House / pet sitters available, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico

House / pet sitters available, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
Find perfect house / pet sitter / sitting job with Trustedhousesitters.com. Loving couple taking time to explore the Americas.. Dog, Cat, Fish, Farm care experience.
www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-sitters-available-puerto-esc...

Introduction

We are a loving and happy couple who've been together for twelve years. I am 40 and Matthew (Matty), is 36.

Some time ago we decided we would like to experience more than just the usual two or four week holiday each year, so we worked hard to get ourselves into a position where we could leave everything behind in Australia and take our time to really explore the rest of the world, starting
with Central America. We left home in early February 2011 and since then we've explored a little of California, Mexico, Guatamala, Panama and Costa
Rica and lived in various places in Mexico. We have done a medium-term house sit in Ajijic, a very long-term house sit in Chapala (Jalisco) and another long-term house sit in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. We study Spanish and we love being able to soak up the culture. I can do a little tutoring in English if I wish and Matty, being a freelance Hydrographic Surveyor, works all over the world on a fly-in/fly-out basis, usually 4 weeks at a time. I practice yoga and Vipassana meditation. Matty is a surfer. We are both non-smokers and we love to cook and eat great food. We both do a lot of walking and reading too.

Why I want to housesit

We are interested in house sitting because it fits in so well with our travels. The idea of immersing ourselves in a city/town/culture, to us, is far more rewarding than ‘just passing through’. We intend to be away from Australia for at least another 2 years, and in that time we hope to explore the rest of Central and South America, and eventually North America and Canada. House sitting will allow us to do this.

What I bring to the assignment / relevant experience

Generally we are very flexible with dates and open to short, medium and long-term house sits. We have our own car here in Mexico.

We are more than happy to look after (and we have experience with) pets as well as your house, gardens and/or pool. We have completed 3 medium/long-term house sits here in Mexico, all with pets and great references. My Spanish is coming along nicely and I am very confident managing the household staff, paying bills and organising tradesmen if needed.

We have done house sits for friends in Australia and have experience living in and managing the ongoing upkeep of our own lovely home and saltwater pool.

For home owners with pets, Matty and I both grew up with various animals in and around our family homes – cats and dogs (even cows and donkeys) – all very much part of the family. Sadly, our last dog passed away in 2010, however the silver lining to this is that we are now free to travel
extensively. The opportunity to love and care for someone else’s animals gives us that special companionship that we miss so much.

We have been house sitting through different websites for over 2 years and have many excellent references which are not able to be uploaded onto this site. If you would like to see our references, or contact them personally, please ask us and we will happily provide the details for you. We look forward to hearing from you.

Gracias!
Fi and Matty

Latest surf reports from Puerto Escondido

• People take photos and videos near Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca-Chiapas, Mexico, and share them on Instagram and Youtube
• Many of them contain a great view of the surfing conditions
• We aggregate them for you. Enjoy!

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Fabio Gouveia explores Mexico

Fabio Gouveia explores Mexico15.05.2012

“Hello friends!” I am for the first time in Mexico. High waves in last days in Puerto Escondido and surrounding areas.

I joined in a trip with a crowd of Pernambuco. Eduardo Fernandes accompanies two boys of the new generation, Gabriel Faria and Douglas José (Dodô), the surfer Alexandre Ferraz and the professional Luel Felipe, as well as the experimented shaper Júlio Marques.

Everything is captured by the photographer Clemente Coutinho and immediately the readers can see the results in the pages of Magazine Flow. “Thank you”! (Fabio Gouveia)

Fabio Gouveia trained in the tubes of Brazil, before embarking on international travel.

After surfing good waves in the autumn in the south of the country, now Gouveia finds the perfection and the heat in Mexico. PHOTO Clemente Coutinho

Fabio Gouveia in México. ARQUIVO PESSOAL

Fabio Gouveia explores Mexico15.05.2012 - 01:10:11

It’s time for the surfer sponsored by Mormaii enjoy the waves in the Mexican coast of Pacific Ocean.

