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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

Friday, July 27, 2012

Wave of the Summer… At Puerto Escondido!



Wave of the Summer… At Puerto Escondido!


JULY 24, 2012
Although the title is a bit pretentious, you can’t blame Surfline and Nike for believing their own hype about the ‘Wave of the Summer’ competition.  While their contest of (almost) the same name, ‘Wave of the Winter’ included every break along the 7 Mile Miracle, a.k.a the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, the summertime version only includes waves ridden at Puerto Escondido in Mexico’s Oaxaca region.  No one will argue the fact that during the Northern Hemisphere winter, there is a 99% chance that the best waves in the world over the course of the season are breaking on the North Shore.  It is not the surfing world’s version of Mecca for nothing!

Filipe Cesarano pulling into his chance to win $15,000 at Playa Zicatela, a.k.a. the Mexican Pipeline! Frame grab: Wave of the Summer entry / Andres Petroni
However, even though Puerto’s number one spot, Playa Zicatela is nicknamed the Mexican Pipeline, the chances of it serving up the best wave in world this summer are not nearly as high as for the North Shore in winter.  Especially when taking into consideration that Tahiti, Fiji and the Mentawais are also firing on all cylinders in the same swell window.

Dave Wassel on his way to a beer break after another “wave of the summer” at Cloudbreak. Frame grab: Fiji Freight Trains / Volcom Stone YAE
Nonetheless, the bookmakers at Nike and Surfline decided to go with a spot that at least has a shot at taking the top spot at the finish line, rather than betting on a rank outsider, or shooting for a tri-fecta by opening up the contest to multiple locations. If not for the historic swell at Cloudbreak, it looks like their bet may have paid off.

Alex Gray was on hand for the historic Fiji swell, and has scored a few bombs this summer in Puerto Escondido too. Lucky man! Frame grab: Wave of the Summer entry / Andres Petroni
No matter what your take is, you can’t argue that there have been some amazing waves crashing down at the premiere break in Mainland Mexico this summer, and as a cherry on the cake, that a local Mexican surfer will most likely be the one following in the footsteps of Reef McIntosh and walking away with the $15,000 winner take all prize money!
On or about August 31, 2012 an esteemed judging panel of Peter Mel, Roger Ramirez, Ruben Pina, and Roberto Salinas will select the ultimate winning wave/surfer as well as the season’s Overall Performance Award based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
- Wave Size (25%);
- Degree of Difficulty of Maneuvers (25%);
- Style (25%); and
- Overall “Heaviness” Factor (25%).
May the best man (or woman) win! Amen!







Magnitude 4.4 - OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO 2012 July 27 02:23:33 UTC


Earthquake Details

  • This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude4.4
Date-Time
Location16.135°N, 98.050°W
Depth26.6 km (16.5 miles)
RegionOFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO
Distances19 km (11 miles) S of Santiago Pinotepa Nacional, Mexico
71 km (44 miles) SSE of Ometepec, Mexico
110 km (68 miles) WNW of Puerto Escondido, Mexico
130 km (80 miles) SSW of Santa Maria Asuncion Tlaxiaco, Mexico
Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 29 km (18.0 miles); depth +/- 9 km (5.6 miles)
ParametersNST= 81, Nph= 85, Dmin=167 km, Rmss=1.12 sec, Gp=230°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=6
Source
  • Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
    Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event IDusb000bh8w
  • Did you feel it? Report shaking and damage at your location. You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Puerto Escondido Puerto Escondido in a not overly friendly mood..but if you made one..you’d remember it for a long time..

Travel Fail: Never Study Spanish with Surfers


Question: Why is it only my articles in the Exploration "Travel Fail" column so far?

Answer: Let's not ponder that too much...


