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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

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Getting To Huatulco


Getting To Huatulco

Whether you are flying, driving or coming into Huatulco on a 
cruise ship, there are some tricks and travel tips you should be aware of.
Plan your trip accordingly by taking a look at the resources we 
have put together for you below.

Discover Huatulco



Learning to swim Mexican way

Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc.


Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc.

Posted by PMcD 
Map of Puerto Escondido Centro

Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 12, 2012 12:34PM
Does anyone know the current conditions along the Zipolite/.Mazunte beach strip? Particularly the area of restaurant Alchemista and others in that area. I know they were hit very hard by Carlotta but don't know if they are open for business again or not. Would like to go over there on Sunday but not if everything is still closed up. Anyone been there recently?
Re: Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 12, 2012 02:02PM
I was at Zipolite about 10 days ago. Lots of the destruction from the storm has been cleaned up, but there are quite a few businesses that have been temporarily wiped out. I don't specifically know about the Alchemista, but I am sure the businesses that are left really need some customers. You should go, support a few of the surviving businesses and check it out for yourself.
Re: Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 12, 2012 02:22PM
June 24 at Zipolite
Re: Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 12, 2012 09:31PM
Would you mind snapping some photos at Hotel Playa Zipolite and then right accross the alley on the beach at La Choza? And if you're checking it all out, a shot of Jaggers Bar accross from Carey would also be welcome. That's all in the Roca Blanca section. I'd also love to know how the lifegaurds fared...
Re: Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 13, 2012 08:29AM
The Alchemista is open. They will appreciate your business and please tip generously. The government has helped businesses but families have received very little help. The man who usually waits on us lost his roof and they are still trying to get it replaced...not a good situation in the rainy season. San Agustinillo is pretty much back to normal although many restaurants close this time of the year. La Mora, La Termita, Punta Placer are all open and I think Mexico Lindo is opening for the July "temporada". Mazunte is still struggling to clean up and many of their beach restaurants were destroyed but some restaurants have reopened.
Re: Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 16, 2012 12:23PM
Sorry, didn't have my camera and I don't know what Zipolite looked like before Carlotta's visit. Keeping that in mind:
Hotel Zipolite looks to be fully operational and in good shape.
La Choza appears to be mostly operational, but still needs rebuilding of blown off/damaged palapa areas.
Alquemista appears to be completely normal - great food, wow!
A Nice Place on the Beach - also seems to be normal.
Brisas also appeared to be completely operational and fine.

Everything across the street - looks fine. Most of the shops were open Sunday afternoon.

Places that look to be hit hard or not open are: Lo Cosmica, Shambhala, and a few more in the Roca Blanca area - but I don't remember their names.

La Havana seems to have had about 1/3rd of their elevated cabanas blown down - and are now removed. But the others are still there and appear to be well used.
Re: Current conditions at Zipolite, Mazunte...etc. 
July 16, 2012 04:54PM
Thanks, Beachbay. I'll get the Hotel Playa Zipolite and Jaegger's Bar reviews up, then.

Asaltan y matan a dos en Pochutla

ROBSINTEK POCHUTLA

Scuba diving in Oaxaca, Bahías de Huatulco

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Gurubays Noise , Puerto Escondido,La Piedra de la Iguana

Puerto Escondido slow-motion


Puerto Escondido slow-motion from Noam Eshel on Vimeo.



Puerto Escondido July 5-9, 2012
Slow motion.... HD is a must!
Filmed with Canon 7D + Canon 100-400
Music: UNKLE - Price you Pay
Enjoy!
Noam
visit Surfool.com to view my surf photos & videos in one place. Thanks!


Puerto Escondido - Day 3 & Mexico City



Puerto Escondido - Day 3 & Mexico City

Puerto Escondido Travel Blog

 › entry 12 of 103 › view all entries

All better!  What a relief to be well again.  Jerry and I had decided to get up early to see the fisherman coming in from the ocean with their catch.  Jerry had gotten there the day before after they were already finished and wanted to see the whole thing.  So we took a nice walk to the other beach and sure enough, the boats were coming in.  I got a few short videos and some nice pictures of it.  The women were there to help clean the fish and there was a spot where they were mending nets.  Then the men partook of some well-deserved Coronas.  A very picturesque scene all in all.  We continued around to a path that meandered up and down and around the coast past the town and beachfront.  I also got some very nice photos from our walk, but as the sun rose higher and higher it got extremely warm and we had to stop in a couple places to catch our breath and wipe the sweat off our foreheads.

