Bahía de San Agustinillo
Oaxaca
Oaxaca · San Agustinillo ... title="Bahía de San Agustinillo by Sergio Tohtli, on Flickr">www.flickr.com/photos/sergio_
Monday, June 4, 2012
Bahía de San Agustinillo Oaxaca
www.flickr.com/photos/sergio_
A visit to Huatulco, Mexico – part 1
A visit to Huatulco, Mexico – part 1
I recently spent a couple of days visiting the Cosmo Residences in Huatulco, Mexico – what a beautiful place. Quiet, serene with the most outstanding beach and ocean views and the town was beautifully clean and welcoming of the ex-pat community.
Getting there … I was travelling ‘off season’ so there was no direct flight (that is about to change in the next couple of months which is great news) I flew to Mexico City & then caught the Interjet flight to Huatulco.
When I was making my reservations through Carlson Wagonlit, my consultant Annette advised that I should allow around 2 hours between flights, I thought was a little odd especially as I was only going with carry-on luggage, etc. However – thank heavens I listened!
Mexico City airport, whilst easy to navigate it is HUGE! Everything went smoothly through the very efficient & friendly Mexican customs and immigration process (I didn’t have to wait for luggage so you would need to allow time for that). I then had to get from the International to the Domestic terminal which was quite a hike and then check in for the flight with Interjet. Being on the late afternoon flight was far less stressful – I knew that I had plenty of time to do everything without breaking my neck. I had time to relax and enjoy a late lunch before catching my next flight. So a word of caution when you plan your trip if you have to make a connection – don’t even think of ‘cutting it fine’!!
Interjet was a great airline – I had not travelled with them before – I was able to book on-line, friendly staff at check-in and onboard, spacious cabin & seats, generous luggage allowance, plenty of leg room plus complimentary beverages (including alcohol) and snacks. I would highly recommend using them if you aren’t able to get a direct flight into Huatulco.
The 1hr 10 minute flight had me arriving in Huatulco just before 6pm. Huatulco was a very efficient airport. It is undergoing expansion – new terminal being built and the runway has been lengthened to accommodate larger direct flights from Europe & Canada scheduled to begin later this year.
I was met by the concierge from Cosmo – Barbara. She drove me to the hotel that was to be my home for the next couple of days the Camino Real Zaashila on Tongalunda bay – the adjacent bay to Arrocito bay where Cosmo is situated.
The drive took approximately 30 minutes from the airport to my hotel. The drive will be shortened with the opening of the new 4 lane highway that is under construction and scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
Barbara droppe
d me off at the hotel shortly before 6.45 pm – letting me know that Shaun (the owner/developer) would be picking me up at 8 for dinner!
d me off at the hotel shortly before 6.45 pm – letting me know that Shaun (the owner/developer) would be picking me up at 8 for dinner!
My room at the hotel (Camino Real) was upgraded! The bell boy loaded me & my ca bag onto the golf cart and we went careening off into the sunset on a golf cart, winding around and down towards the beach. In a couple of minutes I found myself being escorted into my room and the drapes being pulled back to show me a fabulous beach front view complete with my own private splash pool! WOW – however, no time to enjoy the view or the pool – I needed to shower and get myself presentable for dinner!
Right on schedule, Shaun picked me up and we went to dinner at the Viena Restaurante & Bar, owned by a couple of ex-pats (Austrian I believe). It was wonderful to sit on the raised patio, enjoying the much needed breeze as we enjoyed an excellent meal – it wasn’t Mexican but wonderful none-the-less! Judging by the number of ex-pats at the restaurant it is obviously very popular with the ex-pat community. Throughout the evening members of the ex-pat community would come over and say hello – Shaun is obviously known in the community – everyone enjoys living in Huatulco; it was fun to listen to each of them tell their stories; some were retired, some in the process of establishing businesses, some with young families, some living part time others living there full time – all obviously enjoying the lifestyle that living in Huatulco affords as well as the year-round almost perfect temperature.
