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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

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Complex and assertive, mezcal makes a splash in U.S. BY ANNE BROCKHOFF Special to The Star


SPIRITS & COCKTAILS

Complex and assertive, mezcal makes a splash in U.S.


Craig Adcock is the maker of Jude’s Rum Cakes. At a recent Slow Foods dinner, he paired his cakes with Del Maquey Crema, the perfect combination for sipping straight. Adcock displayed his rum cakes at the basement bar in his Overland Park home.
DAVID PULLIAM
Craig Adcock is the maker of Jude’s Rum Cakes. At a recent Slow Foods dinner, he paired his cakes with Del Maquey Crema, the perfect combination for sipping straight. Adcock displayed his rum cakes at the basement bar in his Overland Park home.

Manifesto owner Ryan Maybee made a trip to small villages in Oaxaca, Mexico, to see how the agave plant is roasted to make the smoky spirit mezcal.
La Prohibida is one of the mezcal-based cocktails served at Manifesto, 1924 Main St.
The Angeles family has been making mezcal the old-fashioned way for at least five generations at its distillery in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Mezcal is often still made in small Mexican villages, where the agave is harvested by hand and the liquor is produced in open-air distilleries.
Let’s get this out of the way: Good mezcal has nothing to do with worms or psychedelic trips.
Good mezcal is a unique and complex spirit. It’s smoky in a way that reminds me of Islay Scotch, with a vegetal sweetness that could come only from Mexico and an earthiness imparted from 400-year-old distilling methods.
“There’s not very much in the world, especially in the spirits world, that is original and made the old way,” says Ron Cooper, founder of Del Maguey Single Village mezcals and a mezcal missionary.
As Cooper tells it, he first tasted mezcal in the 1970s while road-tripping through Mexico. On return trips to Oaxaca, where most mezcal is made, he sought out palenqueros, or mezcal makers, and collected rare bottles. But the spirit he loved was hard to come by in the U.S., so he started Del Maguey in 1995 to import it.
“I brought it out to make sure it was available to me and my friends,” Cooper says. “It’s spread slowly by word of mouth.”
And Cooper’s sheer dint of will. He has spent untold hours introducing mezcal to enthusiasts, bartenders, distributors and retailers — efforts that have gradually turned mezcal into a craft cocktail darling.
Ryan Maybee, co-owner of Manifesto and the Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange, hosted Cooper during a bartender event in 2009. He then traveled to Oaxaca last year with Cooper and drinks expert Steve Olson to visit mezcal distilleries in what proved a transformative experience.
“Ron’s legacy is not just introducing a cool product here, but the impact he’s had on those villages,” Maybee says.
That’s because even as technology and corporate ownership have reshaped the global distilling industry, mezcal has remained a largely rustic family affair.
Agave, also called maguey, is still harvested by hand and hauled by burro to tin-roofed, open-air distilleries. The maguey hearts, or piñas, are piled into an earthen or stone-lined pit, or palenque; covered with rocks, earth, banana leaves, palm fiber mats or other plant material, depending on the distillery; and roasted for days or even weeks.
After roasting, the now sweet and smoky piñas are crushed with horse-powered stone mills called tahonas, fermented in wooden tanks and double-distilled in small, wood-fired clay or copper stills. (Check out Del Maguey’s website, mezcal.com, for photos of the process.)
There are no computers, hydrometers or automated bottling lines, just what the “Complete Encyclopedia of Wine, Beer and Spirits” (Calton Books, 2000) describes as “nothing more than local resources, intuition and soul.”
The process sounds romantic, but it is in truth grueling work that has until recently generated little cash, says Ansley Coale, a partner in Craft Distilling, which owns the Los Nahuales and Mezcalero brands.
“Anyone making good mezcal was doing it because he was gifted and really cared, not because of the money,” Coale says.
That may be changing as Americans find new appreciation for the spirit, especially in cocktails.
“The beauty of mezcal is that it’s not bashful about what it is,” says Beau Williams, Manifesto’s bar manager. “We try to play that up rather than cover it up.”
Williams matched Del Maguey’s Crema de Mezcal with lime juice and fig syrup in the La Prohibida to win second place in the 2009 Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition. The drink remains a staple on Manifesto’s menu. Upstairs at the Rieger, bar manager Jenn Tosatto combines Del Maguey’s Vida, Dimmi Liquore di Milano herbal liqueur, agave nectar, lime juice and hot water for a toddy-ish drink.
Mezcal is also a perfect fit for the Mexican street food-style cooking of Port Fonda, the stationary outpost of the Port Fonda El Comedor food truck that’s set to open in Westport this spring. The bar menu will include mezcal margaritas and Bloody Marias, as well as craft drinks that match the spirit with fresh juices and grilled fruits.
4 Olives Wine Bar in Manhattan, Kan., stirs Sombra mezcal (a micro-batch, single-village mezcal), Luxardo maraschino liqueur, Grand Marnier, muddled thyme and house-made Jerry Thomas bitters into a Manhattan-like cocktail.
Mezcal is not only for mixing, though. Even though most mezcals are released immediately as blancos, they are smooth and complex enough to sip neat. Del Maguey’s Single Village mezcals — so named because each comes from a single village in Oaxaca — range from the floral and fruity to the deeply spicy. Los Nahuales ages its reposado and añejo mezcals for nine to 12 months and 18 to 24 months, respectively, in French oak, making them a delicious alternative to whiskey.
The spirit’s versatility means it’s also surprisingly food-friendly — some even match with dessert. Craig Adcock of Jude’s Kansas City Rum Cake proved that point during a recent Slow Food Kansas City event, where he paired Del Maguey’s Crema de Mezcal with his buttery, pecan-studded rum cake.
“If you shoot it, you’re not going to get it,” Adcock says. “But if you sip it, you’ll be blown away.”