The Spruce Goose has Landed Viva Veracruz & Viva Puerto Escondido

Viva Veracruz & Viva Puerto Escondido

Musings from and about 

living in Mexico

The Spruce Goose has Landed

MAY22
201220 COMMENTS AND 0 REACTIONSWRITTEN BY JOHN CALYPSO

OK the good news is my brother-in-law and his lady arrived in Coatepec at 8 PM last night. This is a mere four miles from us. We jumped in the Jetta as it was starting to get dark – do not like to ride the scooter very far when it is dark – very poor Chinese lights.

Spruce Goose Art Work: Re Becca

As we drove into Coatepec right there at the entrance in the Pemex parking lot – there they were. Quick hugs for everyone; back to the Casita.

By a major stroke of luck there were no vehicles parked on our side of the road the entire stretch from where the road turns to dirt all the way up to the little capilla. Words cannot be found to express how unusual and fortunate this is.

The wagon train settled in to where it will probably remain for some time in the distant future.

Yesterday on the final leg of the journey the happy travelers took a wrong turn and came here by way of Perote. That trail, one we have never ventured on, reaches altitudes of over 8200’. Overheated transmission and my heart be still!

At 1:45 PM, about the time we expected them to be here, we received a panicky email via cell phones, “We broke down, in Perote-Altotonga. The truck couldn’t take the uphill grades. I think the trans blew it’s seal. I can get a tow I think with my road side service for the truck only. But not the trailer. Our coordinates are north 19 degrees 43.019 seconds by west 097 degrees 14. 978 elevation 7172 ft how far away from you are we?”

Here we are thinking – what the hell are you doing there at 7,172 feet? And wrote back, “WHY are you there? That is miles away from the FLAT coast hwy you should be on. We have never been there and know nothing about it. Where did you leave from this morning? You may be better off heading back down from where you are – it is still higher – cold and miserable ahead. We have heard about the area but never been there – the roads are winding and narrow and dangerous for even a car.” Let alone a wagon train!

Putting the moment in perspective – we are at our computer in our Casita. They have been on the road for 10 days experiencing myriad problems, and out now in the middle of nowhere in a foreign land. We are asking HOW they could be there in no uncertain terms.

The point being, in retrospect, this rather harsh question was surely NOT what my BIL wanted to hear at that point. However in our defense we also have been following this trek for ten days making all effort to advise. Earlier on this fateful morning we were frustrated by the fact that we were not contacted before they left their hotel so we could go over the details of the last 150 miles of the trip. We had emailed three maps the night before over which we had hoped to have some conversation and last minute advice. So OK we had our own frustrations – but none we would have traded for the mess my BIL was in at that moment.

After the initial shock we settled in to trying to help from afar. We had little to offer at that point other than an offer to throw up some prayers.

There is POWER in prayer!

After logging into Google Earth and checking the coordinates supplied we knew this was very dicey.

2 PM another short email, “Our transmission seal is blown” OMG!

Adding more fuel to his pain we emailed the map below and commented, “The blue line is where you should have gone – we are about four hours from Perote and again we have never been there. We only have the scooter and Jetta here. It is dangerous to leave your stuff unattended in that area (it is VERY primitive).”

Just Follow the BLUE line – See A and B for Actual Location

We wait chewing our nails until 3:30 PM – then this, “We have been filling one quart at a time we are put of mountains. Going down grade now should be coming to 140 soon”.

What does he mean, “we are put of mountains” ?

More waiting.

4:45 PM we receive this, “At avenues Lazaro Cardenas Calais, ver”

They are in Xalapa – prayer does work!

Over the next 3 hours we receive a couple more very short emails – they are wandering lost, or eating or working on the truck??? Finally at 7:30 PM we learn they are at the Pemex station in Coatepec. We write a pleading email asking them to NOT MOVE – we will be there in 10-15 minutes!

