    1
    1
    Day 30

    Playa Mermejita, Oaxaca

    January 31 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    From Mazunte, in the opposite direction to San Agustinillo is Playa Mermejita. Only a short walk over the hill from the main bar strip of Mazunte and there was this raw stretch of beach with a handful of palapas and really not much else.
    Jehan, our Canadian neighbour at Posada Kaly had mentioned a few times that we should head over there for sunset one afternoon. Mermajita and the point of the headland were well-known sunset spots so it was certain we would head over eventually to check it out.

    Probably worth at this stage explaining a bit about our Posada Kaly Neighbours, Jehan and Robbie. These are the guys who had welcomed us to the balcony on our arrival and had become quite a part of our San Agustinillo experience.
    Jehan is this mid-fifties guy who has never let go of his hippy backpacking days. Despite now living in Toronto he still spends a lot of time around Mexico. With long unruly grey hair on top and shaved sides, he clearly loves the social side of what happens around Mazunte. Every chance he got he was inviting himself along to what we were doing.
    In contrast was Robbie - a late-fifties property agent and broker who lived in New York City and had brought his work with him to Mexico. While he was stoked to be spending a few weeks of NY winter in the sunshine, he would spend every day set up on the balcony either on his phone or laptop dealing with some problem.
    This had been their annual meet-up for a few years so it wasn’t as much of a clash as you’d expect. However as our time went on it was clear Jehan was getting bored and was constantly looking for something to get others involved in.

    On the afternoon of the full moon, we followed Jehan’s advice and went down on the promise that we would see the sunset and moonrise simultaneously. Not that I wanted to be right, but my logical brain didn’t really allow for the moon to also rise over the water as he’d promised. With a fair-sized hill directly opposite where the sun would set over the water I was sceptical. As he’d been there before, and was adamant this was the case, we packed some beers and found our way to the beach in time for sunset. As we watched the sun disappear our attention turned to where the moon could be. Needless to say, it was quite a while before we saw the moon. Still a great afternoon out nonetheless.

    Not to be disheartened, it was almost the next day that Jehan was suggesting another sunset adventure. This time he was claiming that there was a back way to the Headland, which went a big loop around via Playa Mermajita and tracked back along a few small coves. Besides the adventure, the appeal of this way was that it bypassed the point that security checked people’s bags for beers.

    Willing to give him a second chance we set out on another sunset adventure. This time it was a resounding success! We passed around the rocks of a small headland onto the next beach which presented a clear track over the next headland from there. After a short walk through some shrubs we dropped straight onto Playa Cometa - the beach directly under the headland, Punta Cometa. We had packed some beers and a thermos of pre-batched Mezcalita (Margarita but made with the more local form of alcohol made from the Agave cactus, Mezcal). With his “take-everywhere” frisby we played a game while enjoying our drinks and then set up for the main event.

    Talk about the perfect day for this hike. The sunset popped!! With just a sliver of space at the horizon between a blanket of clouds the sky lit up incredibly.

    We had set up on a log of driftwood and all had our stuff laying around. The waves had been fairly dumpy but hadn’t come close even once at this stage. Just as the light started to fade, a massive wave washed over the lip of sand and through our picnic! Suddenly there were thongs, cans, and bags getting washed back down the beach. And by annoying fluke, just as this happened some police came onto the beach to check that no one was leaving a mess 🤦‍♂️.

    As Jehan played dumb about understanding Spanish, and Jessie rescued the bags, I set off chasing empty cans and escaping thongs toward the next crashing wave. Like something out of a Charlie Chaplin movie I’m sure if someone caught it on video then it will be on YouTube with some Benny Hill music playing.

    Anyway, we saved everything except for one of Jessies slides which will hopefully make it back to shore one day. Besides that, What a great adventure. Well done, Jehan! Saved yourself with that one 😆    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    11
    Day 23

    Turtles, San Agustinillo

    January 24 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    One of the mornings we were down on the sand before sunrise we noticed we almost stepped on a baby turtle. As our eyes focused in the low light we realised there were lots more all struggling to make it to the rapidly retreating water as the tide went out. We quickly helped the ones we could find into the water.

