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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

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Zipolite Where in the World Are William and Kelly? A Journal of an Expat's Winter in Southeast Asia





Sunday, January 23, 2011





Zipolite

We have made it to what certainly feels like the end of the road.  And in a way, it is.  A mile or so stretch of sandy beach wedged between two large rocky crags on each end, sheltering this little resort from the rest of the world.  This is Zipolite.  Fabled travelers hangout and the coolest spot of paradise you have yet to visit.  A guy from New Zealand we met on our second day sums up this place perfectly: "I came here for a week´s vacation... but that was two and a half months ago."


Zipolite is permanently stoned.  A hippie beach paradise populated by the zoned out, dropped out and tuned out.  Shirtless yogis weave necklaces, aging cosmic surfers sip Coronas at 9AM, and all manner of European tourists beach themselves in the sun, making an art of doing absolutely nothing.  There are more people here with dreadlocks than I have ever seen in one place.  Having not been to Jamaica or a Bob Marley concert, that surely isn´t saying much, but trust me on this, there are a lot of dreadlocks here.  And nudity.  Zipolite has earned some fame for its lassiez-faireattitude to clothing.  By which I mean, no one wears any.  My long ago proclamation about nudist beaches still holds true here: the people most in need of clothes are the ones least likely to be wearing any.  I don´t care who you are, no one wants to be surprised by a 70 year old German vagina when relaxing on the beach.

But despite the nudity, Zipolite is gorgeous.  The waves are huge and the ocean frequently violent with a very strong and dangerous current. 

It makes for exciting swimming, though!

Our first night in Zipolite, we decide to rough it a bit and sleep in hammocks.  For only 70 pesos each, we secure the right to hang all night on the second floor of a mostly deserted hostel with only the crashing waves as company. 


This sounds wonderful and romantic and the stuff of dreams.  It isn´t.  Hammocks are generally fine for a nap, but a full night´s sleep is pushing it.  Neither of us can get comfortable and William has bad dreams all night and I don´t think I actually slept until I finally passed out from sheer exhaustion right after sunrise.  Oh well.  Mark that one off the list!

We amble into "town" - which is basically one street.  One block, actually.  A few beachwear shops, an internet cafe, some bars and restaurants, and handful of stores not selling much.  It is really hot in the middle of the day.  Everything is dusty.  No one wears shoes.  According to our hypotheosis that everyone is most likely stoned, most businesses keep hilariously irregular hours.  One or two will open in the mornings (but not every morning), a few more open around dinner time, a some don´t open for several days.  You may enjoy a nice dinner one night at a little sidewalk cafe, only to return the next night to see it completel abandonded as if it never existed.

A photo is worth a thousand words, they say.  So let me save a few here:



We find a new hostel, run by an ebuillent French expat named Sylviana.  She immediately welcomes us into her ramshackle little place, which is not much more than a few bamboo huts and some mosquito nets set around a tropical garden.  There are no floors here, one or two lightbulbs, and the sanitation is unmentionable.  But we love it and move in for three days.  We have our own hut with a palm thatched roof and a bed draped in mosquito netting.  You can hear the waves crash as you fall asleep at night.


It isn´t the Four Seasons, or even The Holiday Inn Express.  But it is charming and there are other dirty backpackers there with us and we have a hard time leaving.  Our typical day in Zipolite is as follows:
1. Wake up at 7:30AM
2. Scratch new bug bites.
3. Avoid the toilet.
4. Walk for coffee and a visit to the market to buy beans, eggs, and tortillas.
5. Cook breakfast on the little gas stove.
7. Go to the beach.
8. Stay at the beach.
9. Contemplate getting up from the beach.
10. Put on more sunscreen.
11. Eat lunch in town.  Usually a tlayuda for 30 peosos.
12. Nap in the shade of our hut.
13.  Maybe write.  Probably nap more.
14. Buy some beer or mezcal or rum to watch sunset on the beach.
15.  Go to bed.
16. Repeat.

We are relaxed, blissful, and happy.  But we have to move on.

Oh!  And I found some real, green broccoli.  We took a walk for a few miles to a neighboring town and there it was.  Sitting there waiting for me.  I paid 8 pesos and took him home and cooked him up.  Scrambeled with some eggs and leftover spaghetti.  (We´ve had to get pretty creative with our survival cooking here...)

Up next... Zipolite to Pochutla to San Cristobal de las Casas.....


Chilling in Zipolite BY JARMO JÄRVI


Chilling in Zipolite

With heavy heart I left Puerto Escondido behind me and we boarded the bus going south with a Californian guy who was heading to the same direction. We dropped off in San Antonio which seemed to be just a few houses in the middle of nowhere. We had planned to catch a collectivo (basically a minivan acting as a local bus) from San Antonio, but ended up sharing a taxi with an Argentian guy who was also heading to a nearby beach.
Zipolite BeachZipolite Beach
20 minutes later we arrived at Zipolite, a quiet beach south of Puerto Escondido. Also known as a bit of a hippie hang about and it’s easy to see why that is. Atmosphere is very relaxed, with hammocks at every bar in the beach. During night time you can find fire twirlers and other activity on the beach.
Beach by the Candle lightBeach by the Candle light
Cabana with a view to the seaCabana with a view to the sea
After a while we found a cabana with a view to the sea, costing 250 pesos (about £12). Very rustic place, but it also had a hammock, so no complaints.
Happy hour at Zipolite beach, 2 drinks for price of 1Happy hour at Zipolite beach, 2 drinks for price of 1
Now there isn’t much to do in Zipolite, as the waves are not good for surfing and swimming is not really recommended because of heavy undercurrents. So during day time you take sun and during night time, you eat and drink somewhere on the beach, our choice was often Posada Mexico (the happy hour lasts until late).
Esperanza,Esperanza,
But I do have to warn you that Esperanza (hope in spanish), the resident cat at Posada Mexico, has quite a taste for prawns, and will do anything to get the remains of your prawns from your plate.
Sunset on ZipoliteSunset on Zipolite

Roca Blanca (White Rock) off Zipolite Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico


Buceo Huatulco

Nice place to stay, Mexico City ... :) ivan

http://www.hotelroble.com/index.htm
 
Home Servicies Location Rates Reservations Pictures
Initiation
 
 


Located in "Historic Center" in Mexico City, one of the most 
important for their Hispanic and colonial tradition. You can also enjoy here, modern Mexico
with its shopping malls, business and government. 


Located in the "Historical Center" of Mexico City, one the MOST important places,
Because of its prehispanic and colonial traditions. Also You can enjoy modern Mexico with its
commercial, financial and goverment centers.
 
  
 footer 
  

Uruguay No. 109, Col. Centro, Mexico DF, CP 06060
Tels (Intern. 52) (55) 5522 7830, 5522 8083 and 5542 4378 hreservacion@hotelroble.com

CARNIVAL WEEKEND! Kabbalah Restaurante Bar


FIN DE SEMANA DE CARNAVAL !!! VEN A DIVERTIRTE CON NOSOTROS Y SORPENDETE DE NUESTRAS PROMCIONES !
CARNIVAL WEEKEND! COME AND HAVE FUN WITH US AND OUR PROMCIONES SORPENDETE! (Translated by Bing)



Mazunte and back MEXICO | THURSDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2013 | VIEWS [29] | COMMENTS [1]


Life Love & AdventureFOLLOW MY FIRST JOURNEY AROUND THIS LITTLE BLUE PLANET AS I TREAD WEARILY INTO UNKNOWN WATERS, SIPPING ON THE NECTARS OF ANCIENT FRUIT TREES, GRAPPLING LINGUISTICS WITH FOREIGN TONGUES, AND BATHING IN EXOTIC SENSATIONS ...



The sunrise was a calming display of nature's own clock, neither meandering behind or racing ahead.  Perfecto!  I thinks my body clock is settling in to the new circadian rhythms of this place, and the simple breakfast I had kicked me off to a good start.  I decide to walk over to Mazunte which is the small neighbour to San Agustinillo.  If it wasn't for some road works being carried out, Mazunte oozes the sleepy hippyville of yesteryear.  Like SA no one seems to be in a hurry to do anything (except the poor blokes doing the hard slog on the roads!), and the fragrant menagerie of yoga retreats, massage and reiki places, organic food shops, and dreadlocked dudes and dudettes, was occasionally broken by the scent of marijuana wafting in the breeze!  But I couldn't find any market place where I was looking for some singlets and souvenirs so I headed back. 
The beach beckoned once again so off came the sweat in a cooling swim.  Living your whole life in board shorts and singlet can't last forever, can it? Lets test that theory, hehe.
 
A lazy afternoon kicked off with a good lunch of pescado empapalado and a corona, followed by more hammock time.  While its still quite warm, the clouds have come in to take the bite out of the sun which isn't a bad thing.  I think all this free time weighing on my shoulders is slowly forcing me to forget the usual daily routines and take each moment as it comes, That's ok, but even though I planned to have no plan, I'm a creature of habit and plans are good, even if you don't have one!  Ok so it might take me a couple more days to learn how to handle this freedom - poor me, hehe.
 
With that in mind, I strolled along the main road through town.  There is only one so that didn't take me long. It's strewn with these small restaurant/bars and accommodation options all a stone's throw from the beach.  I spied one place for sale and that got me thinking, hmmm.  Food for thought at any rate ;)
 
Now the wind has dropped off, the waves are purring to the beat of their own rhythm, and I've filled up on wood-fired pizza and beer.  So as the day started, so it ends, and its time for the hammock once again.



San Agustinillo


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

A positive way . . .


My Spanish Notes Gira a la derecha, mas adelante

My Spanish Notes



Posted: 05 Feb 2013 06:24 PM PST
Just about everyone has a GPS these days, and if you're serious about learning Spanish, you should be getting your directions in Spanish.

If you haven't changed the language on your GPS yet, today you're going to learn everything you need to know to get where you're going.  Break out your driving gloves boys and girls, it's time to go for a ride.

Here's a screen shot from the GPS on my phone, let's take a closer look at it.



 Let's start with the word bifurcación, which you'll find at the top of the picture where the directions start.

A  bifurcación  is a fork in the road. If you look at the picture closely you can even see the little arrows showing the fork in the highway.

Tome la izquierda cuando llegue a una bifurcación del camino
Go left when you get to the fork in the road

Next we get to:

Mantente a la derecha y sigue las indicaciones
Keep to the right and follow the signs

We need to take a closer look at the first part of this, Mantente a la derecha. To be specific, the verb mantenerse.

Mantenerse seems to be the verb of choice for my GPS.  Your GPS may prefer permanecer.

Permanece a la derecha
Keep to the right

Hold on, we're not done skinning this cat yet.  You have one more option:

Quédate a la derecha
Stay to the right

Your GPS might not use quedar, but it's certainly something you'll probably hear on the street and may even want to use yourself.  Here's another example for good measure.

Desde Tulum, quedar en el carril de la derecha
From Tulum, stay in the right lane

OK, let's move on.

Gira ligeramente a la izquierda hacia 85 North
Take a slight left towards 85 North

Hacia is the word you want when you need to talk about where your heading.

Voy hacia el sur
I'm going south

En lugar de irme a casa, voy hacia el restaurante
Instead of going home, I'm heading towards the restaurant

Also notice that the word North wasn't translated.  Your GPS might translate it so you may want to refresh your memory if those directions aren't already burned into your brain.

OK, we're still not there yet, so let's keep going.

Toma la salida 86 hacia 13 North, en dirección Buford Highway
Take exit 86 towards 13 North, towards Buford Highway

This is really pretty straight forward.  The only thing I want to touch on is en dirección.  En dirección is another way to say towards.   Here are some examples:

Voy en dirección a mi casa
I'm heading towards my house

Caminar hacia el norte en dirección a la Calle 55
Walk heading north towards 55th Street

Gire a la derecha en dirección al hotel Hilton
Turn right towards the Hilton hotel

Notice all of my examples used  en dirección a, while my GPS didn't use the "a".  I suspect that's a translation error on their part.  And finally we have:

Incorpórate a 13 North
Get on 13 North

Incorporarse is used to for taking/getting on the highway.

Desde Barcelona, incorpórate a la autopista y toma la salida 12
From Barcelona, get on the freeway and take exit 12

You may also hear carretera used for highway, and notice the use of tomar for taking the freeway.

Toma la carretera 880 rumbo al Norte
Take highway 880 going north

You may have noticed the word rumbo.  It's just another way to say which way you're headed.

Voy rumbo a casa de una amiga
I'm headed towards a friends house

Next we have the following:

Continuá durante 3,6 mi
Continue for another 3.6 miles

You may have noticed the "3,6".  In Spanish the comma is used instead of the decimal point, so don't let it confuse you.

And the part we've all been waiting for:

El destino está a la izquierda
Your destination is on the left

We need to talk to about one more thing that didn't show up on my GPS this time.

Sigue derecho
Keep straight

You may also hear the word recto for straight.  And remember, derecha is right while derecho is straight.  The first time I got directions while driving I nearly forgot this distinction, luckily my passenger got me straightened out in time.

Sigue recto
Keep straight

Lastly, let's look at the title of this entry.

Gira a la derecha mas adelante
Turn right further ahead

FYI, you can get your directions online in Spanish as well.  I use Google Maps with my language set to Spanish.  You'll see the same vocabulary used.

And that about wraps things up.   If I missed something, leave me a comment.

Espero que les sirva, ¡cuídense!

Oaxaca 13

Next stop, Huatulco! Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico. Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Huatulco, Oaxaca. Arriving February 6th! Wednesday, February 6, 2013



Wednesday, February 6, 2013


Next stop, Huatulco!

We're heading further south (actually more east than south!) this morning along Mexico's Pacific coast. Not going far, only about 120 kms (75 miles) to the resort town of Huatulco. No idea where we're staying, but there is a campground there and of course we have the tent if we need it.

We'll only be there for a night or two at the most anyhow.



Today's plan...only 120 kms (75 miles).

Just a short drive. As you can see, we're actually heading east today!

Yesterday was a bit of a relax day. We did head into town and we were going to go to the big Super Che grocery store but there was some kind of protest going on and they had the entrance blocked and they weren't letting people into the store. They had some signs taped to the wall, it looked like it was something to do with privatization of schools or something. No idea what this would have to do with a grocery store! Anyhow, we gave up on that and headed to the bank. Wanted to try and get some Guatemala currency. But the banks had been closed on Monday for some holiday and so there was a big lineup. