Disclaimer: This trip occurred exactly one year ago. Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing them to you in real time, just a year later.
August 11, 2010
Puerto Escondido is a strange combination of hidden surfer meca, tacky resort town and third world country. As an example, on the dirt road to our luxurious villa is an OXXO selling Diet Coke and t-shirts saying “Puerto Escondido: play all day, party all night,” Hostel Shalom (a seedy camp sight where the likelihood for group sex exceeds the likelihood for flush toilets, and an abandoned VW Beetle out to pasture with three wild horses.
In short, Puerto Escondido is awesome.
Our hotel is situated on a bluff overlooking Carrizalillo Beach and our room is arguably the best view in all of Puerto… the internet connection that we’ve so enjoyed at other spots along our trip has been very non-existent until yesterday, so on my last night in Puerto Escondido I can reflect on our experience here with a little use of alliteration:
BEACH:
There are many beaches here in Puerto, the most famous of which is Playa Zicatella (the home of the reputed “Mexican Pipeline”). We did spend some time on Zicatella watching surfers, but our favorite beach here by far was Playa Marinero. It’s a short walk to the right of the surfer mecca and on open waters (instead of a bay). So there are some nice waves to play in but it’s not as dangerous for swimming as Zicatella. We spent three days on Playa Marinero and now proudly boast bronzed bodies and sand in places we never knew we had.
BEER: 
What’s a day at the beach without a bucket of beer? Corona con limon, por favor. We went to the beach every day except one…. enough said.
BUGS:
It’s the rainy season, people. While this did not cramp our style in terms of beach-going or getting rained out, as a result of the constant humid wetness in the area there are a lot of bugs. Mosquitoes, flies, bees (lots and lots of bees), and bugs I’ve never even seen before. Geckos everywhere- which are neither bugs nor annoying, but deserve a nod. After investing in a handy bottle of “Fly Off”, the only bug spray in all of Oaxaca, our tans are slightly marred by the bug bites all over our legs, arms and shoulders. Maybe this is not interesting, but the mosquitoes in Puerto Escondido bite more than the ones in Chicago, but are far less annoying. The bees sting less, but are far more annoying. Food for thought should you decide to visit during the rainy season…
BEST MEAL:
By FAR the best meal on this trip (and quite possibly of my entire life) was at the Hotel Santa Fe on Playa Zicatella. Refined but unpretentious, our meal was elegantly presented, with amazing service, and the food was damn good. Be sure to have the stuffed avocado for an appetizer. I had the chilies rellenos. Nancy had coconut shrimp. The sun set over the beach. Save room for strawberry pie and coffee. There’s not much else I can say about this except that if you are ever in Puerto Escondido, you MUST eat here.
That leads me to my final B-word this evening:
BALLY’S
Total Fitness will be seeing a lot of me upon my return to the US-of-A.-
Lauren Warnecke 
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