Huatulco enjoys 6 months with no rain; in May the humidity starts to build as it signals the approach of the rainy season – which lasts a couple of months. It is not a constant downpour – a good storm once a day for a couple of hours – good time for a siesta. Nobody seems to be bothered by the approaching rainy season – they look forward to the ‘greening’ of everything – most of the surrounding area was certainly showing signs of needing rain – except of course for the golf course (5 minutes from Cosmo) which was a lovely shade of green where ever you looked!
Stay tuned for more of my adventure in Huatulco…
Sue Sue ColemanBROKER I.R.E.S. CLRA
Venture Real Estate Corp. Brokerage
Member of FIABCI
Office: 1-905-850-9488
Direct: 1-800-209-3214
Direct fax: 1-866-632-1297
E-mail: sue@suecolemanrealtor.com
Website: www.liferichrealestate.com
Website: www.suecolemanrealtor.com
Skype: suecolemaninternational
Venture Real Estate Corp. Brokerage
Member of FIABCI
Office: 1-905-850-9488
Direct: 1-800-209-3214
Direct fax: 1-866-632-1297
E-mail: sue@suecolemanrealtor.com
Website: www.liferichrealestate.com
Website: www.suecolemanrealtor.com
Skype: suecolemaninternational
San Agustinillo: Traveler Reviews
“About to be discovered”
San Agustinillo
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Get the Gringo – Viva Veracruz & Viva Puerto Escondido
Musings from and about living in Mexico
Get the Gringo – Viva Veracruz & Viva Puerto Escondido
From here to Puerto Escondido (500 miles to the southwest) we have never been approached for mordiada. Although I have heard stories about the city of ...
www.vivaveracruz.com/blog/?p=
Surfline Announces Wave Of The Summer: Puerto Escondido
Surfline Announces Wave Of The Summer: Puerto Escondido
PRWeb – Sat, Jun 2, 2012
Nike expands Wave of the Winter for summer-long contest at Mexican Pipeline
Huntington Beach, CA (PRWEB) June 02, 2012
Surfline is pleased to announce the inaugural Wave of the Summer event, presented by Nike, taking place at Puerto Escondido’s Playa Zicatela in Oaxaca, Mexico. Riding off the Wave of the Winter’s successful first two years, Surfline and Nike are mirroring the same concept from June 1st – August 31st, 2012 at the Mexican Pipeline.Huntington Beach, CA (PRWEB) June 02, 2012
Wave of the Summer awards the single-best ride of the season at Puerto Escondido captured on video. And with no shortage of local chargers and tube-hungry international talent consistently gracing the Zicatela waters, we’re in for a memorable first season.
The Wave of the Summer judging panel includes longtime Puerto charger/visitor, Peter Mel, local surf legends, Roger Ramirez and Roberto Salinas, and iconic Zicatela photographer, Ruben Pina. The judges will rank their top ten entries and a single winner will be determined from their collective votes.
The winner will receive $15,000 and the videographer who captures the noteworthy ride will receive $5,000. Additionally, a special Overall Performance Award, presented by the State of Oaxaca Tourism, will recognize the season’s top standout with a check for $5,000.
Nike’s Peter Jasienski explains, "It's time to elevate this very special region of the world where so many ground-breaking performances occur year after year."
Entries will be posted on Surfline.com throughout the entire contest period and a winner will be announced in early September.
SURFLINE ANNOUNCES WAVE OF THE SUMMER: PUERTO ...
SURFLINE ANNOUNCES WAVE OF THE SUMMER: PUERTO ...
Surfline is pleased to announce a new event -- Wave of the Summer Presented by Nike -- at Puerto Escondido, the Mexican Pipeline.
www.surfline.com/.../surfline-
Surfline is pleased to announce a new event -- Wave of the Summer Presented by Nike -- at Puerto Escondido, the Mexican Pipeline.
www.surfline.com/.../surfline-
Mexico Without the Crowds, or Attitude June 2, 2012 1:03 pm
Mexico Without the Crowds, or Attitude
June 2, 2012 1:03 pm
Share with others:
EAGER young men waving us toward empty parking spaces by an eco-tourism kiosk, two excited toddlers in the back seat, and no way to turn back: tourism hell seemed to be upon us. After a long sigh, and a glance at the pristine Pacific in front of us, we gave in.
