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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.

REMEMBER: Everyone is welcome at Zipolite.

ivan

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Breaking down the top ten sessions of the 2012 Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards

Breaking down the top ten sessions of the 2012 Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards
Surfline.com Surf News
May 29th-June 1st, 2011; Punta de Lobos, Chile/ Puerto Escondido, Mexico Californian surfers have seen this scenario many times: massive Southern Hemi blasts South and Central America before filtering northward; only the outer portion of the swell ...
See all stories on this topic »



SURF WIRE
March 21, 2012

Breaking down the top ten sessions of the 2012 Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards

What's the biggest wave you've ever surfed?

We know, it's a tough question. A bit of a Catch 22, really -- if the number is too low you're a kook, if it's too high you're a liar. But honestly, how big have you gone? Head-high? Double-overhead? 20-foot? And if it's the latter, do you mean 20 feet on the face, or from the back. Mortal scale or Hawaiian scale? Did you paddle into that beast, or were you towed in? And what kind of "big wave" was it exactly: reef pass, pointbreak, outer reef or beachbreak? What kind of swell interval and direction were you dealing with? And where exactly did you ride it? Because let's face it: dropping into 20-foot Tres Palmas is a little bit different than falling 20-feet out of the sky at one of those spooky-cold Emerald Isle slabs.
On the surface, the question seems simple enough, until you start unearthing all those mitigating/ aggravating factors that compartmentalize the most adrenalized waveriding experience of your life. And that's just one wave, for one surfer.

So you can only imagine how difficult it must be for the brain trust (surfers, photographers, editors, and writers) determining the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. They have to take all that data and more into account, tediously reviewing photographic and video evidence of hundreds of rides from nearly every heavy-water badass on the planet and associated come-ups. Then they have to subjectively determine a handful of "winners."

As the XXL event period draws to close, here's a sampling of how Mother Earth distributed her atmospheric goods for this year's entrants:

1. May 17th, 2011; Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania:

"Biggest Shipstern's ever." That's how the local blokes put it. "As big as it gets really... The biggest forecast I've ever seen." Okay, so you're saying it's big? With the event period igniting on March 21st, the first giant swell of the season took its time in reaching the world's most terrifying staircase this side of an Aztec temple, Shipstern Bluff. But once it did, it came packing 33-feet-at-16-second juice or something ridiculous like that. By the time the sun set on May 17th, the boys had logged several rides worthy of early entry into the Monster Tube and Verizon Wipeouts categories; while Marti Paradisis, Rudi Schwartz and Tyler Hollmer-Cross would also earn Ride of the Year consideration. Not a bad run considering Tazzy's first mates were calling this day "barely rideable."

But then again, isn't Shipstern always just "barely rideable"?
Video Highlights: http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/primetime/biggest-shipsterns-ever-part-2_56109


2. May 29th-June 1st, 2011; Punta de Lobos, Chile/ Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Californian surfers have seen this scenario many times: massive Southern Hemi blasts South and Central America before filtering northward; only the outer portion of the swell train finding a suitable Golden State stopping station. And let's face it: those places are usually packed. But a swell like this was, as Jamie Sterling put it, "rarer than seared Ahi Poke. I haven't seen a 12 to 20-foot swell with 20-second-plus period with that much south since the early 2000s." While more presbyopic vets like Greg Long actually chased this thing from the Quiksilver Ceremonial Punta de Lobos Invitational to Puerto Escondido -- others sat tight at their favorite junction and waited for their train... or their train wreck. Four Ride of the Year entrants blew whistles from Punta de Lobos while Long stroked into a Monster Tube contender at Puerto. "This was the biggest swell I've seen in over five years," said Skindog Collins about the Mex sesh. "And the biggest I've seen paddled."

Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/west-coast-south-swell-photo-coverage_56377/



3. July 12th, 2011; Cloudbreak, Fiji

In between the days of pricey novelty and Dream Tour fixation happened one of the top-five biggest and best days of surfing Tavarua Island has ever seen. The Fijian government's decree to liberalize access to all surfbreaks was barely one year old when this "Fiji Megaswell" dropped 12-foot-plus Cloudbreak bombs on a mostly Hawaiian cadre (plus the odd Aussie, Californian and reigning World Champ playing hooky from J-Bay). And it was so... effin'... perfect. Ryan Hipwood, Kohl Christensen and Mark Healey became instant Ride of the Year contenders while Dave Wassel suffered a two-wave hold-down and Garrett McNamara got his accessories kicked in the worst GoPro-mounted SUP thrashing in history. July 12th would've easily gone as the most bizarre swell event the South Pacific has seen in many years -- if not for what happened next.
Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/templates/article.cfm?id=57570
Video Highlights:
Part One: http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/primetime/tavarua-dreaming-part-one_57636
Part two: http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/primetime/tavarua-dreaming-part-two_57840


4. August 27th, 2011; Teahupo'o, Tahiti

This is what happened next: End of the Road. Teahupo'o. Chopes. Tahiti. The infamous "Code Red" swell that conspired with the Billabong Pro Teahupo'o to scare the living shit out of four-fifths of the ASP World Tour (particularly the directors), was so massive, so powerful, so profoundly terrifying, it effectively blew surf journalist supreme Nick Carroll's mind right out the stratosphere, inspiring its own book/ DVD project -- Teahupo'o: Ten Days That Changed Surfing -- to complement the miles of print and online press this historic swell event earned from every surf media outlet on Earth. Carroll admitted having trouble putting the intensity of the August 27th experience into words in his Surfline report, so we won't even try. Suffice to say, 35 of the total 93 Ride of the Year entries came from this single swell on this single day.

Full Story:
http://www.surfline.com/templates/article.cfm?id=58716
Video Highlights:
http://www.surfline.com/video/contests/2011-billabong-pro-tahiti-recap_58768


5. September 27th, 2011; Sunset, South Africa

It was a slow season for the deepwater breaks off Africa's Cape Peninsula before a long-period WSW swell arrived via intense low-pressure that packed 50-knot winds and 40-foot seas. With high pressure prevailing during a slim, two-hour window, clean 17-feet-at-16-second conditions challenged those who'd been waiting for Kommetjie's big-wave beacon, Sunset Reef, to turn on. The day made for some worthy XXL entries, while also serving as the coming-out party for 15-year-old Max Armstrong, who threw himself over the ledge alongside Josh Redman, Twiggy Baker and others who negotiated the crowded but supportive lineup. Before the wind came up and turned this into a tow-only situation, the Sunset session did allow for South Africa's fourth Rebel Session -- a freesurf-based big-wave contest where judges analyze video footage and photos to award prizes based on the most epic rides. Sound familiar?

Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/big-swell-in-south-africa_60702/

6. October 16th, 2011; West Oz Bombie/ The Right, Australia

"Heavier than I've surfed it before," marveled Mark Mathews, who joined fellow Aussienauts like Richie Vass, Laurie Towner, Ryan Hipwood, Phil Read and bodyboarder Brad Hughes for a date with The Right. "Three two-wave hold-downs in a surf, that's pretty nuts." A few nauseatingly filthy XXL entries resulted, the video below telling the tale of this swell better than anything else. Except for maybe the local boat driver, Blue Bowden, who leaves us haunted with a chilling question: "How many times can you cheat death and get away with it?"
Video highlights:
http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/primetime/righteous_62297




7. October 30th-November 1st, 2011; La Vaca, Spain/ Santa Marina Island, Spain/ Priaia do Norte, Portugal
One or two mainstream key jockeys prematurely claimed Garrett McNamara having ridden the elusive 100-foot wave here in Portugal. The jury's still out on that one, but one thing's for certain: GMac's commitment to exploring the Nazaré Canyon, a rare geomorphology phenomenon located in front of Praia do Norte, resulted in a descent that easily catapulted him into XXL contention status, including a Ride of the Year entry. While other Spanish summits from this swell were included in several categories, the novelty of what this Hawaiian madman did here in Portugal stands alone. "They are probably the biggest waves in the world with this kind of bottom (beachbreak)," said GMac when first considering this region a viable big-wave option. A year later, he proved that theory correct.
Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/gmac-goes-xxl_62342/