MEZCAL VS. TEQUILA

As the saying goes, all tequilas are mezcal, but not all mezcals are tequila. Here’s why: tequila can be made only with the Weber blue agave within a defined geographic area (most of which is in the state of Jalisco); the agave is usually cooked in steam ovens or autoclaves. Mezcal is made from many agave varieties throughout Mexico; the agave is roasted in wood-fired earthen or stone-lined pits.
The future of artisanal mezcal producers is in flux though, thanks to proposed regulations that would restrict the use of the word “agave” and dictate the specifications, proof methods and commercial information related to alcoholic beverages produced with agave.
For more information on the issue, go to the Tequila Interchange Project (tequilainterchangeproject.com/stop-nom-186.html). For more information on production, visit:
• Del Maguey Single Village mezcals, mezcal.com
• Los Nahuales and Mezcalerocraftdistillers.com
• Sombrasombraoaxaca.com

TASTING NOTES

Mezcal can be distilled from many varieties of agave, or maguey. Some, like espadin, are cultivated, while others, such as tobala and tepeztate, are wild and rare. As a result, artisan mezcals range from light and bright to bold and spicy — all with an overlay of smoke that’s inherent to the spirit. Most are unaged (also called blanco or joven) and at least 80 proof.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Chichicapa ($69) is smoky but delicate, with herbal notes and hints of candied fruit, green peppercorn and citrus.
• Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal ($41) is sweetened with unfermented, roasted agave nectar. The result is supple and clean, with vanilla, tropical fruit and a little smoke.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Santa Catarina Minas “Minero” ($69) tastes a bit of flowers and burnt honey, with a long finish.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Pechuga ($199) is made by combining Minero with wild mountain apples and plums, red plaintains, pineapples, almonds and uncooked white rice and distilled a third time. A specially prepared chicken breast is suspended above the still and acts like a filter during the process. The result: candied apple aromas and deeply complex fruity, smoky and supple flavors that give way to a long finish. This is the rarest of Del Maguey’s mezcals; only 25 to 30 cases are produced each year.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal San Luis del Rio ($69) is rich and textured, with spice, fruit and a hint of citrus.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Santo Domingo Albarradas ($69) is structured, its spicy brightness tempered by minerality and grilled pineapple notes.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Tobala ($120) is distilled from a wild maguey variety said to grow only in highest reaches of the Oaxacan Mountains. It’s smoky, with fruit and black pepper notes and a floral character that could come from the wild roses growing a few feet from the open-air still.
• Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Vida ($36) is smooth, light, a bit briny and excellent in cocktails.
• Los Nahuales Blanco ($52) is smoky, spicy and smooth.
• Los Nahuales Reposado ($65) is a weighty mezcal, rich with vanilla, oak, spice and agave sweetness — well worth sipping.
• Los Nahuales Anejo ($97) is a powerhouse along the lines of a single-malt Scotch whisky; its smoke and spice are tempered with oaky sweetness.
• Mezcalero ($80) is akin to a single-barrel whiskey — each release is unique. Release #3 is described as rich, brisk and clean; Release #4 as spicy, suave and complex.
• Sombra Agave De Oaxaca Mezcal ($40) is smoky yet bright, with a mineral-like character and grassy, tropical fruit notes and clean finish.