   But the views were superb and everything seemed so full of life and color in the strong sun. 


Unfortunately, we had a plane to catch and there was only time to hit the internet cafe, enjoy a lunch on the beach of hamburger and pizza and cerveza before taking one last stroll, catch the last of the surfers trying to ride the "angry waves" (3rd best surfing in the world overall, but #1 for the speed of the waves), and then pack up our things for a ride to the airport to get toMexico City.  We'd found a flight that seemed worth the $180 as opposed to a 13 hour bus ride.  On the way I made my first Spanish joke to the taxi driver.  I said that it wasn't "Puerto Escondido" anymore (Hidden Port), but rather "Puerto Descubierto" (Discovered Port).

   He laughed and I felt proud of my rapidly developing Spanish skills.


We landed in Mexico City or "Distrito Federal" to dark clouds and rain.  Jerry had been reading in the Let's Go Mexico book about the climate there and apparently we were coming in smack dab in the middle of the rainy season.  It is supposed to rain for a few hours every afternoon to early evening almost every day.  The immensity of the city at 20 million people can take your breath away, especially seen from the air.  It seems to stretch out to infinity in every direction, only hemmed in by the surrounding hills, but even there the sprawl spills and crawls up the slopes of the hills.  It's truly a site to behold, the immensity of humanity in that mega-city.   We shared a car ride with a Polish couple to the hostel in the center and as soon as we got there I discovered that a bus was leaving for Mexican wrestling.

   I had a minute to decide if I wanted to go and it didn't take more than a moment to realize that I couldn't miss out on an authentic "Lucha Libre" masked Mexican wrestling evening!  I apologized to Jerry for running out but he understood that it was a not-to-miss opportunity and anyway he was tired and said he'd hang out in the hostel bar.


Our driver was wearing a mask himself and our guide was a very excitable Mexican fellow.  We weren't allowed to bring cameras and I was envious of those that had camera phones.  I would have loved to have captured the atmosphere.  In the end, it was something like a WWF match I would imagine, although with the addition of masks and names such as "Rey Misterioso" and "Mistico" and "Il Tiburon".  There was the usual 16 man last-man standing rumble and a fight between some pretty tough ladies (not in masks).

   We had our own personal waiter bringing coronas and tortas (sandwiches).  Lots of laughs and fun and such an experience!  Included in the price of the trip was a stop off at the sister hostel of the one where I was staying for a free shot of Mezcal.  Well, I didn't know that a shot meant having it poured straight from the bottle into your mouth.  After 2 of those and some beers, in addition to the Coronas consumed at the match, it was enough for me.  Bed was calling...


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ZICATELLA PRO BACK ON

Zicatella Pro Back On

ZICATELLA PRO BACK ON

A noble effort to “Save Puerto” has been effective enough so far for organizers to commit to staging the event in late September.
IBA have confirmed that the campaign has secured enough base funding to stage a basic Men‚s GSS event.
The new dates are September 27th to October 6th.
IBA Tour manager Terry McKenna is ecstatic about the result and is looking forward to another epic event in Puerto Escondido.
“Last year was amazing” said McKenna
“At this point we have a bare-bones event confirmed but we need more support from the fraternity to include a webcast and some of the trimmings that we have come to expect from the existing GSS events”
Head of the IBA Gregg Taylor elaborates on the campaign.
“The primary purpose of the Salvemos Puerto campaign was to use the IBA event to provide a spark to the local economy in Puerto Escondido and this has been achieved, though further funding is required via the IBA Salvemos Puerto campaign to secure a global live webcast of the event to raise the awareness of ongoing challenges the Puerto Escondido community are facing and to bring the action to the screens of the global Bodyboarding community. Additional funding will also be used for the donation to the local lifeguards and Puerto Escondido community.” said Taylor.
Entry details for the event will be available soon.