OK so the Spruce Goose has landed – all is well in Mexico land. We will pry the details from my BIL’s bloody hands and tell the rest of the story as it unfolds here – there is a lot to tell – so Stay Tuned!

Bachelors: Part II | SURFER Magazine

Bachelors: Part II | SURFER Magazine
Is this you charging Puerto Escondido? Photo: Gilley. Rob Gilley. Previously in denial about his photographic past, Rob Gilley now rummages through his trove ...
www.surfermag.com/features/bachelors-part-ii/

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Is this you charging Puerto Escondido? Photo: Gilley

ROB GILLEY

Previously in denial about his photographic past, Rob Gilley now rummages through his trove of mediocrity.

Every surf photographer has them. A boatload of images without a name attached. A pile of “unidentifieds.”

It occurred to me that now, in this era of social media and cyber-connectivity, that there’s a way to possibly solve that. Give those photographs a public forum and let the World Wide Web attempt to link up these unidentified surfers with names. A public game of match making. Veritable hook-ups for some needy bachelors.

So let’s see how this game of Image Match goes. Check the photos below, see if it’s someone you recognize, and then post their name on the comment board.

Good Luck.

Blacks Beach. Photo: Gilley

Gas Chambers. Photo: Gilley

Laguna Beach. Photo: Gilley

V-Land. Photo: Gilley

Oceanside Pier. Photo: Gilley

Pacific Coast Mexico / Puerto Escondido

Date taken - Mon 14th May '12 (9:00am)

New training centre opens in Puerto Escondido

By Editor on 18 May, 2012

Updated 20 May, 2012

 An initiative of the hotels, motels and restaurants association of Puerto Escondido will come to fruition May 21 when a new training centre opens for classes. The project got its start when local tourist service operators agreed there was a need to ensure a higher level of quality of service in the local tourist industry, in order to meet the expectations of visitors.
The need became more evident during Semana Santa this year when accommodations were packed and services were stretched to the limit by the large number of visitors. Service providers, recognizing the attraction of Puerto Escondido to many tourists, felt it was important to build a competitive work force that offered a higher and better level of service.
The new school, known as CECAPIH (Centro de Capacitación para la Industria Hotelera), will not have fixed classrooms of its own but will use the facilities of the various hotels involved in the project.
The courses offered, and the locations of the respective classes, are:
• Receptionist, Hotel Suites Villa Sol
• Waiter, Hotel Santa Fe
• Housekeeping , Hotel Barlovento
• Kitchen, Restaurante Mangos
• Maintenance, Hotel Suites VillaSol
• Beverages, Hotel Posada Real
• English language for hotels and restaurants, Hotel Arcoiris
• Culture of service, Hotel Arcoiris.
The two-hour classes will run daily for three months, and be given by instructors qualified in the various specialties. There is no cost to students, who may be of either sex and must be over 18.
Anyone interested in registering may do so through Hotel Surf Olas Altas, Calle del Morro No. 310, Playa Zicatela; telephone 582 3740 y 582 2315.
Coordinator of the project is Sr. Melesio Armenta of Restaurant Mango’s, who is working with hotels association president Austreberto Garfias to put it all together.

GOOD-EPIC: J-BAY | SURFLINE.COM

GOOD-EPIC: J-BAY | SURFLINE.COM
"With the early season swells and small crowd, tons of perfect waves go unridden at Puerto Escondido," explained local photog Edwin Morales when we asked ...
www.surfline.com/surf-news/good-epic-j-bay_64653/

Puerto Escondido: The Secret Is Out

Download This Image: 1024 x 768 Need help? Try our FAQ Page

Puerto Escondido: The Secret Is Out

Like most secrets, a good one eventually gets out. And so it goes with Puerto Escondido, a surfer haven in the Pacific Coast crook of Mexico's flexed arm. In the 20th century, its lack of drinkable water drove out most settlers, leaving only those who tended to the nearby coffee plantations. A new highway in the 1960s attracted carefree backpackers looking for a chance at the Mexican Pipeline, a famed wave that runs right along the Oaxacan coast. They carried the secret back home with them, and Puerto Escondido is now very much a tourist retreat. It still retains the feeling of a small town, but the air of seclusion has been washed out with the surf. To get in with the locals, post up early in the morning as the fisherman bring in their catch, and befriend the eclectic youth over a beer at sunset.

