Translate

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

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Oaxaca




Oaxaca, Mexico


Oaxaca

Region:Central America
Country:Mexico
City:Oaxaca

Description

The heart of Chiapas, where Zapatistas movement is still alive, and where the Day of the Dead is celebrated more intensely than anywhere else in Mexico (and very different from Helloween).

People who love this place also recommend

Submitted by: Maxwell

Tags:


Oaxaca Flowers - MEXICO Oaxaca - Oaxaca


In Puerto Escondido Posted by: Bill Pearlman Published on January 16th, 2012 @ 08:32:00 am


Promoting greater reverence for life, truth, and beauty.

In Puerto Escondido

Posted by: Bill Pearlman
Published on January 16th, 2012 @ 08:32:00 am , using 88 words
Category: Commentary 
On holiday in Puerto Escondido, incredible beauty of the sea, the flawless ceaseless dimension of it, the power of the surf, the vast expanses of it give a lift one needs after too much inland time. The sea is an entirety that does not collapse except in those shoreward motions we call the waves. Puerto Escondido has one of the great beaches in Mexico. Fish is good, conversation with old friends is good, and the sun and sand mix with a power and a pleasure that is reassuring.

No feedback yet


Photos & Videos: International

Sunset, Puerto Escondido

Posted by: Vivian Medina // January 13, 2012
// Shot: January 12, 2012
182 Views

Monday, January 16, 2012

Back in T.O... Going to miss Playa Zipolite


Malwina_W_L_B 1 day 12 hours ago Twitter
Back in T.O... Going to miss Playa Zipolite <3 yfrog.com/nw6itxnj





Zipolite


Zipolite

Discussion
Ask a question about 'Zipolite'
Start a new discussion about 'Zipolite'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum
 
Encyclopedia
Playa Zipolite is a beach community located in San Pedro Pochutla municipality on the southern coast of Oaxaca state in Mexico. It is located between Huatulco and Puerto Escondido and is part of the “Riviera Oaxaqueña” area. Zipolite is best known as being one of Mexico’s very few nude beaches and for retaining much of the hippie culture that made it notable in the 1960s and 1970s. The name Zipolite, sometimes spelled Sipolite or Cipolite probably comes from the Nahuatl wordsipolitlan or zipotli, meaning "bumpy place" or "place of continuous bumps or hills". However, some claim the name means “beach of the dead” in either Nahuatl or Zapotec because of dangerous underwater currents just offshore. The beach is currently popular with foreign tourists, especially backpackers, who stay in one of the many rustic cabins or camping spaces that line the beach.

History


Archeological finds at the east end of the beach shows that the area has a long history, but for the first half of the 20th century only one family lived here. In the 1960s and 1970s, counterculture hippies began to congregate here in part due to the beach’s isolated nature. At the time, there was little law enforcement, and drug use became common. In the 70s and 80s the beach gained a reputation in Mexico and among foreign travelers as a free-love paradise.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Zipolite was hard hit by two hurricanes and a fire. The first hurricane was Hurricane Pauline on 7 October 1997, a category four storm which destroyed nearly everything in town with strong flooding, leaving it -along withMazunte and Puerto Ángel- cut off from the mainland, but there were no deaths. Next was Hurricane Rick on 9 November 1997. While not as strong as Pauline, the storm damaged roads and other infrastructure that was only partially rebuilt after Pauline. The last disaster to cause major damage was a fire that broke out on 21 February 2001, burning many of the wood and palm-thatched structures that were on the beach.

Since its beginnings in the 1960s, Zipolite has evolved from handful of beachfront cabanas and palm-thatched palapas to concrete, but still basic, hotels and other structures with a few more amenities. Behind the line of beachfront construction is now an area called Colonia Roca Blanca with a street known informally as the Adoquin which has become the town center. Recently, the municipality has added tourist information services and police patrols on the beach both day and night during the busy season.

The community



The community known as Zipolite consists of a stretch of beach with a street that parallels it. It has one named neighborhood, Roca Blanca, situated at the western end where most of the hotels and restaurants are located. Roca Blanca is a recent creation and is named for the island or large rock just off the shore, which is white due to bird guano. The main drag is the only paved street within the community, it is officially called the “Paisan” but locals call it the Adoquin. Further behind the beach and Adoquin is a larger road that connects Zipolite with other local communities such as San Agustinillo and Puerto Angel.

There are no building codes enforced here, so constructions vary as to materials and quality. There are no banking services here. The closest automated teller machines (ATMs) are in Puerto Angel and the closest bank branches are in Pochutla. There is no currency exchange either, but many places take U.S. dollars. Almost all the establishments that face the beach have palapa sheltered restaurants and bars in front and lodging in the back. These lodgings can vary from wood huts, to simple concrete structures and often include hammocks and places to pitch tents. Most baths are shared. There is no high-rise development here and almost none of the lodgings offer air conditioning or hot water.

Zipolite also has a variety of restaurants from the standard Mexican to international cuisine and vegetarian choices. Many of the local restaurants are owned by expatriate Italians and serves pasta dishes as well as pizza. One restaurant servescrepes because of its French expatriate owner. Nightlife in Zipolite is subdued. Many of the beachfront hotels have their own small bars. and there are a number of small nightclubs such as Zipolipas and La Puesta.
Zipolite still attracts those drawn to the hippie lifestyle. Today, music from artists such as The DoorsBob Marley,Santana and others from that time can still be heard. Attitudes about drug use, in particular marijuana, are also typically relaxed.
The police station is largely unmanned, but extra efforts for security are implemented during busy seasons such as Christmas and Easter week, supplementing the normal local auxiliary police with regular patrolmen from San Pedro Pochutla. Other efforts include checking for intoxicated drivers and boaters in Zipolite and other area beaches.

Zipolite can be reached by flying into Huatulco or Puerto Escondido and traveling on coastal highway 200. It can also be reached by road from Oaxaca City via Highway 175, which is a narrow, very winding road that takes six or seven hours to traverse. This highway ends at Puerto Angel and there are taxis that travel between this port and Zipolite.

Piña Palmera


Piña Palmera is a rehabilitation and educational center for disabled children and adults, from rural communities in Oaxaca state, the majority of which are indigenous people. It is a private charity which has existed since the 1980s, and the charity has enrolled over five thousand people in one or more of its programs. Most of its staff is volunteer. The endeavor is supported by a Swedish charity and it not affiliated with any political or religious group. Currently, about 350 people are in their programs.

The beach



Zipolite is a nearly pristine beach about forty meters wide and two km long, with medium grain gold colored sand. The water is clear with tones of blue and green. This was one of the beaches featured in the Mexican blockbuster movie “Y tu mamá también.” It stretches from a small isolate cove called Playa del Amor on the east side to the new age Shambala retreat on the west end which is partially sheltered by rocks. Behind this is, sea cliffs rise. The beach is lined by palm trees and rustic cabins, hotel rooms and hammocks with a few more sophisticated lodgings on the west end.
This beach is part of the Riviera Oaxaqueño, which includes the nearby beaches of Puerto Angel and San Agustinillo. This beach is favored by foreign tourists, most of whom are backpackers and by the Mexican middle class, especially during Holy Week vacation in Mexico. The beach’s appeal stems from being one of very few beaches in which nudity is tolerated, however it is mostly practiced on the sheltered far east Playa del Amor and the far west end.
Swimming is practiced here but caution is strongly advised. Waves are strong in the afternoon, which is good for surfing and undertow is always strong. The ocean just offshore has strong currents that flow in circular patterns, some of which push swimmers toward shore and some which can pull swimmers out to sea. These currents are strong but not very wide. Swimmers have regularly drowned, prompting the creation of a volunteer lifeguard team and a flag system to indicate where and when it is safest to swim. The lifeguard team was founded in 1995 and trained by local charity Piña Palmera and U.S. citizen Joaquin Venado. In 1996, drownings at this beach were cut in half. The lifeguard service currently has ten lifeguards, an ATV, a jet ski, radios and other equipment provided by the state government. From 2007 to 2009, there have been no drowning deaths at Zipolite, a record, but there have been 180 registered rescues.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Manfred Mann - Blinded by the Light




Uploaded by on Nov 4, 2008
Manfred Mann - Blinded by the Light
Midnight Special 1975

Lynyrd Skynyrd FreeBird [HQ] (LIVE) 1977




Uploaded by on Dec 23, 2010
- July 4'th 1977, Oakland, great quality.

"Free Bird" (also spelled "Freebird") is a song by the American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was first featured on the band's debut album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) in 1973, and has been included on subsequent albums released by the band.

Released as a single in November 1974, "Free Bird" became the band's second Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1975, where it peaked at No. 19. A live version of the song also reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977, peaking at No. 38. Free Bird also achieved the No. 3 spot on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.

It is used as a finale by Lynyrd Skynyrd during their live performances, and is their longest song, often going well over 14 minutes when played live.


The lyrical portion of the song was written early in the group's history. Roadie Billy Powell was discovered as a keyboardist for the band when he played the intro piece to "Free Bird" at a high school prom. Lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant noted his talent and invited him to join.

Allen Collins's then-girlfriend, Kathy, whom he later married, asked him, "If I leave here tomorrow would you still remember me?" Collins jotted the question down and it eventually became the opening line of "Free Bird".

Gary Rossington played a Gibson SG and used a glass Coricidin bottle for a slide on this song to emulate one of his heroes, Duane Allman. This was the only song he used a guitar other than a Les Paul on. He also stuck a nail like piece of metal under the strings near the nut to raise the action of the guitar when playing slide. The guitar's B string was tuned down to a G during this song. Rossington currently uses two G strings tuned to G instead of tuning down a B string.

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven Live (HD)




Uploaded by on Aug 7, 2009
The footage is from the concert film "The Song Remains the Same".
The concert took place in Madison Square Garden, New York City.
© Warner Brothers

Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall(Live)



Uploaded by on Jun 26, 2007
Live Performance by Pink Floyd


u2- live - with or without you




Uploaded by on Jan 8, 2007
u2 live in boston 2001

Sarah Darling - With Or Without You



Uploaded by on Jan 16, 2012
Sarah Darling and Lauren Strange sing U2's With Or Without You.


Infinity Surf Charters, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico