Budget,
Backpackers,
Surfers,
Beach Lovers,
Naturalist,
Hippie,
Sun and Sand worshipers,
Off the Beaten Path Paradise! Everyone is welcome at Zipolite!
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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.
Yalitza Aparicio not the only talent in the family: sister Edith a budding singer
Her new YouTube channel has been well received
Friday, March 8, 2019
Oaxaca actress Yalitzia Aparicio is not the only talent in her family. In fact, she owes her success on the silver screen to her sister: it was she who planned to attend the casting for Alfonso Cuarón’s award-winning film, Roma.
But Edith Aparicio couldn’t make it because she was pregnant at the time of the auditions. Instead, Edith encouraged Yalitza to attend in her stead, and the rest is history.
In an interview with the newspaper El Universal, Edith said her sister had never imagined becoming a movie star.
“Never, never! It’s actually funny for us because it’s been me who has expressed herself in that manner the most, what she liked the most . . . was reading, poetry, painting . . . she never said she wanted to be an actress.”
Edith Aparicio is the opposite: “I’ve sung and I’ve danced and I like it a lot. I’m getting a lot of work and I go wherever they invite me or pay me.”
Her audience has grown since January when she created a YouTube channel, where she has posted eight videos featuring traditional songs accompanied by a mariachi band or by a guitar that she often plays herself.
The videos have earned over 255,000 views, receiving positive comments from users who have encouraged her to continue to pursue her dream.
Puerto Escondido is a laid-back coastal community located in Oaxaca, Mexico. It is the home of one of the heaviest and most dangerous waves in the world.
The town's most famous surf spot is Playa Zicatela, a pounding and temperamental beach break capable of producing big, powerful, and bone-breaking tubular waves.
Surfers discovered Puerto Escondido and its beaches in the late 1950s, but it was the explosion of shortboard revolution in the 1970s that really opened the town to the surf world.
With its humid and tropical climate, Puerto Escondido has become one of the most important surf destinations in Mexico and Central America. For many, it's the ultimate proving ground.
Playa Zicatela is a force of Nature and has a long and infamous track record of regularly breaking surfboards into pieces. Make no mistake - it's a deadly wave that has already made victims.
Ron Cassidy (2007), Noel Robinson (2011) and Jay Adams (2014) lost their lives surfing Puerto Escondido, but hundreds barely survived its thundering waves.
Paddling out at Puerto Escondido's sand-bottomed peaks if often as scary as taking off on the waves and, during epic swells, you need to time the go-for-it moment right; otherwise you'll get caught inside and suffer the consequences.
The Gear You'll Need
If you're planning a visit to Puerto Escondido and surfing challenging waves is your top priority, you should ideally travel with, at least, three or four boards.
The reason why you should bring a quiver is that you could easily break one or two boards in the pounding shore break.
The best board to surf Puerto Escondido is the semi-gun. A long surfboard offers extra paddle power and will get you into the wave faster in order to pull into the barrel and get spit out it more quickly.
It is also recommended that you bring a first-aid kit, a helmet, and an inflatable life vest. They could very well save your life in case of a wipeout.
You will not need a full wetsuit. The average air and water temperature are stable throughout the year around 80°F (27°C).
Advanced Surfers Only
Puerto Escondido's Playa Zicatela is not a wave for beginner surfers, and even intermediate wave riders will struggle to get comfortable with the spot.
If you're new to surfing or simply want to have fun without putting your life at risk, try La Punta, Carrizalillo, and Playa Marinero.
When the surf hits the 10-foot plus range, surfers need to know how to read each wave before committing to their favorite roller. Note to self: don't take the first wave of the set.
And if you think the Mexican Pipeline is all about picture-perfect barrels, then you've been misled by finely edited videos and magazine covers. There are many thumping close-outs at Puerto Escondido that can be as spicy as a chili pepper.
The Wave
Zicatela starts working with southwest groundswells and westerly hurricane swells and quickly transforms into a fast left and right and barreling heaven.
When swell lines reach the shore they're welcomed by an offshore deep water trench that increases wave height like a magnifying glass.
Exiting a triple overhead barrel at Puerto Escondido is probably the ultimate surfer's goal, but it can be a rare feat even during historical, macking swells.
But if you're into roundhouse cutbacks and aerial moves, you can always get the most out of the ramps that form on the shoulder of a tubular green cylinder.
Despite being an experts-only wave, the infamous Mexican beach break can get crowded. If you're new in town, make sure to respect the locals and ask for advice whenever you need it.
The best time of the day to surf Playa Zicatela is early in the morning when the offshore winds are blowing, and there are fewer people in the water.
If you're not a fan of beach parties, late afternoon Corona beers, and nightlife, you may enjoy the regular glassy sessions that take place around sunset when the wind dies down.
Remember that Puerto Escondido is a collection of volatile, unpredictable and neurotic big wave spots that will change and get bigger at the blink of an eye.
Before paddling out, take a few minutes to observe how rip currents could work in your favor, and why some wave detonate like bomb and others don't.
Also, beware of leashless surfers and their boards. You don't want to get pummeled by a gun while duck diving a monstrous wave.
Today, Zicatela is one of the selected venues for the world's best big wave surfers and bodyboarders to test their skills. Brad Domke surfed the biggest ever skimboarding wave here.
The reputation of the Mexican Pipeline lives on. Why? Because it's rarely flat and it may offer you the wave of a lifetime.
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico | When and How To Surf It
Type of Break: Beach Break Swell Size: 2-10 feet Swell Direction: SW/W Wave Height: 4-25 feet Wind: Offshore NE/N Tide: All Tides Season: April-October Gear: Semi-Gun Boards, Boardshorts, Inflatable Life Vest, Helmet, First-Aid Kit Watch Out For: Close-outs, Muggers, Bandits, Pickpocket Gangs and Insects
Volcano ash alert in several parts of Mexico City after explosion at El Popo
It's Ash Wednesday although Easter is some time off yet
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
It’s Ash Wednesday but only in southern Mexico City after an explosion at the Popocatépetl volcano early this morning triggered an ash fall alert.
The explosion was recorded at 8:26am, expelling an ash plume that extended 1,200 meters above the volcano. Winds sent the ash to the west of the volcano, covering an area in southern and southeastern Mexico City that encompasses the boroughs of Magdalena Contreras, Tlalpan, Coyoacán, Xochimilco, Milpa Alta, Tláhuac and Iztapalapa.
Authorities advised residents of those areas to cover their mouths and noses with damp handkerchiefs, clean their eyes and throat with water and avoid using contact lenses, as these contribute to eye irritation in the presence of ash.
Drivers are advised to keep their windows closed and to moderate their speed, as the ash can reduce traction. The use of air conditioning is not advised, and drivers should listen to the radio for updates on air quality conditions.
Residents are urged sweep up the ash and deposit it in bags, avoiding the use of water. Mixing water and ash solidifies when it dries and can clog storm drains.
Marianne Clift immediately after the attack and a week later.
Canadian tourist, 68, fights off attacker in Nayarit robbery
'Warrior woman' cites taekwondo and resilience
Thursday, February 28, 2019
A 68-year-old woman’s taekwondo skills and resilience saved her life during a home invasion and robbery in a Nayarit beach town.
Canadian visitor Marianne Clift was alone in a vacation home that she and her husband had rented in Bucerias when she was awoken in the early hours of February 18 by a man choking her in her bed.
The retired elementary school teacher and church organist, who had studied taekwondo nearly 20 years prior, said she started “kicking like mad” and scratching and jabbing at the assailant’s face and eyes, but could not cry out because her attacker’s grip was so strong.
Then, Clift said she heard a woman’s voice and the man straddling her responding in Spanish, leading Clift to believe that there were two people in the house. When her attacker briefly loosened his grip, she yelled for help — and then she was knocked out by a punch in the face.
When Clift regained consciousness, her attackers were gone, along with her cellphone, money, passport, identification, bank cards, jewelry and keys to the vacation home. Clift later wondered if she had perhaps been left for dead.
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Staggering to the bathroom, Clift saw in the mirror that her eye and cheek were turning purple and blood was gushing from a cut on her cheek.
“I realized I had to get help.”
Unable to open the vacation complex’s front gate without her keys, Clift banged on another tenant’s door. She then walked to the home of a cousin who had a home nearby, where she called police.
Clift received six stitches at the hospital emergency room to close the knife wound on her cheek and was also treated for a second knife wound on her elbow and serious bruising on her chest and arm.
Investigators later told Clift that the attacker had climbed over the fence and used a screwdriver to break in through the locked front door of the home. She recalled that when the police saw the amount of blood in the house, the case was escalated to an attempted murder and robbery.
Clift said that news of her ordeal was especially hard on her family and her husband, who had flown back to their home in Sarnia, Canada, on a short business trip the night before the attack.
Clift found a safe place to stay while she filled out police reports and the Canadian embassy helped her secure a temporary passport and fly home.
Though her stitches came out on Monday and the black eye has faded, Clift’s neck and jaw remain severely bruised from the assault.
A frequent visitor to Mexico, Clift said that up until the attack she and her husband had felt safe in Bucerias, a town of about 17,000, and that their rented vacation home’s 12-foot fence and the proximity of a cousin’s house nearby contributed to their sense of security.
Clift said she does not expect the police to find her attackers.
Back home in Sarnia with her family, Clift said that recounting the story has often led her to laughter as well as tears.
“We’re a tough, resilient family,” the self-described “warrior woman” said.
Edith Aparicio is an artist in her own right.
An explosion this morning at El Popo.
Marianne Clift immediately after the attack and a week later.