    Widely known as a place to find sea turtles, Mazunte was once the centre of turtle hunting for turtle meat and their eggs. Thanks to extensive conservation efforts, the beaches along the Oaxacan coastline have remained as nesting sites. However despite all these efforts, they say that only 1 in 100 actually survive.

    Despite knowing this was a turtle nesting area, we never could’ve imagined that the same beaches we were running on each morning would be those nesting places. To put it into context, these beaches are the ones that are lined with bars and accommodations. I assumed the turtles would pick a more remote beach to lay their eggs so initially I assumed that these baby turtles had been washed up in the tide from a nearby beach.

    Only a day or 2 later we were out again early morning and came across the clear tracks of a mumma turtle dragging itself from the water up into the soft sand and digging its nest. Very cool!    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    Day 22–34

    San Agustinillo, Oaxaca

    January 23 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    What. A. Place! 🤩

    With our cheap accommodation locked in for the next 2 weeks we could finally relax. It’s surprising how much energy goes into worrying about your next plans when you know you need to still find accommodation for the upcoming days. And conversely, how much you can relax when you have a stable home locked in. We set about establishing our routine for the next week and sticking to it.

    6:15 am - Wake up
    6:30 am - Wim Hof breathing exercises on the beach
    7 am - Sunrise
    7-8:30ish - Surf / Exercise
    8:30 am - home made fresh brekkie
    9:00-10:30ish - Spanish Lessons
    10:30 am till lunch - work on the website
    After lunch - whatever we feel like 😎

    San Agustinillo is such a perfect place for what we want. Everything is an easy walk away, the local fruits and vege truck comes to us, a couple of awesome cafes that have incredible fresh ingredient menus, the beach lined with bars with the perfect seats for setting up the laptop… and of course the Beach!

    With 4 beaches all linked by small rock outcrops and sand spits, it’s possible to follow the sand along all of them. And each of them has its own distinct character. Two are quite long and exposed, great for longer soft sand runs. One is protected yet still with a great point break providing a good beginner surf wave. And the last, a completely protected cove for snorkelling with turtles!

    The temperature is a perfect range of between 23-30C every day and as yet we haven’t had more than a gentle breeze. With our early morning breathing routine on the beach, we’re on the beach each morning for sunrise over the water. From there we get our exercise in before the sun gets too hot. The perfect energising way to start the day.

    In Indo back in August, Jessie had finally decided to give surfing a go. (Something to do with the water temperature being warm enough that she could enjoy it without being distracted by how cold it was 😅). Keen to get us both back in the surf we hired a board for a week and split the cost with Jehan, one of our Posada Kaly Neighbours. Having it for the whole week meant we could pick and choose when to take it out, and we weren’t bound by any time limits. Each day we would take it down and spend the first half of the session pushing Jessie onto the easy ones waist-deep before I took it out for my “shoulder-mobility” training. (pretty much I have to call it that until I get the endurance back in my shoulders to realistically call it surfing 🤷‍♂️). Within the first day, Jessie was up and riding the shories right into the sand 👌.

    For the first week at least, that was about all we did. Morning routine, swims whenever we wanted, vege shops for our family cook-ups and explored the one strip of Mazunte. Oh, and how can I forget the sunsets! Simply put, they are incredible! What is unique about San Agustinillo is that it is facing south so being slightly above the equator means that this particular spot gets both sunrise and sunset over the water 🤩. Anyway, the photos do a much better job of showing that…

    We had a couple of surprise encounters with Turtles on the beach but other than that, we just chilled out. This was the perfect place for everything we had wanted. Now I guess the decision is, when do we move on and in what direction 🤷‍♂️.    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    21
    Day 21–34

    Posada Kaly, San Agustinillo

    January 22 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    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

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    4
    1
    Day 20

    Playa Zipolite

    January 21 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    So when I previously said we would find Zipolite to be the most “alternative” of them all, this is why. It’s the first (and possibly only) beach in Mexico where it’s allowed to be nude. The reviews and travel blogs I’d read had mentioned this, but had stressed that it wasn’t as weird as it sounded. I’m happy to disagree on this one.

    The day after we arrived at Mazunte, and while still trying to find where we would stay longer term, we caught the Colectivo down to Zipolite. The first thing that we noticed was that almost every hotel or hostel had some reference to nudity. I’d initially thought that this beach was going to be the spot we would find a place to stay. But when I looked into the first hotel and saw a handful of mid-fifties and older all standing around a pool naked, I realised I was very much wrong. Once we got to the beach it was all but confirmed. This was like Spring Break for over 50’s. With all attendees having an inner desire to be an exhibitionist.

    The beach itself is stunning. And thankfully the further along we walked, the less in your face it got. We pulled up and had a few beers in the sun before heading back into town to find the Colectivo.

    It was like our entire experience along the Mexico coastline was following a tourist spectrum ranging from “Family Vacation” to “Wild Hippy”. Realising that I’d hit my threshold, it was a simple case of dialling it back one notch to San Agustinillo ❤️    Read more

  • TravelerMexico 🇲🇽
    Day 19

    Mazunte, Oaxaca

    January 20 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Our time spent with Roberto and Marley had been a great chance to settle for a week and find some routine. Zicatela had finally been the chill beach vibe we’d been looking for along the Mexican coast. Despite this, we hadn’t been able to find anywhere to stay longer term. As much as we loved Roberto’s place, to keep our budget down we needed to find somewhere much more affordable.

    The next beach along this stretch of coastline is Mazunte. Set amongst the jungle surroundings it has a reputation for being much more hippy and catering to travellers seeking yoga retreats. So we hoped to find a cheaper place. With the potential for better surf, and being only about an hour away, we booked in our next stay.

    We packed up our home-for-a-week, and Roberto gave us a lift to where La Punta’s main street meets Highway 200. Sad to say goodbye, we left with the comfort that it was highly likely we would drop back through soon enough.

    We actually didn’t have much idea about how the bus trip would go. The only advice for the trip that we’d found was that a small bus leaves from the main bus departure point in Puerto Escondido, and that it stops along Highway 200. And then, you get off the bus about 40 minutes later at the intersection of the road heading down to Mazunte. From there you catch a Colectivo to Mazunte. (A Colectivo is a tray back ute with a canopy that has bench seats in the back. Locals version of a shuttle bus I guess)

    And it all happened pretty much like that. The bus arrived, we jumped off at the intersection and 10 minutes later we piled onto a crowded tray back for our trip back to the beach. Wow! This was exactly how I expected travel along the coast of Mexico would be.

    Our first impression of Mazunte was like a mix between Nimbin and Bali. Plenty of “alternative” types getting around, hot and dirty streets but a beautiful beach at the end. A couple of the travel blogs I’d read had mentioned 3 beaches along this part of the coast:
    1. Mazunte - the most popular spot, catering specifically to the naturalist and yogi type.
    2. San Agustinillo - a 10-minute walk along the road and over the headland. A more chill version of Mazunte yet still easily accessible for any of the shops.
    3. And then Zipolite - About 10 minutes further on the Colectivo, This small town we would find out to be the most alternative of them all.

    We had booked our standard 2 nights to give us a chance to check out the area and decide where to go next. Either book in longer or head somewhere else. After dropping off our bags at our hotel we went straight down the beach. Wow! It was stunning. Much different to the long beach of Zicatela, This part of the coast had smaller beaches and rocky headlands with jungle encroaching down onto the coves.

    Our first night we strolled into Mazunte and found the main night spot was the road we came in on and a cross street called Rinconcito. Hard to describe but it just felt different to La Punta. A bit dirtier and less inviting. Thankfully we scored with dinner. We pulled up for dinner at a place called Fish Burrito and not only did it have the cheapest beers of the trip, but the food was incredible! Lightly filled burritos filled with a seasoned rice mix and delicious freshness. Massive win!

    Conveniently the place we booked was on the San Agustinillo side of Mazunte. So we were able to easily check out both beaches the first day we arrived. Immediately we realised we liked it more. Much more relaxed and almost entirely fronting the beaches, it was definitely our favourite so far.

    However with Mazunte so close, we would definitely be back for another Fish Burrito.    Read more

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