Old Oaxacan

I first tasted mezcal at Manifesto in the Crossroads Arts District, and the bar’s Old Oaxacan (which is now off the menu, but you can always request it) quickly became a favorite. Indeed, I find it hard to resist anything on the menu that’s made with mezcal. As Ansley Coale of Craft Distillers says, “Mezcal seems to bite people and not let go.”
Makes 1 drink
2 ounces Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, preferably the Chichicapa or Minero
1 bar spoon agave nectar
3 dashes Angostura orange bitters
Lemon zest
Stir all ingredients over ice until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over one large cube. Garnish with lemon zest.
Per drink: 206 calories (none from fat), trace protein, 19 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, no fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium.
Anne Brockhoff is an award-winning spirits columnist for The Star. She blogs at fooddrinklife.wordpress.com.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/13/3488254/the-rise-of-fine-mezcal.html#storylink=cpy

Pancho hand stand on pole 2nd Mazunte Encuentro de Circo

2nd Mazunte Encuentro de Circo Opening Operate

Teppanyaki at Spice, Huatulco, Mexico

Huatulco 2012 « Granny goes to Mexico


Huatulco 2012 « Granny goes to Mexico
Posted in Travel, Mexico, Huatulco, Oaxaca by cybercrone on March 24, 2012 ... Well, Seamus finally got to go with me to Huatulco, and we had some great fun.
oaxaca2009.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/huatulco-2012/


Huatulco 2012

Posted in Travel, Mexico, Huatulco, Oaxaca by cybercrone on March 24, 2012
Church interior 2
Church interior 2
Well, Seamus finally got to go with me to Huatulco, and we had some great fun.
The first day we didn’t do much, slept late then went into town for some lunch and to see the church there, which I never tire of.  Pictures appear to be posting wherever they like this year, so sorry, but I haven’t been able to change it yet.  Also, I didn’t take quite as many pictures this time as a lot of it you folks have seen before.
Blue has the best lemonade in town.
Blue has the best lemonade in town.
Church interior 1
Church interior 1
Church interior 3
Church interior 3
The second day we went for our ATV tour and Seamus got to drive his own ATV which was good fun for him, I think.  We went to a lot of places and through the bush to some beaches we never would have seen otherwise.  SEamus, of course, was busy investigating all the rocks for crabs and anything else he could find.  That night we went out for dinner and Seamus got a job.    I also finally, with my new camera, got some good pictures of the ouraca (I think that’s how it’s spelled).  I’ve been trying to get pics of him for years and never gotten a good one.
That was the night too, where I was kept awake all night by dogs barking and I thought one of the guests had smuggled in some pets and then left them lonely while they partied.  It turned out that two dogs, well-kept and knew their basic commands, had fallen down the cliff behing our room and were trapped with no food or water. Seamus figured out a great way to get some water to them – I’ll try and load the video here,, but if  I can’t it’ll be on cybercroneca’s YouTube channel.
The really funny thing was that I figured out that the dogs knew their hand signals for sit and so on, so when the animal rescue came to get them out I told the guy that the animals knew English, and said “Sit” and did the hand signal, and they sat.  It cuased quite a bit of excitement among the workers to see that the dogs understood English.  Seamus did the same thing to the second set of guys that came and got the same reaction.  It was a HOOT! A secluded beach with no road in.
Seamus's new job!
Here is the URL for the video: http://youtu.be/vCHReWmjLkE
I will be closing this now and doing some more days later, hoping that the glitches here will be fixed or else that I can insert the photos appropriately if I do all the text first.
The puffer fish on the ceiling at the beach cafe.
The puffer fish on the ceiling at the beach cafe.
Senor Ouraca
Senor Ouraca
Seamus investigating the wild and marine life.
Seamus investigating the wild and marine life.