Inside The Saving Puerto Escondido campaign


Inside The Saving Puerto Escondido campaign

IN: TRANSMISSION BY DOCLACH 0 COMMENTS TUE 3RD JUL '12
tags: salvermos puerto , saving puerto escondido , gregg taylor , iba , mexico , world tour , hurricane
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  • Mitch_rawlins___im_6812_iba_mexico_2011_collins_n
  • Mitch_rawlins___im_0223_iba_mexico_2011_collins_n
  • Jared_housten___im_0534_iba_mexico_2011_collins_n
  • Damian_king___im_7893_iba_mexico_2011_collins_n
  • Dallas_singer___im_6390_iba_mexico_2011_collins_n
Gregg Taylor, the Managing Director of the IBA world tour has offered to clarify details about the "Salvermos Puerto" fundraising campaign....
Doc: Hey Gregg, thanks for taking the time to clear some questions up. Surfing over the last couple of days , there have been several questions from bodyboarders about the fundraising so we'll run through a few. Firstly you're looking to raise $100k minimum to run an event to attract tourism to Zicatela. Firstly, say $100k is raised, is there more benefit in putting a that large directly into the community, or in running a bodyboarding event with all its associated costs to attract visitors?
Gregg: The perspective we have taken is that the 200+ IBA bodyboarders and staff that spend 2+ weeks in Puerto Escondido for the event will provide a far greater positive impact to the local community and economy. On top of that the media value that an IBA event brings with its 100,000s of viewers per event is a great platform to promote Puerto Escondido to drive future tourism spending and awareness of the help needed for the region.
Doc: The Tees are selling for $30. Does all of the $30 go to the fund, or does the material and printing costs of the tees come out of it first? That is, say a printed tee costs $8 all up including freight , postage to the customer etc. does $22 go to the Puerto fund or the full $30?
Gregg: The IBA would like to confirm all proceeds from the t shirt sales less the cost of the shirt and freight will be donated to the campaign. The IBA are in discussions with a number of global clothing companies regarding the donation of the t shirts, meaning the only cost will be that of the freight.
If there are any clothing companies who can help with the supply of the shirts the IBA would love to hear from them.
Doc: The government wasn't able to come up with the funding this year because of the hurricane damage, last year Mitch came through with sponsorship from Found boards at the proverbial eleventh hour so the event could run. What is the cost gap between government funding and what a bodyboarding industry sponsor (or a non-bodybording sponsor if they were interested) needs to chip in to run Zicatela?
Gregg: In 2011 the event was made possible by the Industry support of Turbo Surf Designs, AGIT, Found Boards, ID Boards. All these brands worked together to provide the funding and the event was a great success.
The cost gap in 2012 started out at $100,000. With the sales to date and a number of other initiatives we are launching we imagine this figure is down to $50,000. Like 2012, this can be shared across various companies.
The IBA welcomes all expressions of interest.
Doc: You're looking to use some of the funds to rebuild the eight lifeguard towers that were destroyed. If you only raise a portion of the envisaged amount, where will that money go - to build these towers, even if there isn't a comp?
Gregg: In the event that $100,000 is not raised, the IBA Zicatela Pro will be cancelled with the proceeds of Salvemos Puerto t shirts donated to the lifeguards of Puerto Escondido. The proceeds of the industry merchandise packs will be refunded to customers via paypal.
Doc: The IBA site states you're looking to raise the "First $100,000 prior to the 8th of July" which is only six days away at the time of writing. Don't you feel that's a bit of a tight timeline?
Gregg: Each month the IBA website has over 150,000 unique people globally view the IBA website and more than double this amount of people watch the LIVE webcast of each event, over 300,000 people.
For this campaign to be successful we need 1% of this total number of IBA events viewers to participate in the campaign by purchasing a t shirt or a merchandise pack. So yes we are looking for 3,000 Bodyboarders globally to contribute. When it is broken down like this, most agree it is a reasonable expectation.
In reality we can extend the period though we would need to see at least 50% of the required funds raised by the end of this week and good momentum. In practice the IBA require 1 month period to organise the event in Mexico, and this is the reason why a call needs to be made. The riders also need time to plan travel.
Doc: A lot of charity institutions are having to declare what costs come out of donations for things like engaging promotional companies, administration costs and so on. Again, how much from each to the promotional packs sold will go directly to the cause and is any going to any promotional companies or increased administration costs?
Gregg: The industry merchandise packs have been donated at zero cost to the campaign by Turbo Surf Designs, Reeflex Wetsuits, Inverted Bodyboarding and Freedom Fins. As such, all of the proceeds of these sales go to the Salvemos Puerto campaign.
There are no administration costs being charged in this campaign. The IBA are doing this at no cost for the benefit of the sport of bodyboarding.
Doc: Of the total cost of running a comp at Zicatela, what component of the total does a quality webcast cost? If the funds raised are borderline, would you consider running a comp without the webcast?
Gregg: The webcast costs of an IBA event are significant and yes that is an option that could be considered. Though in my view considering the public are effectively helping the event happen they deserve the option to watch the event live. The IBA are reviewing pay per view options also.
Doc: Prizemoney - would that be reduced to help flow more money to Puerto Escondido and its people, keeping the cash in the country?
Gregg: Another option that can be discussed with the IBA Riders Board, though this is not a decision the IBA would make without consulting the IBA competitors.
Doc: I noticed Reeflex have been really generous, as John always is. The $60 pack has a $60 Reeflex voucher, the $80 pack has a $110 Reeflex voucher and the $100 pack has a $150 Reeflex voucher. These are all plus apparel and discount vouchers. So the actual value of the packs themselves is pretty guaranteed, you at least get your money back or even more yeah?
Gregg: Again to be fair to all Industry supporters of this campaign, Turbo Surf Designs, Inverted Bodyboarding, Freedom Fins and Reeflex are all donating merchandise and vouchers at no cost and all deserve acknowledgement. In saying that, I don't want to take anything away from John who has been great.
You are correct in saying that the industry packs value are significantly higher than the ticket price. With the $100 pack you get a $150 Reeflex voucher, $70 pair of stretch Turbo Board shorts, $20 Reeflex hat, $30 Salvemos Puerto T shirt, $15 Inverted I phone cover, 30% off Inverted online shop voucher and a free Inverted t shirt if you spend over $50 with Inverted. That is over $300 of value for $100 and all proceeds go to a great cause.
Doc: If people would like to purchase items to support "Salvermos Puerto" where should they go?
Gregg: please logon to http://shop.ibaworldtour.com/
Thank you for your support
Thanks for your time Gregg and many wishes to our bodyboarding brothers in Mexico.
Photos courtesy IBA from the 2011 Zicatela event.