And then the Costa Chica, as this region of Oaxaca is known, surprised us. "It's 400 pesos for a private boat tour with a guide," one of the young men said. "But if no one else shows up, you can just pay the group price."
My wife and I looked around; we were completely alone. So we ended up with a chartered boat for the price of a crowded one -- paying the equivalent of about $10 for a 90-minute trip through mangroves teeming with mating birds, lazy crocodiles and neon-green iguanas. Our guide paddled the boat quietly while identifying the animals. Our children squawked with delight, and as we re-emerged to stunning views, my wife and I stared in awe.
This stretch of surf was one of those rare places -- extremely hard to find in Mexico and the Caribbean -- with natural beauty and tourists, but not a squeeze-the-tourist attitude. There was no charge for the beach chairs at the waterfront; no waitresses waving plastic menus to coax us inside. Instead, chefs in open-air kitchens offered to cook us affordable food not on the menu if it meant our kids would eat. Then toys, a cat or a playmate (same age as our children, occasionally nude) would often magically appear as we were seated.
The friendliness seemed unforced during our four-night stay at a rented house in San Agustinillo this spring. And it was a counterpoint to the monstrous waves and dangerous undertows that have kept the area from being overrun. Indeed, the Costa Chica was once hardly fit for tourists. For decades, the four small neighboring towns here -- Zipolite, San Agustinillo, Mazunte and Ventanilla -- were nearly empty except for fishermen hunting sea turtles or harvesting their eggs. Residents said the golden sand was often covered with turtle entrails, and with roads that were rocky at best, boats were the preferred form of transportation.
That all began to change in the 1980s, as the turtle population dwindled and the first mass of Italian tourists arrived. When the Mexican government banned turtle hunting in 1990, the coast here became a test case for how to shift from an industry that created environmental degradation to others that are eco-friendly. And now, with investment from government, nonprofits and green-minded businesses (like the Body Shop founder who helped establish a cosmetics co-op run by local women) the shift is nearly complete.
The fishermen here still occasionally pull in sharks despite pressure from the government and locals to end the practice; we saw (and smelled) carcasses from our table at La Termita during an otherwise enjoyable dinner of brick-oven pizza. But mostly, the area has found its sustainable groove. Much of the new construction is built to blend in with the surroundings, walkers outnumber drivers, and several business owners are now raving about plans for solar-powered streetlights.
"They're doing a good job," said Hugo Ascención López, 37, the owner of Arte Sano, an artisan shop in San Agustinillo. His story was a typical one. He came here for a brief visit from the city of Puebla 10 years ago, then quickly decided to move here. "In the city, there is no time for anything," he said, as his dog and 2-year-old son showed my own children around the store. "I wanted a different take on life, and this is something simpler."
Local residents who have been here longer are equally proud, showing off their cooking ingredients, or the parrots that seem to be the favored mascot. San Agustinillo has more charm than the other three towns on the coast, with its smaller beach, its preference for cafes and its handful of newer, upscale hotels like Punta Placer (Pleasure Point) and El Sueño (The Dream). From our perch in our two-bedroom house up a steep driveway -- with doors that did not lock and a terrace that lacked any sort of barrier -- we could see that the little village fell dark and quiet before midnight.
Mazunte, a 10-minute walk away, was busier. Live music blared until a loosely enforced closing time -- some said it was midnight, others guessed 2 a.m.
At sunrise, on the main road between the towns, women in baggy pants appeared with yoga mats in their arms. One of them, a young New Yorker, offered to whisk our children away for a class that would help them find their "Eye Center." (After I realized that my 3-year-old son would be more likely to scream than stretch, I turned them down.)
Breakfast seemed to extend into the afternoon at the restaurants on Mazunte's main drag, where young backpackers finished their eggs and hitched rides to Puerto Escondido or Huatulco, the two nearest cities -- each about an hour's drive away. The cosmetics shop was filled with day-trippers from those two cities as well, some Mexican, many from colder places like Canada. But the main attractions here are the beach and the area's totem of green conversion, the Mexican Turtle Center.
As for swimming, the waves simply require caution. We swam with our children in the small coves near a series of large rocks in San Agustinillo, starting shallow then slowly moving out a little deeper. It was a great way to show my son, who had been taking swimming lessons, why the ocean needs to be respected.
The visit to the turtle center was more worry-free. An aquarium and research center showing off five of the seven turtle species found on the Mexican coast, it opened in the early '90s near what used to be a turtle slaughterhouse. The goal now, of course, is to encourage conservation, and when we visited, fresh paint suggested its recent renovation and expansion. David Armando Rojas, a biologist at the center, told us that the welcome center and all the turtle displays would be upgraded by the end of the year.
What we found was simple but satisfying. Giant sea turtles, known as golfinas in Spanish and olive ridleys in English, raced around an aboveground pool just a few yards from crashing waves. Tourists mingled with a staff that interacted warmly with the crowd. At one point, a volunteer guided a blind man, his blind wife and their two children through the hatchery, placing 15-day old turtles the size of biscuits into their hands. The children, who looked to be about 8 and 6, giggled with delight.
"A lot of people in Mexico still see turtles as food," Mr. Armando said. "It's easier to convince the kids, to make them more conscientious, and then they will convince their parents not to eat them."
THERE was definitely no turtle on the menus we saw. We ate almost as well as anywhere else in Mexico, but for less money. The dorado steamed with cheese and Sacred Herb (no, not that herb) at Olas Altas in San Agustinillo was fresh, simple and heavenly. Lunch for all cost 315 pesos, or $23 at 13.70 pesos to the dollar; beers were less than 20 pesos each.
Italian cuisine a few doors down, the pizza at La Termita and the fantastic risotto with Gorgonzola and guava at Punta Placer, also made us want to come back for a longer stay, without the children. Both restaurants offered views of the water at sunset, while reminding us that wherever Italians show up (we found them in Zanzibar too) good food, wine and coffee usually follow.
The lodging options also made us long for a second trip. Pan de Miel, sitting on the cliffs between San Agustinillo and Mazunte, has rooms for about 1,500 pesos a night that allow travelers to take in amazing views without interruption from children. (They aren't allowed.) Rooms costing far less are at least as common at other hotels, many within earshot of the waves.
And the waves are important -- loud and large, they define this place. We arrived with a healthy respect for them, or maybe fear, having read about the young Mexican wife of Francisco Goldman, a well-known author, who died in 2007 from injuries she suffered during a bodysurfing accident in Mazunte.
But for us, the threat of the beach could not be separated from the area's appeal. The tubes of green surf rolling along the empty beach at Ventanilla and the undertow at San Agustinillo that pulled heavy rocks out to sea with ease were a perfect match for the cactus plants and palm trees, and even the fishermen hunting sharks. They all reflected a Mexico in (less sanitized) form, rough and raw, still dominated by nature and the struggle for identity.
This is not the Mexico of Cancún, or even fashion-friendly, high-end Tulum on the calm Caribbean. We swam mostly at low tide. We met people we saw again and again. In a country filled with resorts emphasizing tourist convenience and the hunt for tourist dollars (I'm looking at you Ixtapa, Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta), the Costa Chica is a mix of risk and reward well worth making.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
First Published June 2, 2012 1:01 pm
First Published June 2, 2012 1:01 pm
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/travel/mexico-without-the-crowds-or-attitude-638652/#ixzz1wpmrNHSN
Mexico Without the Crowds, or Attitude
Mexico Without the Crowds, or Attitude - BajaNomad Forums - "Peace ...