Last Night In Puerto Escondido

Rant - GOOD-EPIC: PUERTO ESCONDIDO


-17
Puerto Escondido pumps out perfect barrels for the small crew of surfers on hand for one of the first good swells of the season.

Puerto Escondido-34

Puerto Escondido-34 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwaters23/7018482723/]Puerto Escondido-34[/ url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/bwaters23/]bwaters23[/url], on Flickr ...
www.flickr.com/photos/bwaters23/7018482723/





photo

Puerto Escondido-34




Monday, March 26, 2012

Huatulco to San Cristobal


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Huatulco to San Cristobal

Leaving Huatulco, we were offered a lift in our new friends awesome 1985 Winnebago, top of the line when it was made in 1985, all 50 some odd feet of it. We could get used to travelling like this. Maybe other RV'ers might consider it old compared to their modern, shiny rigs, but in reality it is quite perfect when travelling in an area where the average wage is less than $5 a day. Plus, Russ has no fear of taking this vehicle down roads and dirt tracks that other RVs have probably never been before in his search for uninhabited beaches. Well done Russ.

Similar to our travels, Debbie and Russ go without a plan and stop when they feel like stopping. Leaving on a Tuesday morning, Russ said we could either be at our stop by 1pm or the following day depending on if we found a deserted beach. Maybe not entirely deserted, but the beach where we spent 3 nights was used primarily by local fisherman in their pangas and the occasional car of locals that stopped to enjoy the waves and beauty. The 4 of us were in heaven and spent our days walking the white sandy beaches (mounds of rocks separated several different beaches all along this section of the Pacific), playing a homemade version of Backgammon, eating, drinking, sharing stories, reading and soaking up the scenery of sun and moon rises and massive size birds. Finding a palapa that was once home to a comedor before the Japanese tsunami washed it and its tables away (why did we not ever hear of this?), we had shade and great company. Our "home" was fantastic and we even purchased fresh fish from the pangas that was absolutely delicious. One of the fish, a Sierra was a great reminder of how easy it is to make ceviche.

Russ and Debbie dropped us off in a town where we opted for a bus to escape from the heat and intense winds. Riding along the coast was gorgeous, but the heat made it pretty much unbearable. People often ask us if we lose credit to catch a ride and our response is always, "we have no credit" and our philosophy in life is if you aren't happy with where you are, change something. Air conditioning and a movie in Spanish, we were given a ride through the stretch of 100k of intense winds, out of the heat and uphill. It was worth every penny.

A night stopover in Tuxtla, we were given a ride by an extremely friendly couple in the back of a chicken truck. Riding at night is not optimal, so after 45 minutes of this, we stopped to ask for directions and a young couple offered their vehicle. We lucked out again and found a reasonable place to stay before catching an hour ride up to San Cristobal. Although we had originally planned to climb the 2000 meters up to San Cristobal, the projected temperatures of 95 degrees deterred us. Well that and the fact that the bus only cost 76 pesos, about $6.50 for the both of us including our gear. Two fantastic weeks of conversing with people from around the world and luxury living along the coast, we were ready to get back on the bikes to enjoy the beauty in the mountains.

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