Final Notes from the Puerto Escondido

There were so many other miscellaneous wonderful experiences during our time in Puerto Escondido.  Among them a few highlights...

Being on the water, there was opportunity to buy the freshest fish, which Alex's parents prepared into a wonderful meal!

Our wonderful hosts, David and Macri, shared with us the traditional Oaxacan tamales and local salsa, another delicious treat!

David and Macri's girls showed Juliana all of the local flowers and other plants, including some who's seed pods "explode" open, when left in a glass of water.

Between times in the sun, we played lots of card games like Uno and the kids did their homework at the breakfast table.

There was plenty of time to play in the sand with grandparents and swim in the pool!

And at night, we were graced with beautiful sunsets, and views of the stars.  There were a few nights, where you could even see the arms o the Milky Way, if you went out in the middle of the night!

Finally, it was time to bid farewell to our little paradise on the beach and look forward to a return trip sometime in the future!

Pacific Marine Life

One of the perks of staying directly on the ocean is that you have a good chance of seeing marine life throughout the day.

Over breakfast one morning, we watched a humpback whale and her calf swim on by the house.  On several occasions, we watched pods of dolphins swim by.  Of course, it always happened when our camera wasn't handy so we would simply run to where our swimming pool met the beach and watch for their dark backs to crest the water.


One afternoon we drove to another location down the beach for some wonderful seafood and an opportunity to go out on a little boat and see the wildlife up close.

We watched the birds light upon a nearby rock (which stinks up close, due to their copious droppings).

We watched numerous pairs of sea turtles, which were floating in the water, given that its mating season.   

We left well enough alone with the mating turtles, but spotted a loner out there, and jumped in for a quick swim with a real live sea turtle!

Then we rode around the water on the lookout for dolphins.  Just as we were going to give up, we were found by a very large pod of dolphins who graced us we a display of jumps out of the water.

Explorations on the Beach

After a long hiatus and as we prepare for our next trip to Mexico, I am back to chronicling our adventures from last January in Oaxaca.

One of the joys of being on the beach in mid to late January, is we had it to ourselves. 

One afternoon we decided to walk several kilometers down the beach toward a nature preserve where a fresh water river meets the Pacific ocean.

We were the only ones on the beach, and we enjoyed the waves and looked for animal tracks along the way.


The sun was pretty hot, so we rested when we would find shelters along the way.


While the walk was long, it was worth it!  The cool water rushing toward the ocean and all the birds teeming along its edge were fun to watch.  It was fun to stick our toes in the water and watch the little fish swim by.


We also used the opportunity to leave the beach better than we found it, and picked up non-compostable trash along the way.  We looked for anything that could prove dangerous to our friends the sea turtles, such as balloon remnants, plastic cups, lids, bottles, and bags, even old diapers that had turned up on the beach.  By the time we were done, we had quite a collection!

Introducing the kids to Sea Turtles

In Mazunte, we stopped at the Sea Turtle museum.  Of the 8 species of marine turtles, 7 live in Mexican waters.  This museum, which was more like an aquarium gave the kids a great introduction to sea turtles. 

Among the things we learned:

• Sea Turtles can live over 100 years
• When they lay their eggs, they return to the same beach where they were born.
• The temperature of the sand determines the percentage of males versus females that hatch. 
• When the eggs hatch, they look for the reflection of the moon and stars on the ocean to find their way to the water.
• Due to many predators when they are small and other environmental factors they face as they grow, less than 1% make it to full adulthood.

Due to the risks faced by turtles to their wellbeing, a variety of sanctuaries have been established to move turtle nests to safe hatching areas, and hatchlings are supported so that they may have their best shot in life.

 

 

 As turtles are discovered, they are tagged so that they may be tracked over time.  Once they reach adulthood, they have no natural predators other than man.

 

Leaving the museum, the kids had a new appreciation of turtles and an awareness of what they could do to help.

First impressions of the coast

The coastline between the cities of Huatulco and Puerto Escondido is made up of many bays and inlets, divided by rocky outcroppings into the Pacific. 

On this stop, we explored the bay and coastline of San Agustinillo.

 

Spectacular rocks and cliffs dot the coastline and depending on the tide, you can climb the rocks and watch the countless pelicans that frequent them. 

 

 

The beaches in each bay and inlet vary in terms of the type of sand and shells and way that the beach drops off into the ocean.  This one had a more gentle drop off, and the kids started their shell collections.

Some are of the bays are welcoming to beginning swimmers while others require strong swimming skills, and still others are favored by surfers due to the high rolling surf.  Many time, swimming conditions vary based on the tide and weather.

 

While we didn't swim on this stop, the kids had great fun climbing the rocks and watching the waves pound into them, rolling over the rocky outcroppings and creating little waterfalls and other wonderful occurrences. 

The road to the coast

Oaxaca is known among biologists and botanists as the state with the largest biodiversity in the country of Mexico.  It has many climates represented including mountainous regions, dessert regions, and tropical regions.  It has high forested mountains and deep valleys as well as a long coastline.  It is the location where North American plant species meet and mix with plant species coming from Central and South America.

To travel from Oaxaca City to the Puerto Escondido, we took a very windy two lane "highway" over the mountains.  It was a trip of roughly 180 miles, where our maximum speeds due to the constant switchback turns was around 45 MPH and an average speed closer to 35 MPH.  It took about 8 hours to traverse the mountains.  And we had various cases of severe car sickness, despite reaching for Dramamine.  Hence...the camera pretty much stayed packed for the duration of the trip.

All that said, the scenery was fantastic!  The mountains were incredibly steep, going straight up on one side of the road and then down on the other.  And yet, even on a 60 degree incline, there were countless patches of corn planted on the mountainside in clearings between the trees. 

Leaving Oaxaca City the temperature was a dry 85 degrees.  When we stopped for lunch in a mountaintop village, it was not even 60 degrees.  Then as we drove down the other side of the mountains, we watched the evergreens give way to coffee plantations and eventually banana and coconut palms.  By the time we reached the coast for dinner, we were back up to around 90 degrees with high humidity.  Quite a trip!

Laundry Day

When traveling with kids, especially young ones, there will inevitably be laundry.  In Mexico, you will find a wide range of laundry choices. 

While many families will wash clothes in a washing machine like you find in the US, there are many additional options.  Just like you might drop clothes off at a dry cleaner, you can drop your clothes off at a laundry service to be washed if you are short on time.  Typically they will weigh your dry clothes and charge you by kilogram.  Then you come back later (usually later that afternoon or the next day) to pick up your completed laundry.  We tried this option and for less than what we would have paid at our local coin Laundromat back home, we had clean and folded clothes in hand.  A great option for anyone who prefers to use their time exploring instead of washing and folding!

Additionally, most homes in Mexico will also have a utility sink with a built in washboard.  This was a great option for us to use when we wanted to wash just a handful of items right away. 

 

We had fun showing the kids how this would work:
- Wet the clothing item
- Soap it up
- Rub it on the washboard
- Rinse and repeat until happy with the results
Juliana couldn't believe that her mom washed *all* her clothes this way when studying for a semester abroad in college.

Finally, when it comes to drying clothes, everyone has a clothesline in their house.  Whether it be on a rooftop or in a patio someplace, solar is the way to go!  And bonus - your whites stay white and everything smells really fresh when it comes off the line!  :)

 

Life on the street

There is always something going on in Oaxaca city.  The town is full of little plazas and everywhere you turn, people are outside doing things. 

Friends and families are always out and about and there is always something to do or see.

 

A sample of our experiences...

On our way into town, we ran into a little puppet show in a nearby plaza.  They were doing "The Frog Prince" with a bit of Mexican flair.  :)

 Balloons for the kids to admire...

 

Lots of cafes for a drink, a meal,

or just a snack...

Trees to play in...

 

Musicians to listen to...

 

Nice weather for an evening stroll...

Mercado Day

We spent a lot of time at different markets (mercados) throughout Oaxaca.  They were lively and colorful places full of new sights, sounds, and smells.

 

Generally, you can touch, smell, and sometimes even taste before you buy.

 Mercados are where people go to shop, eat, and just hang out. 

Going to the market for a breakfast of Barbacoa tacos (goat or lamb cooked for many hours underground) and soup is something very common in central and southern Mexico.  But you have to get there early, or the good stuff will be all gone! 

We enjoyed ours with traditional hot chocolate Oaxacan style.  It was served in a bowl! Mmmmmm!

You can find just about anything you need in the Mercado.

There are whole sections dedicated to fruits,

 

vegetables,

baked goods,

meats,

cured fish,

dried shrimp,

 

flowers,

 

hand tools,

cooking tools,

 

 pottery,

clothing and shoes,

beans, spices, and sugar (piloncillo),

chocolate in any form from pod to finished - made to order,

 a million types of chilies,

even live animals,

and many other local delicacies you may have never seen before.

 

...Or wouldn't expect to see...

It's a great place to learn and ask questions: "What's that and what do you do with it?"

...And try something new!