8. January 3rd-6th, 2012; Outer Reef, Oahu/ Peahi, Maui/ Maverick's, California/ Todos Santos, Mexico
Jamie Mitchell at Todos Santos, Koa Rothman at an Oahu outer reef, Mark Healey and Ben Andrews at Maverick's, and a whole legion of psychos at Peahi... That's how many XXL contenders you get when a large-scale, well-forecast NPAC swell marches across the Pacific and lights up every big-wave spot in its fetch: Todos, Mavs, Jaws... Even Waimea broke (sort of). While an all-paddle session took precedence over four-stroke stoke while the wind was down in Maui, giant unruly surfed washed through most Oahu breaks, a 50-foot rogue even ringing an outer reef's bell. By the time Mex and NorCal were getting in on the action, they were already preparing for another massive swell.
Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/npac-goes-xxl-take-two_64595/

9. January 30th-February 8th, 2012; Maverick's, California/ Central Coast, California/ Outer Reef, Oahu/ Peahi, Maui

"There were some 45-foot faces out there," said Skindog about a day at Maverick's. "I haven't seen a swell like this in a while." Between Mavs, Jaws, Oahu outer reefs and one anonymous Central Coast slab, this behemoth swell resulted in 12 Ride of the Year entrants. Once Pipe started washing through to delay the Volcom Pipe Pro, attention shifted to Waimea (where a dude's leg was broken and Sunny Garcia nearly drowned), and the outer reefs (where Alex Gray got five stitches and a giant purple blob on his leg), and then Jaws (which claimed a jet-ski and a bunch of surfboards), and so on. But no matter what the XXL panel determines, the real winner in this swell might've been Monster Tube contender and Central Cal slab fiend Chad Jackson. "Chad was one of two surfers, all day. Nobody else surfed!" exclaimed photographer Mike Jones. "This was the biggest and cleanest day I've ever shot out here in the past 10 years."
Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/hawaii-swell-photos_66541/

10. March 8th, 2012; Mullaghmore Head, Ireland

With the XXL event period's end date less than two weeks away (dusk of Vernal Equinox), the Emerald Isle was blessed with an active sea state producing a great run of late-winter surf before a massive storm granted extra-large treachery at the Lord of the Rings-ish sounding slab known as "Mullaghmore." With strong high-pressure centered over the Azores, a large pressure gradient over the North Atlantic set up a strong, broad fetch directed towards Ireland and Scotland. Waves in excess of 50-feet within the system were confirmed by satellite data (while ice-cream headaches and soiled shorts were confirmed by many more), allowing a hearty blend of Irish lads to shake up the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards like the frothy head of a stout at last call.
Full story:
http://www.surfline.com/templates/article.cfm?id=67891

$50,000 BILLABONG XXL RIDE OF THE YEAR AWARD (locations)

4/11/11: Teahupo'o, Tahiti/ Cloudbreak, Fiji
5/17/11: Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania
5/19/11: Puerto Escondido, Mexico
5/29/11: Punta de Lobos, Chile
6/24/11: El Buey, Chile
7/2/11: Teahupo'o, Tahiti
7/12/11: Cloudbreak, Fiji
8/10/11: Punta Docas, Chile
8/27/11: Teahupo'o, Tahiti
9/15/11: Albatross, Victoria
11/1/11: Praia do Norte, Portugal
12/12/11: Mullaghmore Head, Ireland
1/4/12: Outer Reef, Oahu/ Peahi, Maui
1/5/12: Maverick's, California
1/6/12: Todos Santos, Mexico
1/20/12: Peahi, Maui
1/30/12: Outer Reef, Oahu/ Peahi, Maui
2/8/12: Maverick's, California
3/8/12: Mullaghmore Head, Ireland

BILLABONG XXL BIGGEST WAVE AWARD (locations)

