Mexico Closed Today

Well... the beaches are anyway.
We were sitting at Zicatella Beach just above the surf line ... actually we were laying on lounge chairs... having agua frutas (pineapple & papaya) and watching the surfers when an ATV came up and 2 guys starting putting up red flags along the beach every couple of hundred feet. They came over and told us that all the beaches on the Pacific coast of Mexico are now closed for swimming, wading, and boating because of tsunami warnings. Sounds like waves here are expected in the next few hours but should only be a foot or so above normal. All the restaurants and beach palapas starting taking in their chairs and umbrellas and moving everything in. Since it was nearly 2 in the afternoon here we decided it may be time to get off the sand for the day anyway. We are back in our hotel room a good 30 feet above sea level and no one seems to be in a panic except for the surfers. They all started calling taxis and putting their boards on top of vehicles and heading out. Not sure which direction they went but it is now a ghost town in Surf City so the waves must be good somewhere else. We are fine and only a few hundred yards from steps leading up the hill to the major part of old town so if we needed to we could get out and up to higher ground pretty quickly. Guess we may start taking the little tremors we have been feeling a little more seriously now.
There is something very different about this Oaxaca part of Mexico. Turns out that African slaves were brought in more than 500 years ago to work the sugar cane and other crops. Their culture has really colored the music, food and atitudes along this part of the coast. No maraiachi here ... lots of congo drums and carribean/african influence. We are really enjoying the mix. Evening music in the streets has been great. We have decided to not waste our last days sitting on buses trying to get back to Puerto Vallarta. After some complicated math (duh) we realized that we would only save a few dollars by bus when you add hotel rooms and taxis in the towns where we need to break up the trip so tomorrow we head to the airport and fly to Mexico City and then connect to Puerto Vallarta. We will get in late so will spend one night in PV in old town and then head back up north to Guayabitos where we started and spend our last few days there soaking up the last of Mexico.

Still Shaking and Tropical Biodiversity

Another small (4.9) earthquake last night as we sat in our favorite taco stand. Again a sharp jolt followed by a few seconds of everything rattling. Everyone pauses and looks around ... then when it stops making the corrugated roofing rattle everyone smiles and starts chewing again. Can't believe we are so causal about it now too. I guess we have really gotten laid back and have picked up the slow approach to most events. No worries, be happy!
Today we took a trip about 10 miles away to Manialtepec Lagoon with a Ornithologist, Michael Malone who used to be with the Canadian Wildlife Service, but has been a winter resident down here for 30 years and is involved in working to preserve the lagoon. We spent the morning in a small launch in amongst the mangroves and exploring the shoreline and river in this unique area that has three separate aquatic ecosystems. This has been a really tremendous experience. This huge lagoon is surrounded mostly by jungle and mangrove forest and is also used by local subsistence fisherman, many still using hand made dug out canoes. This lagoon is cut off from the ocean during the winter/dry season by the ocean surf building a sand barrier so no water escapes, but it continues to be fed from the river. In the rainy season the water level rises until the exit breaches into the ocean and salt water pours in again for several months. The ecosystem is fascinating. We saw over 60 different species of birds, both tropical residents and migratory visitors. This lagoon is at the end of 4 different flyways from North America so the range of species was fantastic. Lots of shore birds, night hawks, kingbirds, woodpeckers, a large range of herons, wood storks, ospreys, ibis, egrets, parrots, and hawks. We also saw crocodiles and river otters and some interesting water snakes. We don't have a very good camera for wildlife viewing but got a few usable shots. Click on any to enlarge.

Surfers Paradise

We moved today to Puerto Escondido famous for its undertow and dangerous (unless your are very experienced) surfers pipeline. We are off season for the best surfing so the place is pretty quiet and we have found a small hotel, The Casablanca, on a pedestrian street a block from the beach. It comes complete with a Humphrey Bogart likeness on the sign and a fan in our room. We are really liking it here so far. Will see what the nightlife brings. It seems like most places on this section of coast are hurting for tourists so rates are low and nothing is crowded. We are about 1/4 mile away from the surfers that are doing the beach cabana/hostel/hammock lifestyle so hopefully there will be some quiet after midnight. The beach is fabulous. About 3 miles of Kalaloch-like flat golden sand and greenish surf with warm water, a nice breeze, lots of beach chairs and umbrellas everywhere, and lots of cheap restaurant choices. We have a fridge in our room so time to get our own fruit again. We are ready to settle in for a few days and sink into the sand and some recreational reading. This could be dangerous. We really are 'beach people' and can feel another sand suck coming on.