Read more: http://away.com/wallpaper/date-05-24-2012/index-sp.html#ixzz1wANTFpZn

The wave whisperer: N.J. surfer finds novel way to profit from sport Published: Sunday, May 27, 2012, 12:00 PM Updated: Sunday, May 27, 2012, 3:48 PM

The wave whisperer: N.J. surfer finds novel way to profit from sport

Published: Sunday, May 27, 2012, 12:00 PM     Updated: Sunday, May 27, 2012, 3:48 PM

LAVALLETTE — Sam Hammer understands the ocean. The waves, he knows, are generated by distant winds traveling thousands of miles before reaching shore. Gust speed and the depth of the water intensify the swells. He searches for the ideal interval between waves — 8 to 10 seconds.

Hammer, a professional surfer, never underestimates the power of the ocean. It is boundless, he knows. But he has found a way to measure it, to sense it. They say he speaks to the ocean.

The process begins in his kitchen in Point Pleasant, two miles from the nearest shore. On his laptop, he studies weather patterns, monitors buoy size and swell direction and pulls up live surf cameras on dozens of beaches. His life is devoted to pursuing waves across the world, to chasing the ultimate swells.

Dozens of surfers in New Jersey can claim some degree of pro status, but none have been able to cash in like Hammer, those in the surf industry say. He is sponsored by five major companies who cut him a monthly paycheck and keep him outfitted in the latest surfing gear.

Rather than compete in contests across the world, Hammer, 33, is almost exclusively an editorial surfer — his earnings based on his surfing images appearing in print or online. The greater the exposure he gains for his sponsors, the more money he can demand. He is equal parts pro athlete and professional model. Staying atop the swells is crucial, and he has to look dynamic while doing it.

"That’s my job," Hammer says. "That’s how I make my money. You figure out where the best waves are going to be, and that’s where you go."

He isolates the path of storms, anticipating their dying out, their roaring into manageable swells. Then he sends out an alert to his photographers. With the seasons, he heads for the best opportunities, be it Casino Pier in Seaside Heights in fall or Puerto Escondido, Mexico, in summer.

His goal is to create the most vibrant image.

Ten years ago, he spent a month bobbing on a diesel engine boat off the coast of Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, riding waves of deep turquoise. Earlier this year, he visited Unstad, Norway, to surf against a backdrop of whitecap mountains. His prescience with swells has made him a cult figure in New Jersey surfing and beyond.

"He’s got some kind of relationship with the ocean," says Mike Gleason, one of Hammer’s surfing acolytes from the Jersey Shore. "When that guy paddles out, every good wave will come to this guy. It’s, like, the weirdest thing you’ll ever see."

SIZING THINGS UP

Three wetsuits hung over a railing on the front porch of Hammer’s ranch-style house on a recent morning. Inside, he studies his computer screen.

"Cape Cod actually looks really good today," Hammer says.

He was up at 6 checking buoy readings from North Carolina to New Hampshire. He looked first at the wave interval. A time shorter than 8 seconds means the waves are too choppy; more than 10 seconds points to more drawn-out waves that aren’t ideal for surfing. (The interval translates differently away from the East Coast.)

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerSam Hammer is currently the most recognizable name in New Jersey surfing, a Lavallette native who carved his own niche in pro surfing by shunning competitive contests in favor of chasing big waves and shooting pictures for his corporate sponsors. He walks to the water before paddling out one morning in April.

Hammer also noted the direction the swell moved on the buoys. Swell direction is critical to good surfing, but difficult to define with hard figures. He relies on experience. A beach facing due west might produce mushy waves with a western swell; the same beach could surf great with movement from the southwest.

"You look and you remember where it was good that day and put it in your memory bank," Hammer says. "The next time the buoy readings are similar, you know where to go."

The discovery of a monster swell — from Cape Cod to Panama’s Bastimentos Island — typically prompts him to pack his red Chevrolet Suburban or grab the soonest flights. Even spur-of-the-moment trips are almost always paid for by his sponsors.

"Sam’s very proactive," says Steve Clark, a marketing director for Billabong, a clothing retailer and Hammer’s chief sponsor. "A lot of kids, you give them a salary and a paycheck and they want to hang out with their girlfriend and they don’t want to travel. Sam takes his job very seriously."

He added, "There’s nobody that does it like Sam Hammer."

He worked at a wooden table in his kitchen, the walls decorated with exotic masks from Mexico. In his living room, underneath a 42-inch flat-screen television installed on the wall, is a 125-gallon fish tank filled with bright-colored South American cichlids.

Hammer wore blue jeans and an untucked flannel shirt. He has blonde hair, which he wears tousled and messy, surfer-style. His skin is bronzed, suggesting the color of bourbon. His eyes were red and irritated by specks of sand from the previous day’s surfing.

"Surfing bought this house," Hammer says. "I feel lucky."

He would not say how much he earns in salary, though he often receives bonuses for magazine displays — ranging from $600 to $9,000.

On top of Billabong, Hammer has contracts with Skullcandy (a headphones company), Electric Visual (sunglasses), Dakine (surf accessories) and Dan Taylor Surfboards. He has been featured in documentaries and several dozen online videos, and he has competed in ESPN’s X-Games.

He owns and operates the Hammer Surf School, which Billabong sponsors due to its relationship with Hammer. The sessions service hundreds of campers of all ages, including adults, on the beaches in Lavallette and Spring Lake.

"From surfing alone, I’m happy," Hammer says.

There was a time when he traveled nine months a year, chasing waves from continent to continent. While he is away less, this year he has already been to Costa Rica, Nova Scotia and Norway. Come the hurricane season in early fall, when the Jersey Shore waves are strongest, he can stay home. 

BOOGIE BOARD BABY

He grew up 100 yards from the ocean in Lavallette and was at the beach from birth. He surfed for the first time on his boogie board when he was 6. At Point Pleasant Beach High, he surfed before school and skipped lunch to paddle back into the ocean.

"I just liked being able to go fast," Hammer says. "I loved the freedom of it. I felt like I could do whatever I wanted out there and there was no one to bother me."

When he was 13, Hammer won junior contests along the East Coast. He was sponsored by Pirate Surf, a company that gave him free T-shirts and board shorts. "That was awesome," Hammer says. "If I got a T-shirt, I was pumped."

He says he learned a business approach from his mother, Louise, and his father, also named Sam. They opened the Crab’s Claw Inn restaurant and bar in Lavallette 33 years ago and built it into a Shore institution known for its tuna nachos, Buffalo calamari and bar scene. Hammer cleaned soft-shell crabs, painted walls, bused tables and watched his parents build relationships with workers and customers.

"We tried to teach him about respecting his career," Louise Hammer says. "It came with responsibility. ‘This is your business and you have to treat it like a business.’ "

The day after high school graduation, Hammer flew to San Clemente, Calif. That November, he moved to the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii and spent five months surfing legendary waves such as Back Door, Pipeline and Rocky Point. He learned to scale the face of the wave with greater speed. He perfected sharper turns as he navigated larger swells than he had ever seen.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerSam Hammer wipes out while surfing at an area known as 'The Pit' in Long Branch.

After two years and moderate success in competitions, he had little money to show.

By age 21, he had veered from the typical surfing path.

