Zipolite, near Puerto Angel, in the State of Oaxaca is a free and easy beach destination where many tourists go to relax. We slept in our hammocks on the edge of the beach, whilst others baked naked on the beach, played volleyball and generally spent the day relaxing.

Zipolite, near Puerto Angel, in the State of Oaxaca is a free and easy beach destination where many tourists go to relax. We slept in our hammocks on the edge of the beach, whilst others baked naked on the beach, played volleyball and generally spent the day relaxing. About eight weeks before our visit a devastating cyclone ripped through the area and destroyed a lot of the buildings along the coast. A lot of trees had been blown over in the process and parts of buildings disappeared. This fortunately didn't affect our stay on the beach, although it did make for a hairy journey in and out of Zipolite.  The mountain roads had suffered major landslide damage. The Zipolite sunset We did not arrive in Puerto Angel until 11pm and couldn't find suitable accommodation there. We then drove to Zipolite and hammocked for the night. That place however, didn't have working toilets so we moved to some Palapas on the beach where we hung our hammocks. Our first night's accommodation Cars and sand don't mixWhilst trying to find a place to stay, we were told by a local proprietor to drive onto his land to inspect his property. Unfortunately, the land was part of the beach, and his invitation lead to several hours of anguish. Unfortunately, we became bogged in the sand in a place where it was not possible to be dragged out as there was a palm tree between the car and the road. It was interesting to see the interaction between the different cultures regarding problem solving. The Mexicans wanted to use their muscle and to lift the car out, our group wanted to steer forwards and backwards to get out, whilst the German tourists nearby wanted to build a bridge. In the end the bridge idea succeeded. It certainly made for an interesting afternoon. Activities : Fishing & DolphinsFrom Puerto Angel we went fishing with a local fisherman and caught about ten tuna-like fish which we cooked up for dinner. We tried to catch some large sword fish which we had seen caught by other fisherman on the day, however unfortunately our efforts proved fruitless. Whilst fishing however, we continuously saw dolphins and turtles. The dolphins were not like those that are in Australia. They were dark grey, almost black and were covered in white speckles. Seeing the many dolphins was more enjoyable than the fishing for the girls but the guys enjoyed hauling in the catch. Volleyball on the beach VolleyballThe volleyball freak (Andrew) played several games of volleyball on the beach during our stay at Zipolite. We developed a friendly rivalry between a Mexican rock band that we met. This is also the place where the experiments with the El Grande fireworks began : see the Mexican Firework's page for more info

I decided to have my hair plated and beaded (after a lot of encouragement from Linda and Kirsten (who also had hers done)). This took about one and a half hours, the young Mexican lady was extremely fast in her technique and whilst she was working, the members of our group took turns in getting clucky over the lady's little baby.

	The hair (photo taken in Oaxaca)

WarningSome advice regarding beach hammocks : make sure not to leave anything out (that is not attached to your body). Our sandals were stolen from under our hammock at 3am when we were sleeping. Our group's cooler filled with food and alcohol was also stolen from the beach. Note that this should not deter people from visiting beaches like Zipolite. Unfortunately it is a fact that whenever tourists are around thieves will be also.

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