Hot and Humid

Are we ever happy? Too cold, too wet, too hot. But at least now we can cool off in the water. The overnight bus ride was tiring and difficult. We don't do well sleeping upright and listening to other people snore. We got in very tired and cranky but had a beautiful room on a jungle hillside above the beach waiting for us. We spent the afternoon dozing in chairs in the shade on the beach and then that night there was loud live music again that started about 6 pm from a 100th birthday party for a local native grandmother. This time it was really good. A combination of cuban/middle east/african/mexican. It is traditional Oaxacan and I don't know how else to categorize it but it was tuba, clarinet, horns, conga drums, piano and more. We have tried to find out who the band was and get a CD but not having much luck. The next day we moved to another hotel still in Puerta Angel that is right on the beach. It is hot and humid here, probably in the 90's and we are staying close to the water. We are on a sheltered cove and it is perfect for swimming. Today we went a few miles north to explore Zipolite, a small beach community. It is where all the Euro-hippies and Trustafarians are having their south sea island fantasy. Lots of nude wading and sun bathing and we are really feeling old now. It is a beautiful stretch of beach but you cannot swim in it because the undertow is famous and folks drown here every year. So we will move on tomorrow to Puerto Escondido and then start to figure out how to get connected back to our airport. For now we are trying to not get sunburned again and are enjoying being back in shorts.

Time to Move On

The weather has turned again and today it is raining. After Morelia's downpours we are fickle tourists and no longer want to be soaked and cold. We have looked at the satellite photos and poor Mexico is having a terrible 'winter' most everywhere. The storms keep rocketing through the middle of the country from west to northeast and then swinging north to the Atlantic US coast. We have decided to head down to the Pacific Coast from here and stay south of the worst of it for a few more days. Tomorrow night we take a 9 hour overnight bus on the longer, but less winding, road to Pochutla and then to Puerto Angel. We are ready for some sun and warmth and rest. This place is alive with action and we are ready to slow back down a little. We will miss a lot of the art and beauty of this place but hope to come back someday for a longer stretch of time.

Wooden Art and Rugs

We spent a day touring a few small villages that specialize in different crafts. This one does the wooden animals that are painted with patterns and designs. Some of the work was museum quality and has been shown in the US. Entire families work in the production of these fantastic renditions of both real and imagined animals.

We also visited a small village that specializes in woven rugs/wall hangings. They are so beautiful that it would be a shame to walk on them.



They are made from all natural dyes in a very labor intensive process. They are hand made and take about a week or longer to make each one. They were beautiful and I would love to be able to learn the process, but it is not a very practical hobby to take up.

Still in Oaxaca

This is such a fascinating culture we cannot seem to be able to get ourselves excited about leaving yet. So we have decided to stay for 'a few more' days. Not sure what that will mean. Steve started a Spanish Language class this morning. It is causal and is by the day or week. I probably need it more than he does but instead I went to a small hands on class at The Teatro Culinario Comidor.




I spent the morning in a local market with the owner and and learned what chile's were what, and had him untangle some of the unfamiliar foods that we have been seeing. We purchased what we needed for a lunch and then went back to his restaurant and prepared a 5+ course meal (which we then ate...yum... we were good!)

Handmade Tortillas
2 kinds of Salsa
Guacamole & Quesa de la plancha (poblano chiles, onions and melted cheese)
Quesidillas with Oaxacan Cheese, espozote, and squash blossoms
Sopa de Guisa (corn and squash blossom soup)
Mole Coloradita (red mole) over chicken pieces
Oaxacan Chocolate Ice Cream

Can't wait to try this stuff out on all you volunteers.

Zapoteca Women

We have had several days touring some of the outlying villages and a few of the Market Days. These are 'real' markets and not the tourist craft ones. Local families are bringing in their produce and items that they make and selling/trading them for other items that they need.



We are towering like giants above these people. Most of the women are very tiny, well below 5' tall, and the men are usually well under 6'. Our size and our American clothes make us really stand out. They do not like having their pictures taken as many still believe that it can steal their souls so the few photos that I took was done from down low as I walked and without any focus or ability to know what I was capturing.



The women are dressed in traditional outfits with their long hair usually braided with satin ribbons and either hanging loose or then tied up. Rebozos or shawls are used for everything: carrying children and goods, wrapped around heads turban style ... you name it. Each village has its own dress and customs and if we knew enough we would be able to identify the village from the dress. It is sad and a sign of the times that many of the younger generation at the market are wearing US style clothes and the stalls selling American Eagle/Nike/US branded goods (mostly knock-offs)) are the most popular with teens. That and the places selling cell phones and tech gear. We saw very few younger people in traditional dress and we understand that even though there are 15 different and separate Zapotec languages being spoken at this market the language in the schools is only Spanish and just a few villages are trying to keep the local languages alive. We may be seeing the last of a generation that is still tied to the old ways.