A little about Playa Zipolite, The Beach of the Dead . . .

Playa Zipolite, Oaxaca, Southern Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. A little bit about my favorite little get-away on this small world of ours.

Zipolite, a sweaty 30-minute walk west from Puerto Angel, brings you to Playa Zipolite and another world. The feeling here is 1970's - Led Zep, Marley, and scruffy gringos.

A long, long time ago, Zipolite beach was usually visited by the Zapotecans...who made it a magical place. They came to visit Zipolite to meditate, or just to rest.

Recently, this beach has begun to receive day-trippers from Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido, giving it a more TOURISTY feel than before.

Most people come here for the novelty of the nude beach, yoga, turtles, seafood, surf, meditation, vegetarians, discos, party, to get burnt by the sun, or to see how long they can stretch their skinny budget.

I post WWW Oaxaca, Mexico, Zipolite and areas nearby information. Also general budget, backpacker, surfer, off the beaten path, Mexico and beyond, information.

REMEMBER: Everyone is welcome at Zipolite.

ivan

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Living it up on Day of the Dead Mass celebration of the underworld in Oaxaca has elements of Halloween, a funeral and Mardi Gras

Living it up on Day of the Dead

Mass celebration of the underworld in Oaxaca has elements of Halloween, a funeral and Mardi Gras

BY TARA LOWRY, THE PROVINCE OCTOBER 30, 2012

Whether they are made out of candy, clay, papier mache or wood, Mexican calaveras have just as much personality as their flesh-and-blood counterparts.

Like a burlesque combination of Halloween, a funeral and Mardi Gras, Day of the Dead in Mexico is an experience that should be on anybody’s ‘what to do before you die’ list (or after, for that matter).

The customs of Day of the Dead are a mix of both pagan and Catholic beliefs. The origins date back into the time of the Aztecs when a month-long celebration was held in honour of Mictecacihuatl, queen of the Netherworld. After the Spanish conquest and introduction of Catholicism, the dates and length of the festivities changed to coincide with the Catholic holidays of All Saint’s Day on Nov. 1 and All Soul’s Day on the 2nd.

In Oaxaca, the whispers of the dead start to be heard weeks before the actual holiday. Audacious skeletons and skulls of all shapes and sizes peek and gawk around every corner. Whether they are made out of candy, clay, papier maché or wood, Mexican ‘calaveras’ have just as much personality as their flesh-and-blood counterparts and are known worldwide for their gaudy humoristic style. The calaveras are made in a variety of scenarios to reflect the hobbies and passions of the defunct. Intricately made tiny smiling skeletons are fishing, taking photos, getting married, dancing and painting. There are doctors, mariachis, bakers and even some mermaids and prostitutes. The most famous of all is La Catrina (The Elegant Skull). Originally a 1910 etching print by Jose Guadalupe Posada, she has since become the most iconic image of Day of the Dead and has had songs, poems, paintings and sculptures dedicated to her.

In the last week of October, it is common to come across Diablos roaming the streets, cracking their whips and bullying the crowds, as part of a comparsa or procession. They usually come accompanied with beautifully dressed Catrinas, ghosts and giant papier maché dolls that dance down the cobbled streets and throw candy. Throngs of people follow the parade of demons until a mass group of revellers accumulate in the zocalo (main square), where shots of mescal (like Tequila) are handed out and brass bands play upbeat melodies.

In preparation for the visitors from the underworld, the markets overflow with flowers, food and decorations. Orange, yellow and deep crimson Marigolds (known in Mexico as the flowers of death) lay in huge bundles waiting to be taken to the cemeteries to adorn grave sites and altars. The smell of freshly made mole negro and chocolate mix with the salty tang of fried and chillied grasshoppers known as chapulines. Sugar skulls, tamarind candy and pineapple tamales will be offered to spirits with a sweet tooth. Tissue paper cut-outs or papel picado hang in colourful ghoulish scenes. They are used to decorate the city as a gesture to make the un-living feel welcome.