Everyone has a travel tale in which, looking back, they’d have done things differently – and for me, deciding that the small town of Puerto Escondido, on the stunning Oaxaca Mexican coastline, would be the ideal place to take a week of Spanish classes was just such a moment. Puerto Escondido: Hidden Port. Sandy beaches, the crashing Pacific waves… peace and quiet, surely? A tranquil paradise, just perfect for learning some sexy Spanish conjugations before heading southwards down the gringo trail that crawls up and down the South American continent. What could possibly go wrong?
In retrospect, the fact that Puerto Escondido was referred to, albeit briefly, in The Lonely Planet as “a surfers’ paradise” was probably the first warning of what was to come. Naturally, I took no notice. It wasn’t until checking onto my minisculeAeromexico flight – along with a planeload full of sunkissed, muscle-bound, dreadlock-sporting surfers, plus boards – that it began to hit me that this may not have been my wisest choice. For, as all hardened backpackers know: where surfers go, drugs, booze and parties inevitably follow. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that, after several months living out of a backpack, men sporting dreadlocks had become infinitely more attractive to me…
After a brief flight- the journey was so short, and so turbulent, that when after only five minutes in the air we started plummeting to the ground I screamed, convinced we were crashing (when we were actually landing) – I found myself crammed into a collective along with seven surfers, plus boards. I had booked myself into a hostel which, on the website, looked like a pleasant, friendly sort of place. The fact that the seven surfers and I were all headed to the same destination, The Tower Bridge Hostel, was the second sign that it was time to abandon all hope of constructive language learning. The hostel was run by a British expat whose brain seems to have been melted by too much Mexican sun and the local tequila – a fact that soon became apparent when, just the day after my arrival, he disappeared without cause or explanation, leaving behind no instructions, no money, and a rather bewildered twenty-year-old American boy who, for lack of any other purpose, took charge of the running of the hostel. His interpretation of “running” consisted of letting us help ourselves to beer at will, and leading us to the finest bars, illegal substances and prostitutes you might find yourself in need of.
What ensued was basically the Mexican equivalent of a teenage house party gone awry in the parents’ absence: absolute carnage. Nothing was paid for. Alcohol flowed freely, and plentifully. The sun shone all day, and the nights were long and eventful. Life was good at Puerto Escondido’s number one party hostel.
That is, unless you’d signed up for six hours of Spanish classes every day.
My school was absolute paradise every way – lessons were affordable, and classes were conducted by friendly and fun local teachers outside in the sunshine, overlooking the beach below and surrounded by tropical flowers, hammocks and passing iguanas. It was here that I learnt to my sadness that no one Spanish-speaking would ever actually say “Hasta la vista, baby”. But sadly, due to the festivities back at Party Hostel 101, it was also here that I succeeded in falling asleepduring a one-on-one class, and learnt the slang for “I’m hungover”, which roughly translates as “I’m raw”- “estoy cruda”. And it was here that, when asked by the well-meaning teacher if I’d sampled the local tequila, I barely stopped myself from throwing up at the memories of the beach the night before, when double tequila shots had made me literally chunder everywhah! (Yes, this was during my gap yah). The Spanish for “throw up” is “vomitar”, by the way.
Over the week, although my Spanish was slowly progressing, life at the hostel was deteriorating rapidly. The swimming pool was now the unofficial WC, and unusable. The cleaner, who hadn’t been paid, was gone, and the kitchen took on an “abandon hope all ye who enter” quality. The surfers spent their days lying sprawled across the various threadbare sofas, surfboards abandoned, pumped full of muscle relaxants (which are legal and available over the counter in Mexico) and thus rendered incapable of moving, whilst I crawled my way to class on no sleep. Dorm rooms began to acquire an orgiastic quality (not a conducive environment for doing your homework) and I subsisted on sunshine, beer and a lone pineapple. It was gringo culture at its lowest.
Of course, all good things come to an end, and eventually so did my time in Puerto Escondido. Thirty hours of intensive one-on-one classes had been of some use – seeing as I’d arrived on the continent without a word of Spanish I felt entitled to take pride in even the smallest achievement – and on my final day there, the hostel owner made his unobtrusive return. When I asked him where he’d been, he explained “I just had to get away from it all for just a few days. Just get out of here, down the coast. Just me and the dog.”
I paused. “Do you mean… this dog?”
“Yeah,” he replied, blindly waving in the direction of the long-suffering hostel labrador.
“You mean this dog that’s been here with us all week?”
“Oh yeah… not the dog then.”
That was all the explanation we ever got. But in a way I understand what that crazy man was saying about having to get away from Puerto Escondido for a bit. The place looks like paradise but it sucks you in, like a backpacker black hole. Ultimately, I left on that rickety plane with no significant language abilities, but one hell of an important lesson: never, never sign up for Spanish classes in a surfer party beach town. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Warning: Hammocks are conducive to hangovers, but not to language learning.

Wave Of The Summer 71119 | SURFLINE.COM Wave Of The Summer. CESAR PETRONI at PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Filmed: 07/ 05/2012 by Andres Petroni at PUERTO ESCONDIDO. Surfer: CESAR PETRONI ... www.surfline.com/video/featured.../wave-of-the-summer_727...

Wave Of The Summer 71119 | SURFLINE.COM
Wave Of The Summer. CESAR PETRONI at PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Filmed: 07/ 05/2012 by Andres Petroni at PUERTO ESCONDIDO. Surfer: CESAR PETRONI ...
www.surfline.com/video/featured.../wave-of-the-summer_727...



Airline Telephone Numbers



Airline Telephone Numbers


Aer Lingus800-223-6537

Aeroflot-Russian Airlines888-340-6400

Aerolineas Argentinas800-333-0276

Aeromexico800-237-6639

Airberlin866-266-5588

Air Canada888-247-2262

Air Canada TTY/TDD800-361-8071

Air China800-982-8802

Air Europa888-238-7672

Air France800-237-2747

Air India800-223-2250

Air Jamaica800-523-5585

Air Malta800-756-2582

Air New Zealand800-262-1234

Air Pacific800-227-4446

Air Portugal800-221-7370

Air Tahiti Nui877-824-4846

AirTran Airways800-247-8726

Air Transat877-437-1515 or 877-872-6728

Alaska Airlines800-426-0333

Alaska Airlines TTY/TDD800-682-2221

Alitalia800-223-5730

All Nippon Airways800-235-9262

American Airlines800-433-7300

American Airlines TTY/TDD800-543-1586

Asiana Airlines800-227-4262

Austrian Airlines800-843-0002

Avianca800-284-2622

Bahamas Air800-222-4262

British Airways800-247-9297

British Airways TTY/TDD866-393-0961

British Midland800-788-0555

Cape Air800-352-0714

Caribbean Airlines800-538-2942

Cathay Pacific Airlines800-233-2742

Cayman Airways800-441-3003

China Airlines800-227-5118

China Southern888-338-8988

Continental Airlines800-525-0280

Continental Airlines TTY/TDD800-343-9195

Copa Airlines800-359-2672

Delta Air Lines800-221-1212

Delta Air Lines TTY/TDD800-831-4488

Egyptair800-334-6787

El Al Israel Airlines800-223-6700

Emirates Air800-777-3999

ERA Aviation800-866-8394

Ethiopian Airlines877-389-6753

EVA Airways800-695-1188

Finnair800-950-5000

Frontier Airlines800-432-1359

Garuda Indonesia800-342-7832

go! Operated by Mesa Airlines888-435-9462

Great Lakes Airlines800-554-5111

Gulf Air800-553-2824

Hainan888-688-8813

Hawaiian Airlines800-367-5320

Icelandair800-223-5500

Island Air800-323-3345

Island Air TTY/TDD800-554-4833

Japan Airlines800-525-3663

JetBlue800-538-2583

JetBlue TTY/TDD800-336-5530

Kingfisher866-435-9532

KLM800-374-7747

Korean Air800-438-5000

Kuwait Airways800-458-9248

Lacsa Costa Rica800-225-2272

LanChile Airlines800-735-5526

LanPeru800-735-5590

LOT-Polish Airlines212-789-0970*

LTU International800-888-0200

Lufthansa800-645-3880

Malaysia Airlines800-552-9264

Martinair Holland800-627-8462

Midwest Express Airlines800-452-2022

Olympic Airways800-223-1226

Pacific Wings888-575-4546

Pakistan International800-221-2552

Peninsula Airways800-448-4226

Philippine Airlines800-435-9725

Philippine Airlines TTY/TDD800-767-1833

Qantas Airways800-227-4500

Royal Air Maroc800-361-7508

SAS Scandinavian Airlines800-221-2350

Saudi Arabian Airlines800-472-8342

Singapore Airlines800-742-3333

South African Airways800-722-9675

Surinam Airways800-327-6864

SWISS877-359-7947

TACA Airlines800-535-8780

TAM - Transportes Aereos Regionais888-235-9826

Thai Air800-426-5204

Turkish Airlines800-874-8875

United Airlines800-241-6522

United Airlines TTY/TDD800-323-0170

US Airways800-428-4322

US Airways TTY/TDD800-245-2966

Virgin America877-359-8474

Volaris Airlines866-988-3527

Virgin Atlantic800-862-8621

*Toll-free number unavailable.

Passport, Visa, and border crossing requirements


Passport, Visa, and border crossing requirements


The U.S. government requires U.S. citizens entering the United States via land, sea, or air to have a passport, passport card, or other travel document approved by the Department of Homeland Security. Expedia strongly recommends that every traveler have a passport; if you don't have one, allow a minimum of six to eight weeks to obtain one.
  • Children: All U.S. citizen children ranging in age from birth to 18 years are required to present their own passport when entering the United States at airports.
  • Air Travel: Passports are required for U.S. citizens traveling to or from all international destinations, including Mexico or Canada.
  • Land & Sea Travel: U.S. citizens returning home from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Bermuda, by land or sea, will be required to present one of the travel documents listed below:
    • U.S. Passport
    • U.S. Passport Card
    • Enhanced Driver's License (EDL)
    • Trusted Traveler Program Cards

    EXCEPTION: U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port) and visit Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and/or countries of the Caribbean will be able to enter or depart the US with a birth certificate and government issued photo ID.
As of July 2009, Mexican nationals are required to present a visa in order to travel to Canada. For more information on this new policy, and how to obtain a visa, please read the visa requirements for Mexico.
For further information, see U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Web site
For information on passports, U.S. citizens can visit the State Department's Web site, or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center: (877) 4USA-PPT. Please allowat minimum six to eight weeks for processing of the passport application. If you need to travel urgently and require a passport sooner, expedited processing is available.
For information on obtaining and renewing a passport, visit the Passport Announcements page.
For information on entry requirements for a specific country, please go to the Entry/Exit Requirements section in the country-specific information for the country you are interested in. You may also contact the U.S. embassy or consulate of that country for further information.
To find U.S. entry requirements for non-citizens, read the U.S. visa information page.  
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