The friendliness seemed unforced during our four-night stay at a rented in San Agustinillo this spring. And it was a counterpoint to the monstrous waves and ...
forums.bajanomad.com/
Mexico Without the Crowds, or Attitude
From The New York Times
"EAGER young men waving us toward empty parking spaces by an eco-tourism kiosk, two excited toddlers in the back seat, and no way to turn back: tourism hell seemed to be upon us. After a long sigh, and a glance at the pristine Pacific in front of us, we gave in.
And then the Costa Chica, as this region of Oaxaca is known, surprised us. "It's 400 pesos for a private boat tour with a guide," one of the young men said. "But if no one else shows up, you can just pay the group price."
My wife and I looked around; we were completely alone. So we ended up with a chartered boat for the price of a crowded one - paying the equivalent of about $10 for a 90-minute trip through mangroves teeming with mating birds, lazy crocodiles and neon-green iguanas. Our guide paddled the boat quietly while identifying the animals. Our children squawked with delight, and as we re-emerged to stunning views, my wife and I stared in awe.
This stretch of surf was one of those rare places - extremely hard to find in Mexico and the Caribbean - with natural beauty and tourists, but not a squeeze-the-tourist attitude. There was no charge for the beach chairs at the waterfront; no waitresses waving plastic menus to coax us inside. Instead, chefs in open-air kitchens offered to cook us affordable food not on the menu if it meant our kids would eat. Then toys, a cat or a playmate (same age as our children, occasionally nude) would often magically appear as we were seated.
The friendliness seemed unforced during our four-night stay at a rented in San Agustinillo this spring. And it was a counterpoint to the monstrous waves and dangerous undertows that have kept the area from being overrun. Indeed, the Costa Chica was once hardly fit for tourists. For decades, the four small neighboring towns here - Zipolite, San Agustinillo, Mazunte and Ventanilla - were nearly empty except for fishermen hunting sea turtles or harvesting their eggs. Residents said the golden sand was often covered with turtle entrails, and with roads that were rocky at best, boats were the preferred form of transportation.
That all began to change in the 1980s, as the turtle population dwindled and the first mass of Italian tourists arrived. When the Mexican government banned turtle hunting in 1990, the coast here became a test case for how to shift from an industry that created environmental degradation to others that are eco-friendly. And now, with investment from government, nonprofits and green-minded businesses (like the Body Shop founder who helped establish a cosmetics co-op run by local women) the shift is nearly complete.
The fishermen here still occasionally pull in sharks despite pressure from the government and locals to end the practice; we saw (and smelled) carcasses from our table at La Termita during an otherwise enjoyable dinner of brick-oven pizza. But mostly, the area has found its sustainable groove. Much of the new construction is built to blend in with the surroundings, walkers outnumber drivers, and several business owners are now raving about plans for solar-powered streetlights.
"They're doing a good job," said Hugo Ascención López, 37, the owner of Arte Sano, an artisan shop in San Agustinillo. His story was a typical one. He came here for a brief visit from the city of Puebla 10 years ago, then quickly decided to move here. "In the city, there is no time for anything," he said, as his dog and 2-year-old son showed my own children around the store. "I wanted a different take on life, and this is something simpler."
Local residents who have been here longer are equally proud, showing off their cooking ingredients, or the parrots that seem to be the favored mascot. San Agustinillo has more charm than the other three towns on the coast, with its smaller beach, its preference for cafes and its handful of newer, upscale hotels like Punta Placer (Pleasure Point) and El Sueño (The Dream). From our perch in our two-bedroom house up a steep driveway - with doors that did not lock and a terrace that lacked any sort of barrier - we could see that the little village fell dark and quiet before midnight.
Mazunte, a 10-minute walk away, was busier. Live music blared until a loosely enforced closing time - some said it was midnight, others guessed 2 a.m.
At sunrise, on the main road between the towns, women in baggy pants appeared with yoga mats in their arms. One of them, a young New Yorker, offered to whisk our children away for a class that would help them find their "Eye Center." (After I realized that my 3-year-old son would be more likely to scream than stretch, I turned them down.)