6/8/11: Punta Ure, Chile
8/10/11: Punta Docas, Chile
8/27/11: Teahupo'o, Tahiti
9/1/11: Puerto Escondido, Mexico
10/17/11: Praia do Norte
10/30/11-11/1/11: Praia do Norte, Portugal
12/15/11: Agiti, Basque Country
12/17/11: Nelscott Reef, Oregon
3/8/12: Mullaghmore Head, Ireland

*numerous dateless*

MONSTER ENERGY PADDLE IN AWARD (locations)

4/22/11: Punta de Lobos, Chile
5/29/11: Punta de Lobos, Chile
5/31/11-6/1/11: Puerto Escondido, Mexico
9/21/11: Nelscott Reef
9/27/11: Sunset, South Africa
10/16/11: West Oz Bombie, Australia
10/30/11: La Vaca, Spain/ Santa Marina Island, Spain
12/8/11: Phantoms, Oahu
1/3/12: Maverick's, California/Punta Galea, Basque Country
1/4/12: Peahi, Maui
1/5/12: Maverick's, California
1/6/12: Todos Santos, Mexico/ Maverick's, California
2/8/12: Maverick's, California
2/16/12: Peahi, Maui

*numerous dateless*

MONSTER ENERGY MONSTER TUBE AWARD (locations)

5/17/11: Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania
5/19/11: Puerto Escondido, Mexico
7/12/11: Cloudbreak, Fiji
7/21/11: Cloudbreak, Fiji
8/27/11: Teahupo'o, Tahiti
2/8/12: Central Coast, California

*numerous dateless*

VERIZON WIPEOUT AWARD (locations)

4/26/11: The Right, Australia
5/17/11: Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania
7/12/11: Puerto Escondido, Mexico/ Cloudbreak, Fiji
8/27/11: Teahupo'o, Tahiti
10/16/11: The Right, Australia
10/26/11: Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania
1/4/12: Peahi, Maui
1/31/12: Peahi, Maui
2/16/12: Pipeline, Oahu
3/8/12: Mullaghmore Head, Ireland 




RELAX Playlist

Friday, March 23, 2012

How to get to Puerto Angel Uploaded by ErinLeeMay1 on Mar 22, 2012

Uploaded by  on Mar 22, 2012

“New” Mexican Volcano Caused by the Oaxaca Earthquake? Not Likely. By Erik Klemetti Email Author March 23, 2012 | 11:11 am


“New” Mexican Volcano Caused by the Oaxaca Earthquake? Not Likely.

This week saw a very strong earthquake in an area of southern Mexico – a M7.4 event centered 25 km from Ometepec. It looks like it was a relatively shallow earthquake (~15 km) that was related to thrusting due to the subduction of the Cocos plate under Mexico. Although this earthquake was larger than we might expect in Mexico, it is in a zone of high earthquake hazard, so the earthquake itself was not surprising – remember, subduction zones and earthquakes go hand in hand. The effects of the earthquake on the area have been significant, with over 1000 building collapsed or damaged, but thankfully few lives were lost.
After the earthquake, there has been a flurry of news in Mexico about a supposed “new volcano” that appeared between Huajintepec and Huixtepec municipality of Ometepec. The details are scant, but the mayor of the district claims the new volcano to be “tiny” (but in other articles, he says the “volcano” has been there “for many years”). As usual, there is a lot of misleading coverage, like this story that shows a picture of an undersea vent at NW Rota 1 in the Marianas Islands (with no caption to say so). There is also a lot of speculation in the Mexican media that the “new volcano” might somehow have caused the earthquake or all the aftershocks being felt in the region.
Now, there are quite a few reasons why it is very unlikely that there is a “new volcano” formed by the Oaxaca earthquake or that the earthquake was somehow caused by this supposed volcano.
First, why this earthquake didn’t cause a “new volcano”: Although volcanoes in subduction zones are common, the location of volcanoes is not arbitrary. This is why we get ranges of volcanoes. The Cascade volcanoes in the U.S. all occur well inland from the actual point where the Juan de Fuca plate subducts under North America (the “trench). If we look at the active volcanoes of Mexico (below), the volcanic arc is almost 300 km from Ometepec, so the likelihood a new volcano would occur there has a very low probability (next to zero) – you have to go a long way from Ometepec to find active volcanoes. Some articles have been comparing this to the emergence of Parícutin in 1943 – a case of an actual “new volcano”, but Parícutin is smack in the middle of the active volcanic belt. To get magma to form, melting of the mantle has to occur and in subduction zones, to do that, you need water to come off the oceanic crust that is being pulled under the overriding plate. The water only comes off at a certain depth (which is related to temperature), so the location of the volcanic arc tends to be hundreds of kilometers from the trench (however, it varies from subduction zone to subduction zones based on the angle of the slab beneath the overriding plate).
The active volcanic arc in Mexico (red triangles). Ometepec, close to the epicenter of the recent M7.4 earthquake is marked - and over 275 km from any active volcano.
Second, why any “new volcano” can’t be the source of the seismicity in Oaxaca: Whenever geoscientists examine earthquakes, we look at how the earth moved along the fault. This produced the famed“beachball” diagrams of the focal mechanism of an earthquake. For earthquakes generated by magma rising under a volcano, we want dilation/extension as the crust moves out of the way to let the magma through. The Oaxaca earthquake had a reverse/thrust motion, meaning that the force was compressional, not dilation. This sort of motion is not consistent with magma movement and is very consistent with thrust faulting due to the subduction zone. The many aftershocks from the earthquake are highly common from any large earthquake, so a “new volcano” is just not necessary to explain the 80+ aftershocks felt so far.
So, all this “news” about a new volcano in Mexico is likely the product of media hysteria after a disaster. The only actual “observations” I’ve seen is claims of “hot water gushing/bubbling” after the Oaxaca earthquake, but hot springs are common along faultlines in many locations around the world. This doesn’t mean that magma near the surface is the source of heat, but hot water will follow faults to reach the surface. A new earthquake might open new pathways for this water. However, with such scant information, it is hard to say that even that is happening near Ometepec. What I can safely say is that a “new volcano” is not very likely at all, both in causing the earthquake or being produced by the earthquake.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

A whole lot of media outlets should be ashamed of themselves for pulling that story about Barack Obama's daughter Published: Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 8:40 PM Updated: Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 12:54 PM


A whole lot of media outlets should be ashamed of themselves for pulling that story about Barack Obama's daughter

Published: Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 8:40 PM     Updated: Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 12:54 PM


Barack Obama with daughter Malia
If Barack Obama wants to send his daughter to Oaxaca, that's fine with me.
Just don't let her take the $12 DC-3 flight over the mountains to Puerto Escondido.
I did that back in 1983 when I was taking a rather long hiatus from my career as an inkstained wretch.
I had nice flight over to Oaxaca from Puerto Escondido, where I was staying to enjoy the waves at the so-called  Mexican Pipeline.
And I had a nice stay in the city, which is old and gracious - unlike Mexico City which is a lot newer and somewhat grace-free.
The flight back was an adventure, though.
 My fears were first aroused when I saw a truck pull up to the 50-year-old airplane on the runway. A guy got out with a big can of oil and just started pouring it wholesale into one engine.
By the time we got up into the air, everything was socked in. The entire flight is over a rugged mountain range, so if that engine gave out I knew we were in for a fun landing.
The cockpit door would swing open and I could see the pilot struggling with the wheel. An old Mexican lady in the first row had her rosary beads out and was praying up a storm.
I wondered how the pilot would ever find the small airstrip along the coast. I remember taking solace in the thought that if this plane hadn't crashed in half a century, odds were it wasn't going to crash that day.
I was right. We landed without incident and before long I was back at the beach with a cold beer in my hand.
That's a long way of saying that there are lots of dangerous things to do in Mexico, but traveling around a pleasant city guarded by 25 Secret Service men is not among them.
So when the White House prevailed on the media to pull those stories about Malia's school trip, any self-respecting journalist would have told them to shove that request right up their collectiveculos.
Instead, a lot of media outlets acquiesced, says Politico:
On Monday, the AFP reported that Obama's daughter was on a school trip along with a number of friends and 25 Secret Service agents. The story was picked up by Yahoo, the Huffington Post, and the International Business Times, as well as UK publications like the Daily Mail and the Telegraph and other overseas publications like The Australian.
But on Monday night, the story had been removed from those sites.
These guys should be ashamed of themselves. That was a legit story, and I'll tell you why:
Barack Obama leads a political party that has as its core tenet a belief that the great majority of African-American kids should be trapped in lousy public schools with no hope of escape unless their parents hit the lottery.
And then our first black president ships his precious daughters off to a private school where the kids are so rich they can spend spring break touring the ruins in Mexico?
 I toured Monte Alban, the old Aztec city up in the hills above Oaxaca. It gave me quite a sense of history, as it would for all those other, poorer black kids who don't get to go on trips like Obama's daughters.
If I had my druthers, those other kids would have the option of going to private schools. If you gave  the typical black family in D.C. an amount equal to public-school tuition, I'm sure the parents could find a Catholic school that would teach the kids with enough money left over for the kids to make educational trips on spring break.
I'm for giving those kids that choice.
Obama isn't.
As another president said, if you can't take the heat, get out of la cocina.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Rick Santorum once again proved himself a pendejo by objecting to the trip on the grounds that there is a travel advisory out for Mexico. As this article notes, there is no advisory out for the lovely little state of Oaxaca. It is just plain stupid to assume that because there is violence in one part of Mexico the entire country should be off limits.  I've been all over Mexico and Central America, and I never once went to a place quite as dangerous as some of our cities right here in Jersey.
Should Kansas be off-limits because Camden is dicey? Only a moron would believe that. Santorum is that moron.

How to get to Puerto Angel

Viewpoint at Puerto Angel - Pool & BBQ Area


Viewpoint at Puerto Angel - Pool & BBQ Area - YouTube
45 sec
Viewpoint at Puerto Angel sits atop a 40-metre rock peninsula in the quaint little fishing village ...
youtube.com






playa cipolite oaxaca mexico - YouTube


playa cipolite oaxaca mexico - YouTube
1 min
LYOBAN Y LA PLAYA DEL AMOR ZIPOLITE OAXACAby reytiburon111511 views · Just like ...
youtube.com






zipolite__baikal


zipolite__baikal

 
zipolite__baikal
Holding panorama of Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia on the beach at Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico with nudist strolling in background….

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Jade drunk on the rope at 2nd Mazunte Encuentro de Circo - YouTube Jade drunk on the rope at 2nd Mazunte Encuentro de Circo.





Jade drunk on the rope at 2nd Mazunte Encuentro de Circo - YouTube
Jade drunk on the rope at 2nd Mazunte Encuentro de Circo. shantam1. Subscribe Subscribed ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gZwvLimPVE





Segundo Encuentro Internacional de Circo en Mazunte - Danza ...
Danza aerea el día 2 de marzo 2012 en el segundo encuentro internacional de circo en ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia2ZPQh1V3U


Mazunte from Hey Turtle - Stop Running! by Gary

Mazunte | Gary
Mazunte by Gary, released 09 March 2012. ... Immediate download of Mazunte in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could ...
gary.bandcamp.com/track/mazunte








RpmSurfer 18th Hole @ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido / "Just a Dream" ... Newest photo →; RpmSurfer 18th Hole @ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido / " Just ...

RpmSurfer 18th Hole @ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido / "Just a ...
RpmSurfer 18th Hole @ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido / "Just a Dream" ... Newest photo →; RpmSurfer 18th Hole @ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido / " Just ...
www.flickr.com/photos/thetunes/6998670527/




photo

RpmSurfer 18th Hole @ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido / "Just a Dream"




Mariscos puerto Escondido


Mariscos puerto Escondido - YouTube
LOS MISMOS ..en el puerto escondido.. sin ganas de volver a amarby ...LOS MISMOS SE ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho77gmLWDcA


Mariscos puerto Escondido

LMFAO - Shots ft. Lil Jon

FlightAware > GA Flying from Georgetown, TX to Huatulco

FlightAware > GA Flying from Georgetown, TX to Huatulco
Found this while searching Huatulco, Mexico ! Wife and I were their in Jan on our 'First Ever Beach Vacation' ! Looks like actually 'flying their yourself'..is a bit ...
flightaware.com/squawks/view/1/.../This_is_quite_interesting
 






Flight to Huatulco

February 2008
by Tom Penick
Email:   tom@tomzap.com
Disclaimer:
The information presented here is of an anecdotal nature and is not intended to be used as a substitute for flight planning information from official sources.
Aerial Photos:
Huatulco
Pluma Hidalgo
Oaxaca
Orizaba
Puerto Angel
Santa Elena
Tampico
Zipolite
Main Index
Huatulco, Oaxaca
Huatulco International Airport
Map of Huatulco
Photographing the Playas
Flight to Big Bend Ranch
Flight to Manzanillo
Flight to Oaxaca
Flight to Puerto Escondido
Aero Vega Flight
Gear-up Landing at P.E.
Telephone Numbers
Transportation
Great Circle Mapper
Huatulco Aviation Weather
Oaxaca Aviation Weather
Tampico Aviation Weather
Puerto Escondido Aviation Weather
Colima Weather
Jalisco Weather
Oaxaca Weather
Visitors' Comments
About • Home • Search

Flight to Huatulco | Georgetown to Matamoros >


Our Piper Arrow
Although I have been a pilot for many years, I have never flown into Mexico until now. In these pages I will share my experiences with fellow pilots and armchair aviators. I have taken hundreds of aerial photos that I am continuing to add.

Preparation


    It is February 2008 and I have been planning the flight for several months. There are a number of things to be done and the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) seems to be the best source of information. You have to be a member to access this information on their web site.Aircraft Radio License:   Our 1975 Piper Arrow seems to meet all the requirements for flight into Mexico except for one, the radio station license. Since a radio station license is no longer required for domestic flight, we had let ours lapse years ago. So I filled out a form and sent $105 to the FCC. The only requirement seems to be that the check doesn't bounce, so they sent me a license.
    Pilot's Radio License:   International flight also requires that the pilot hold a radio license. Since I got my pilot's license long ago when those were required, I already have one. Since I am a part-owner of the airplane, which technically belongs to a private corporation, I need to have written, notarized permission to take the airplane into Mexico. A letter from the corporation president takes care of that.
    Liability Insurance:   I must have Mexican liability insurance for the aircraft, similar to the requirement for automobiles. Our insurance agent does not provide this insurance and refers me to MacAfee and Edwards. He says he has never heard of a claim being filed against this Mexican insurance, that instead they go for the U.S. policy because they want to be paid in dollars instead of pesos. He says to think of this insurance requirement as a tax on flying in Mexico. My tax for one week is $67.10.
    Aeronautical Charts:   AOPA directs me to Sporty's Pilot Shop for aeronautical charts. They have no sectional charts (for visual flight rules) of Mexico. They only have a set of Carribean low altitude enroute charts (for intrument flight). The only chart in the set that applies is the Enroute Low Altitude Caribbean and South America L-1/L-2. That chart can be purchased online from NACO for a fraction of the cost of the full set. Strike one for AOPA.
    After my flight, I discovered sources for sectional charts. There are two types, ONC and TPC, both are updated only every 10 years so the airport information needs to be supplemented by more current information. These are available online at www.omnimap.com, listed under topographic maps. I purchased 2 ONC charts from Caribbean Sky Tours and 2 TPC charts from Omnimap.
    ONC Charts: The ONC charts (Operational Navigation Chart) are huge 1:1,000,000 scale, measuring about 58" x 42", and would seem more at home on a wall than in the cockpit of a small aircraft. Here is a 200 dpi scanned image (2.6MB) from ONC J-25 showing the area encompassing the Huatulco and Oaxaca airports. The ONC map gives magnetic declination, topology, airports, rivers, towns, and highways. It gives runway elevation, but not length. ONC J-25 covers eastern Mexico up to a point between Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido except for a portion of southern Chiapas. The map I purchased was edition 9, revised January 1997, so it should be about time for the next 10-year revised edition.
    ONC J-24 takes over to the west, extending to include the southern tip of Baja California and includes Tampico to the north. The one I purchased from Caribbean Sky Tours was edition 6 dated 1985. There should be 2 10-year revisions since then.
    TPC Charts: The TPC charts (Tactical Pilotage Chart) are more detailed at 1:500,000 scale. Each TPC chart covers 1/4 of an ONC chart so the charts share some of the same boundaries. The TPC charts are also quite large, about 57" x 42". I ordered 2 charts, J-24C and J-25D, from Omnimap and received them in about 2 weeks. J-24C includes Puerto Escondido, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Mexico City, and Jalapa. J-25D includes Huatulco area (but not the airport or the resort), Salina CruzOaxaca, Veracruz, and Villahermosa. Both maps were compiled with information dated 1987, while I purchased them in 2008. That means that the Huatulco airport was not shown since it had not been built; also the Pochutla airport is shown even though it was closed many years ago.
    So apparently the alleged 10-year revision cycle is not as much of a problem as the delivery period.
    The charts state that they may be ordered from NOAA. The NOAA web site says nothing about that but notes that they are produced by The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. A search of that web site determines that TPC means "Total Pay Compensation" to them. Oh well.
    Approach Plates: I missed having instrument approach plates on my flight into Mexico because it forced me to fly VFR only. I found no readily available source for them. With limited weather information and with airport few and far between, it would be nice to have the ability to land IFR if the visibility was less than hoped for. I did find an address for information in the material I got from AOPA and I will now write to them to see what I can find. Dirección de Navigación Aereo, Blvd. Puerto Aereo 485, Zona Federal Del Aeropuerto Internacional, 15620 Mexico D.F., Mexico. I wrote and received no reply. AOPA used to be the goto place for information on flying in Mexico but what I found was inadequate and out of date.
    Following my return, a reader informed me that you can get a Mexico Trip Kit IFR package by Jeppesen that includes approach plates. This is a one-time trip kit that has all the terminal charts, approaches, departures, Low Enroutes and High Enroutes for Mexico. It covers all airports in Mexico. The set is on a 2-week update schedule so it is only fully current for 2 weeks. It may no longer be purchased online from Jeppesen but can be purchased from mypilotstore.com for about $100. I'm ordering a set for trip number two.

The Enroute Low Altitude chart lacks surface details

Crossing the Border into Mexico

    I plan to fly from central Texas directly to Matamoros, Mexico, which is across the border from Brownsville, Texas. The requirement is that either I be on an IFR flight plan or else a "defense" VFR flight plan. When I arrive, I will go through customs and immigration and get a tourist visa.

Flying in Mexico


Route of Flight

My Route of Flight

    After clearing customs at Matamoros, I plan to fly to Veracruz. That flight will take 2 hours and 40 minutes. Visual navigation for that portion will be easy since it follows the coastline.The next leg of the flight will cross the Sierra Madre del Sur. Flying over mountains is almost always better in the morning. To insure that the flight is a pleasant tour of the beautiful landscape rather than a white-knuckle never-again experience, we will overnight in Veracruz. The Veracruz to Huatulco flight is only an hour and 25 minutes.
    I have the route marked on three maps below. The first is the Enroute Low Altitude chart which has the routes for IFR (instrument flight rules) flight along established airways. Since maps for visual flight in Mexico are not available to me, I have created my own for the Veracruz to Huatulco leg of the flight. These maps are created with information from maps.google.com by stitching together screenshots (made easier by a 3200x1200-pixel dual monitor setup) and applying a translucent centerline in Paint Shop Pro. The second map below shows the highways and towns along the route and the third map shows the satellite view.

Next is Georgetown to Matamoros

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