"Other guys from New Jersey had the contest mentality," Hammer says. "I didn’t. I was getting publicity just from shooting with photographers nonstop.

"I found a niche and ran with it."

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Hammer stood behind the oval bar at the Crab’s Claw Inn on a recent evening pouring pints of Budweiser, glasses of chardonnay and mixing martinis. He tends bar every so often to help his parents.

A stranger paid his tab and gushed about one of Hammer’s online surfing videos.

"It was awesome!" the man said.

Hammer has taken in the aroma of clove farms in Indonesia. He has walked flawless beaches in Fiji and Tahiti. And still, he is drawn to home.

Some days, when the urge to chase does not growl so loud, Hammer grabs his surfboard and heads for Jersey City Avenue in Lavallette. It is the break where he first learned to surf. He paddles through the ocean and bobs in the sea. He has been to nearly every significant surfing beach in the world. But this is where he feels most in tuned with the ocean, most at peace.

He has tried moving to California three times. He never lasted.

"I was always drawn back," Hammer says.

He has spent his life on the chase for the perfect wave and the perfect shot, but the surf he discovered first still pulls him close.

Matthew Stanmyre: mstanmyre@starledger.com

Oaxaca: access to Cuzcatlán mine is blocked in San José el Progreso

Oaxaca: access to Cuzcatlán mine is blocked in San José el Progreso

(@MovimientoM4)

Since the beginning of May, members of the Coordination of United Peoples of the Ocotlán Valley (CPUVO) have announced their intention to close the entrance to the Cuzcatlán silver mine, owned by Canadian interests, which is located in the community of San José del Progreso in the region of the Central Valley of Oaxaca.
In a press-conference, Jorge Sánchez, representative of CPUVO, said that by means of this protest they sought to obtain a response from Governor Gabino Cué to their petititons which include the closing of the Canadian mine and justice for the murders of BBernardo Vásquez Sánchez (15 March 2012)  and Bernardo Méndez Vásquez (18 January 2012).  The initiative comes also in commemoration of the third anniversary of the displacement performed by the state police when a protest took place in the same place.
As was announced, on 7 May members of CPUVO who resided in neighboring communities ((Maguey Largo, Cuajilote, el Vergel, Paso de Piedras) and social organizations blocked the access to the principal road to the mine, setting up banners to recall those who were killed in the struggle to obtain the departure of the mine from the location.  At the same time, dozens of state and ministerial police had a presence in the crossroads of the highway to Puerto Ángel.
In these terms, the Mexican Network of those Affected by Mining (REMA) demanded “that municipal, state, and federal authorities guarantee the exercise of the right to free expression and free meeting in conditions of security, with respect for the constitutional guarantees and international treaties regarding human rights that are relevant to Mexico.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Nuevamente bloquean la minera (Noticiasnet.mx, 8 de mayo de 2012)

Pobladores anuncian cierre de mina en San José del Progreso(Enfoque Oaxaca, 7 de mayo de 2012)

Carta abierta de la Red Mexicana de Afectados por la Minería (5 de mayo de 2012)

Advierten bloqueo a la minera Cuscatlán (NSS Oaxaca, 4 de mayo de 2012)
Amagan inconformes con tomar mina en Oaxaca (Milenio, 4 de mayo de 2012)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: Actions, denunciations, and mobilizations in the case of San José del Progreso (3 April 2012)
Oaxaca: Murder of the spokesperson of the Coordination of the United Peoples of the Ocotlán Valley (25 March 2012)
Oaxaca: Two opponents of mining in San José del Progreso are fired on (8 February 2012)

Mexico: “Mined land, the defense of the rights of communities and of the environment” (14 December 2011)

Oaxaca: Coordination of United People of the Ocotlán Valley close entrance to silver mine in San José del Progreso (14 March 2011)

Oaxaca: Civil Mission of Observation “Water is Life; Let us Defend its Existence” (8 September 2010)