Breakfast seemed to extend into the afternoon at the restaurants on Mazunte's main drag, where young backpackers finished their eggs and hitched rides to Puerto Escondido or Huatulco, the two nearest cities - each about an hour's drive away. The cosmetics shop was filled with day-trippers from those two cities as well, some Mexican, many from colder places like Canada. But the main attractions here are the beach and the area's totem of green conversion, the Mexican Turtle Center.
As for swimming, the waves simply require caution. We swam with our children in the small coves near a series of large rocks in San Agustinillo, starting shallow then slowly moving out a little deeper. It was a great way to show my son, who had been taking swimming lessons, why the ocean needs to be respected.
The visit to the turtle center was more worry-free. An aquarium and research center showing off five of the seven turtle species found on the Mexican coast, it opened in the early '90s near what used to be a turtle slaughterhouse. The goal now, of course, is to encourage conservation, and when we visited, fresh paint suggested its recent renovation and expansion. David Armando Rojas, a biologist at the center, told us that the welcome center and all the turtle displays would be upgraded by the end of the year.
What we found was simple but satisfying. Giant sea turtles, known as golfinas in Spanish and olive ridleys in English, raced around an aboveground pool just a few yards from crashing waves. Tourists mingled with a staff that interacted warmly with the crowd. At one point, a volunteer guided a blind man, his blind wife and their two children through the hatchery, placing 15-day old turtles the size of biscuits into their hands. The children, who looked to be about 8 and 6, giggled with delight.
"A lot of people in Mexico still see turtles as food," Mr. Armando said. "It's easier to convince the kids, to make them more conscientious, and then they will convince their parents not to eat them."
THERE was definitely no turtle on the menus we saw. We ate almost as well as anywhere else in Mexico, but for less money. The dorado steamed with cheese and Sacred Herb (no, not that herb) at Olas Altas in San Agustinillo was fresh, simple and heavenly. Lunch for all cost 315 pesos, or $23 at 13.70 pesos to the dollar; beers were less than 20 pesos each.
Italian cuisine a few doors down, the pizza at La Termita and the fantastic risotto with Gorgonzola and guava at Punta Placer, also made us want to come back for a longer stay, without the children. Both restaurants offered views of the water at sunset, while reminding us that wherever Italians show up (we found them in Zanzibar too) good food, wine and coffee usually follow.
The lodging options also made us long for a second trip. Pan de Miel, sitting on the cliffs between San Agustinillo and Mazunte, has rooms for about 1,500 pesos a night that allow travelers to take in amazing views without interruption from children. (They aren't allowed.) Rooms costing far less are at least as common at other hotels, many within earshot of the waves.
And the waves are important - loud and large, they define this place. We arrived with a healthy respect for them, or maybe fear, having read about the young Mexican wife of Francisco Goldman, a well-known author, who died in 2007 from injuries she suffered during a bodysurfing accident in Mazunte.
But for us, the threat of the beach could not be separated from the area's appeal. The tubes of green surf rolling along the empty beach at Ventanilla and the undertow at San Agustinillo that pulled heavy rocks out to sea with ease were a perfect match for the cactus plants and palm trees, and even the fishermen hunting sharks. They all reflected a Mexico in (less sanitized) form, rough and raw, still dominated by nature and the struggle for identity.
This is not the Mexico of Cancún, or even fashion friendly, high-end Tulum on the calm Caribbean. We swam mostly at low tide. We met people we saw again and again. In a country filled with resorts emphasizing tourist convenience and the hunt for tourist dollars (I'm looking at you Ixtapa, Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta), the Costa Chica is a mix of risk and reward well worth making."
The friendliness seemed unforced during our four-night stay at a rented in San Agustinillo this spring. And it was a counterpoint to the monstrous waves and ...
forums.bajanomad.com/
Mexico Without the Crowds, or Attitude
From The New York Times
"EAGER young men waving us toward empty parking spaces by an eco-tourism kiosk, two excited toddlers in the back seat, and no way to turn back: tourism hell seemed to be upon us. After a long sigh, and a glance at the pristine Pacific in front of us, we gave in.