Tombs are turned into altars in the cemeteries or panteones. They are meticulously decorated with flower petals, a special bread (pan de muerto: bread of the dead), and all of the food, drink, possessions and vices that the loved one who has passed on enjoyed the most. It is believed that these things will coax the spirits into passing over and joining in on the festivities.

On the eve of Nov. 1, relatives and loved ones of the tiniest of spirits gather in the various cemeteries and homes of Oaxaca, awaiting the arrival of the angelitos. The souls of the children are believed to leave around the same time as they arrived the next day, cueing the appearance of the adult spirits. This is when the party really starts.

Twelve-piece bands with dented tubas and ancient accordions belt out riotous tunes. Mourners and celebrators dance around gravestones and drink hot chocolate laced heavily with mescal. In the dark cemetery, lit only by a sea of candles, the mix of emotion is overwhelming. Joy and grief mingle in the air, pulling the crowd back and forth like a wave. Many of the merrymakers are dressed in costumes so elaborate that it puts Halloween to shame. In the chaotic, mescal filled night of Dia de los Muertos, you may well wonder who is from the land of the living and who is from the Inframundo.

Despite its name, this holiday is much more about life than death. It is a time to celebrate the cycle of life and to invite the dearly departed in on the party. It is a beautifully boisterous and morbid celebration that reminds us that we all die and that life is to be lived to the fullest in the meantime.

There are several panteons to go to in Oaxaca. The most festive and attended ones are: Xoxocotlan and Santa Maria Atzompa on the 31st.

San Miguel (Panteón General) on Nov. 1 for both day and night.

There are also altar competitions and other events that go on in this main cemetery.

San Felipe del Agua: Nov. 2.

There are also parades and processions that seem to pop out of nowhere in the zocalo and around town. Also consider checking out some of the surrounding pueblos for their own Day of the Dead festivities.

Two for the Road: Puerto Escondido From Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido is just a short 30-minute small plane ride, but the two cities are very different. Not too long ago, PE was a small fishing village, ... opaopines.blogspot.com/2012/10/puerto-escondido.html

Two for the Road

A Retirement Journey--A Life Renewal

Two for the Road: Puerto Escondido
From Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido is just a short 30-minute small plane ride, but the two cities are very different. Not too long ago, PE was a small fishing village, ...
opaopines.blogspot.com/2012/10/puerto-escondido.html

Monday, October 29, 2012

Puerto Escondido

From Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido is just a short 30-minute small plane ride, but the two cities are very different. Not too long ago, PE was a small fishing village, and the Bahia Principal (Main Bay) still shelters more than 50 fishing boats. Sitting on the terrace of our favorite beachside restaurant (La Costa Hermosa), we continuously watched fishing boats come in laden with their catches.

View Bahia Principal from La Costa Hermosa with fishing boats.

Each time a boat comes in, it is met by restauranteurs and other locals who take the catch & load it in large plastic tubs. Some are loaded on waiting vans and whisked away, but others are simply carried a little ways inshore where they are cleaned, prepared for cooking and served on the spot.

Puerto Escondido is truly a tropical wonder--beautiful sunsets guaranteed.

La Costa Hermosa is a very simple little beachside open-air restaurant with plywood floors and a thatch covered roofed terrace. We stumbled upon it, almost by chance, our first night in town, and we spent almost every afternoon and some evenings there drinking delicious frozen margaritas and enjoying fresh seafood. Although their grilled giant shrimp were delicious, we have truly never tasted anything as wonderful as the fresh grilled red snapper.

Enjoying Margaritas & seafood at La Costa Hermosa

Our hotel was comfortable, if slightly careworn, and just out of town on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The best thing about it was a wonderful, crystal blue swimming pool that we had to ourselves much of our time there. It seemed really decadent to be able to take a refreshing swim the first thing upon getting up and the last thing before turning in.

Erin was able to join us for the weekend and she enjoyed the pool as much as we did. On her second day there, we met a young man who worked at the hotel and also at the Bahia Principal. He suggested we take a boat ride the next day and he and his boat captain friend took us for a leisurely ride along the coast. They always try to catch a sea turtle and drag it aboard, so turistas get to touch one of these ancient creatures--ours was an adolescent at about 35 years old, they surmised. We felt sorry for the little guy, but this is the custom, so we went along with the plan so as not to spoil our hosts' planned thrill for us.

The turtle obviously enjoyed the visit less than we did.

One of the nicest things to happen to us during our stay in Puerto was getting to know a young Australian couple, Kris and Shannon, who were on our plane flight from Oaxaca to PE. We got to talking about traveling as we waited for the flight to leave, for our luggage after we landed, and then as we shared a taxi into town. We regretted parting without making any firm plans about meeting except for laughingly saying see you on the beach.

Sure enough, on our first afternoon lolling on the Costa Hermosa terrace, we looked out on the shore and saw them walking by. We hailed them and beckoned them to join us on the terrace for what turned out to be a three-hour gabfest. They are now in their 10^th month of an epic year and a half world tour. Having been in Southeast Asia, Canada and the United States, they are now in Mexico and are headed later this year to South America.

We loved getting to know them, vicariously enjoying their travel sagas & sharing ours, although their stories certainly were more harrowing and adventuresome than ours. When Erin came the next day, it was fun to introduce them and they delighted in hearing her travel stories and comparing notes about Southeast Asia. (They have piqued our interest in SE Asia & especially Bali.) On our third evening in PE, we reluctantly said goodbye to them, exchanging emails and promising to keep in touch.

The next morning as the three of us were enjoying the pool, we were told that we had a phone call.  Going to the phone in the bar, thinking who in the world could this be and how did they know how to find us, Larry was surprised to hear Shannon on the other end of the line, especially as we thought that they had left town.

He was so excited and said that he had just asked Kris to marry him and she had said yes. They had decided to stay another day as they wanted to share the news with us, whom they had come to think of almost like family.  Naturally we were thrilled—and invited them over to celebrate. We felt very special to share their happiness. After a sunset drink at our pool, we all went to town to the "fancy hotel" where we met some of Erin's embassy friends who happened to be in PE (also lovely, bright, wonderful young people--more about them in our next blog) to continue celebrating the new couple. This will surely remain as one of the most memorable moments on our journey--thanks so much, Kris and Shannon !

Sue, Erin, Shannon & Kris...new friends.

Behind the Lens | SURFER Magazine By SURFER Todd Glaser recalls an epic season in Puerto Escondido. ... Location: “Puerto Escondido is one of the best, most consistent beachbreaks in the world during the summer months when the South Pacific storms send swells to Mainland Mexico. SURFER Magazine

Behind the Lens | SURFER Magazine
By SURFER
Todd Glaser recalls an epic season in Puerto Escondido. ... Location: “Puerto Escondido is one of the best, most consistent beachbreaks in the world during the summer months when the South Pacific storms send swells to Mainland Mexico.
SURFER Magazine

Jesse Merle-Jones, in the shot that made the cover of the 2012 Photo Annual. Photo: Glaser

The reason for putting out a Photo Annual every year is obvious. We have the best surf photographers on earth, and our office is flooded with more incredible images than we could ever cram into 12 issues. It’s a great problem to have. For the 2012 edition, our photogs went from the frigid waters of the Norway to the scorching heat of Mainland Mexico, and everywhere in between. In the first of a four-part series by our staff photographers, Todd Glaser breaks down the waves, people, and moments that made his summer in Puerto Escondido one to remember (He nabbed himself the cover down there as well). Read his words below, then pick up the 2012 Photo Annual for more stellar images.

Location:
“Puerto Escondido is one of the best, most consistent beachbreaks in the world during the summer months when the South Pacific storms send swells to Mainland Mexico. When these swells hit the underwater canyon that sits outside of the sandbars in Puerto, the swells refract off of seafloor, both increasing the size and improving the shape. Generally, the early mornings have a strong offshore breeze due to the drastic air-to-sea temperature differences. As the land heats up around 10 a.m., the wind tends to switch and stays strong until the next morning. These offshores are essential for the shape and cleanliness of the waves. I think that’s what attracts some of the best big-wave surfers in the world. In the summer when there aren’t a lot of places to find quality big waves, Puerto lets those guys stay sharp. It’s really a great training ground for Hawaii in the winter, and vice versa. I think this was one of the better seasons I’ve seen down in Puerto. There were three really big swells that came through one after another starting in July. Generally the season starts in May and goes all the way through September, but this year the best swells were just back-to-back.”

Conditions:
“Shooting in warm water definitely has its benefits, especially when the waves are big because it takes away the element of losing energy to stay warm, as you would in cold water. That definitely makes you feel more relaxed, but at the same time it can still be difficult. As a beachbreak, Puerto has a lot of water moving and a lot of currents, so it can be difficult to line up. It’s totally different from shooting a reef like Pipe where you know where it will break and where to sit. In Puerto, one minute you may be in still water and then an overhead set will break on your head and you’ll get rolled around and end up in a rip, getting dragged a quarter mile out to sea. Sometimes a rip current can be your best friend and get you out a bad situation, other times you can be a couple of feet from shore and the current will sweep you off your feet, and back out you go. The currents in Puerto are no joke.”

Crew:
“I spend a lot of time with the Long brothers—Greg and Rusty. Over the years they’ve made Puerto a second home for themselves, and they’ve spent months on end down there and have it pretty wired. From places to eat, where and when to paddle out, you name it, and they’ve thought about it over and over again. Derek Dunfee and I have been going down there for quite a few years together too. I am always impressed by how well the local guys surf down there. Oscar Moncada and Angelo Lozano—they always seem to be in the best spot for the best sets of the day. Some of the other local surfers like Coco Nogales are always getting amazing waves out there too, as well as the former lifeguards like Jose, Roger, and Cheko Ramirez. Those guys helped pave the way for surfers from Puerto Escondido, and they’re on it everyday it’s breaking.”

Moments:
“There are two images from the season that really stand out for me. One is a shot of Rusty Long that we got really early in the morning at Carmelitas Right on the North end of the beach. It was the second wave of the set, and I remember it because of the way the sun was coming up and filling the barrel. Rusty pulled into the tube and as he was coming out, the wave sucked out all of the water beneath him and he fell and hit his face on the bottom. That wave was special because the light in the barrel was so pretty, but it sucks that Rusty ended up with a black eye for it.”

“Another photo I was really happy with was one of Rusty’s brother Greg. It was the day that he caught the wave that would win the Wave of the Summer contest. Greg woke up really early—something like 4 a.m.—and he went down to the beach, and I was up early so I went with him. He ran out to the harbor in the dark by himself and jumped in the water in the twilight. I shot a photo of him at a slower shutter speed—about a quarter of a second—and I think it’s a kind of special moment because he’s paddling out in the dark by himself when the waves are so big that you need to paddle from the harbor just to make it out. I think that shot kind of speaks to Greg’s commitment. The early bird gets the worm.”

The barrel that cost him a black eye. Rusty Long, Puerto Escondido. Photo: Glaser

Greg Long, first up and first out in Puerto. Photo: Glaser

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Posada Navidad, Playa Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico

Meditation Loma

Superstorm Sandy seen from space

Viva Puerto! Current Issue #7 ... Zicatela

enlarge cover

Current Issue #7: Nov./Dec. 2012

Zicatela: A Beach, a Wave and a “Whale”
What’s so Special about Zicatela?
A Tale of Two Hotels: The Santa Fe and the Arcoiris
and more...

Cover photo: Julio Soto, photo by Lalo Romero

¡Viva Puerto¡ magazine issue on Mazunte Posted by Imago

¡Viva Puerto¡ magazine issue on Mazunte

Posted by Imago

Forum List Message List New Topic

Imago

¡Viva Puerto¡ magazine issue on Mazunte
October 28, 2012 07:32PM

IP/Host: ---.prod-infinitum.com.mx
Registered: 5 years ago
Posts: 1,808

Hi, I am the publisher of ¡Viva Puerto! [vivapuerto.com] and we plan to do a feature article on Mazunte. ¡Viva Puerto! is a bilingual magazine with a print run of 3,000 copies an issue plus over 30,000 visits to our website.I will be arriving in Mazunte on Saturday morning, Nov 3, with my assistant, and plan to stay until Wednesday. (I've been there before, but mostly on day trips.)

I would appreciate any tips for articles. Also I would like to meet with anyone (English or Spanish speaker) who would like write for the magazine, perhaps as a regular columnist. I pay the going rate for free lance work. I am also looking to hire a professional Spanish -English translator with experience in journalism.

Please contact me at Vivapuerto1@gmail.com

Thanks much,

Barbara Schaffer

Reply Quote

cepulihtoa

Re: ¡Viva Puerto¡ magazine issue on Mazunte
October 30, 2012 12:45PM

IP/Host: ---.phnx.qwest.net
Registered: 7 days ago
Posts: 2

Hola Barbara,
Buenas suerte on you new publication. I hope it becomes popular like the San Miguel de Allende bilingual newspaper called, "La Atencion" , and it prospers. I've put ads in La Atencion when I lived there as a massage therapist. I still vacation there and have friends who live there. I currently live in Buckeye, Arizona. I'm retired and one of a kind cremation, also the brother of Gloria Johnson Ramirez the owner of Posada Shambhala de Playa Zipolite. It is amazing how much La Costa Sur de Oaxaca has changed. I know you are looking for writers to contribute to your VivaPuerto publication and would like to recommend a good friend named Tina winterlik who is on her way with her daughter to Oaxaca city for the Day of the Dead celebration. She plans on returning to Zipolite on the 3rd. of November. She is an excellent resource for your publication and you should talk to her about it. Check out her Zipolite Blog Spot for more information http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.mx. As for VivaPuerto contributions I would be willing to contribute from the areas knowledge and past experience or give your reporters leads for future articles. For example did you know prisoners in the Pochutla prison have a craft cottage industry that my sister Gloria started for them amny years ago. She has their respect for helping them out to be productive and make a few pesos. I was insturmental in starting the Shambhala New Years Eve Karma Cleaning ceremony many years ago and it is still going strong! I've lived in Zipolite 40 years ago my dear and was last there after the Carlotta hurricane hit the coast. My writing is not perfect but it just needs a good editor, lol. So think about using my good friend Tina and me for contributions to your new publication. Tan cuidado, Daniel Roberto Ortega de Shambhala

Carlotta, NOT! Here's SANDY

Photos of Sandy at the beach: She's developing nicely

By Paul Mulshine/The Star Ledger
on October 29, 2012 at 3:49 PM

Just got back from a trip to my local surf spot. I don't think anyone will be surfing Bay Head anytime soon, certainly not me. I'm a little old for 15-foot waves - not that I was ever young enough.

I have to say these could be as big as any waves I've seen outside Hawaii, and I've seen a lot of places outside Hawaii. Of course in some of those places, such as Puerto Escondido, Mexico, the waves are actually clean and surfable. This is just a giant mess.

At the moment all of the sand has been stripped from the beaches and the rock sea wall is exposed. Waves are topping that wall already. and we've got hours to go till the storm peaks.

In that spirit, enjoy these photos. It's fun to watch such a natural phenomenon in action - though not so much fun to deal with it by trying to keep the house watertight.

I'll start with the highlight of the storm so far: The lobsters. The guys at Shore Lobster on Channel Drive in Point Pleasant Beach were having a pre-hurricane sale yesterday. I got four lobsters and three humongous crabcakes for just $22. Below is a picture of our dinner guests last night:

Every cloud has a silver lining; these guys were great; the crabcakes were even better.Paul Mulshine/The Star Ledger

Here are some storm pix:

These platforms seem to get consumed by the sea every year or so. This one's a goner. The ocean was topping the seawall there around noon, but just barely. Expect lots more later.Paul Mulshine/The Star Ledger