Huatulco International Airport Façade.jpg


Video ARBOLOTÓN Copalita Huatulco, Oaxaca.wmv

Monday, July 16, 2012

Hurricane Fabio

Sir Johnny Deb : Acapulco to Puerto Escondido


Sir Johnny Deb : Acapulco to Puerto Escondido from John Deblois on Vimeo.
Life gave me one chance to travel. I stood up one day and lived life ever since.

“SALVEMOS PUERTO”


“SALVEMOS PUERTO”

Puerto Escondido, commonly referred to as “The Mexico Pipeline“, is an internationally recognized surfing paradise and desperately needs the help of the global surf community.
The town of Puerto Escondido was devastated by Hurricane Carlotta on Friday 15th June, 2012.  Two children died when their house was taken by a mudslide, and one 56-year-old woman passed away when the wind from the category 2 hurricane flipped her car.  The beach side town has been severely damaged and is in need of urgent assistance to rebuild this community that thrives on tourism.
The Puerto Escondido lifeguards are in need of help due to all damage cause by the hurricane. They used to have 8 towers along the beach at Playa Zicatela and now there’s not a single one of them. This is just one example of what is required to help rebuild the local community, another is to promote tourism back to the area to stimulate the local economy.
The International Bodyboarding Association (IBA) has launched a global campaign to “Salvemos Puerto” (Save Puerto).
So go and get one of there packages or check Manny’s video from the IBA online store and support the cause!!