And then the Costa Chica, as this region of Oaxaca is known, surprised us. "It's 400 pesos for a private boat tour with a guide," one of the young men said. "But if no one else shows up, you can just pay the group price."
My wife and I looked around; we were completely alone. So we ended up with a chartered boat for the price of a crowded one - paying the equivalent of about $10 for a 90-minute trip through mangroves teeming with mating birds, lazy crocodiles and neon-green iguanas. Our guide paddled the boat quietly while identifying the animals. Our children squawked with delight, and as we re-emerged to stunning views, my wife and I stared in awe.
This stretch of surf was one of those rare places - extremely hard to find in Mexico and the Caribbean - with natural beauty and tourists, but not a squeeze-the-tourist attitude. There was no charge for the beach chairs at the waterfront; no waitresses waving plastic menus to coax us inside. Instead, chefs in open-air kitchens offered to cook us affordable food not on the menu if it meant our kids would eat. Then toys, a cat or a playmate (same age as our children, occasionally nude) would often magically appear as we were seated.
The friendliness seemed unforced during our four-night stay at a rented in San Agustinillo this spring. And it was a counterpoint to the monstrous waves and dangerous undertows that have kept the area from being overrun. Indeed, the Costa Chica was once hardly fit for tourists. For decades, the four small neighboring towns here - Zipolite, San Agustinillo, Mazunte and Ventanilla - were nearly empty except for fishermen hunting sea turtles or harvesting their eggs. Residents said the golden sand was often covered with turtle entrails, and with roads that were rocky at best, boats were the preferred form of transportation.
That all began to change in the 1980s, as the turtle population dwindled and the first mass of Italian tourists arrived. When the Mexican government banned turtle hunting in 1990, the coast here became a test case for how to shift from an industry that created environmental degradation to others that are eco-friendly. And now, with investment from government, nonprofits and green-minded businesses (like the Body Shop founder who helped establish a cosmetics co-op run by local women) the shift is nearly complete.
The fishermen here still occasionally pull in sharks despite pressure from the government and locals to end the practice; we saw (and smelled) carcasses from our table at La Termita during an otherwise enjoyable dinner of brick-oven pizza. But mostly, the area has found its sustainable groove. Much of the new construction is built to blend in with the surroundings, walkers outnumber drivers, and several business owners are now raving about plans for solar-powered streetlights.
"They're doing a good job," said Hugo Ascención López, 37, the owner of Arte Sano, an artisan shop in San Agustinillo. His story was a typical one. He came here for a brief visit from the city of Puebla 10 years ago, then quickly decided to move here. "In the city, there is no time for anything," he said, as his dog and 2-year-old son showed my own children around the store. "I wanted a different take on life, and this is something simpler."
Local residents who have been here longer are equally proud, showing off their cooking ingredients, or the parrots that seem to be the favored mascot. San Agustinillo has more charm than the other three towns on the coast, with its smaller beach, its preference for cafes and its handful of newer, upscale hotels like Punta Placer (Pleasure Point) and El Sueño (The Dream). From our perch in our two-bedroom house up a steep driveway - with doors that did not lock and a terrace that lacked any sort of barrier - we could see that the little village fell dark and quiet before midnight.
Mazunte, a 10-minute walk away, was busier. Live music blared until a loosely enforced closing time - some said it was midnight, others guessed 2 a.m.
At sunrise, on the main road between the towns, women in baggy pants appeared with yoga mats in their arms. One of them, a young New Yorker, offered to whisk our children away for a class that would help them find their "Eye Center." (After I realized that my 3-year-old son would be more likely to scream than stretch, I turned them down.)
Breakfast seemed to extend into the afternoon at the restaurants on Mazunte's main drag, where young backpackers finished their eggs and hitched rides to Puerto Escondido or Huatulco, the two nearest cities - each about an hour's drive away. The cosmetics shop was filled with day-trippers from those two cities as well, some Mexican, many from colder places like Canada. But the main attractions here are the beach and the area's totem of green conversion, the Mexican Turtle Center.
As for swimming, the waves simply require caution. We swam with our children in the small coves near a series of large rocks in San Agustinillo, starting shallow then slowly moving out a little deeper. It was a great way to show my son, who had been taking swimming lessons, why the ocean needs to be respected.
The visit to the turtle center was more worry-free. An aquarium and research center showing off five of the seven turtle species found on the Mexican coast, it opened in the early '90s near what used to be a turtle slaughterhouse. The goal now, of course, is to encourage conservation, and when we visited, fresh paint suggested its recent renovation and expansion. David Armando Rojas, a biologist at the center, told us that the welcome center and all the turtle displays would be upgraded by the end of the year.
What we found was simple but satisfying. Giant sea turtles, known as golfinas in Spanish and olive ridleys in English, raced around an aboveground pool just a few yards from crashing waves. Tourists mingled with a staff that interacted warmly with the crowd. At one point, a volunteer guided a blind man, his blind wife and their two children through the hatchery, placing 15-day old turtles the size of biscuits into their hands. The children, who looked to be about 8 and 6, giggled with delight.
"A lot of people in Mexico still see turtles as food," Mr. Armando said. "It's easier to convince the kids, to make them more conscientious, and then they will convince their parents not to eat them."
THERE was definitely no turtle on the menus we saw. We ate almost as well as anywhere else in Mexico, but for less money. The dorado steamed with cheese and Sacred Herb (no, not that herb) at Olas Altas in San Agustinillo was fresh, simple and heavenly. Lunch for all cost 315 pesos, or $23 at 13.70 pesos to the dollar; beers were less than 20 pesos each.
Italian cuisine a few doors down, the pizza at La Termita and the fantastic risotto with Gorgonzola and guava at Punta Placer, also made us want to come back for a longer stay, without the children. Both restaurants offered views of the water at sunset, while reminding us that wherever Italians show up (we found them in Zanzibar too) good food, wine and coffee usually follow.
The lodging options also made us long for a second trip. Pan de Miel, sitting on the cliffs between San Agustinillo and Mazunte, has rooms for about 1,500 pesos a night that allow travelers to take in amazing views without interruption from children. (They aren't allowed.) Rooms costing far less are at least as common at other hotels, many within earshot of the waves.
And the waves are important - loud and large, they define this place. We arrived with a healthy respect for them, or maybe fear, having read about the young Mexican wife of Francisco Goldman, a well-known author, who died in 2007 from injuries she suffered during a bodysurfing accident in Mazunte.
But for us, the threat of the beach could not be separated from the area's appeal. The tubes of green surf rolling along the empty beach at Ventanilla and the undertow at San Agustinillo that pulled heavy rocks out to sea with ease were a perfect match for the cactus plants and palm trees, and even the fishermen hunting sharks. They all reflected a Mexico in (less sanitized) form, rough and raw, still dominated by nature and the struggle for identity.
This is not the Mexico of Cancún, or even fashion friendly, high-end Tulum on the calm Caribbean. We swam mostly at low tide. We met people we saw again and again. In a country filled with resorts emphasizing tourist convenience and the hunt for tourist dollars (I'm looking at you Ixtapa, Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta), the Costa Chica is a mix of risk and reward well worth making."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
“…for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealing with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
—Immanuel Kant
—Mark Twain
"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
“…for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealing with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
—Immanuel Kant
San Agustinillo Tourism - San Agustinillo Travel and holidays ...
San Agustinillo Tourism - San Agustinillo Travel and holidays ...
San Agustinillo Tourism: With 170 reviews of San Agustinillo, TripAdvisor is the source for San Agustinillo, Mexico Holidays and Travel information.
www.tripadvisor.com.sg/
San Agustinillo Tourism: With 170 reviews of San Agustinillo, TripAdvisor is the source for San Agustinillo, Mexico Holidays and Travel information.
www.tripadvisor.com.sg/
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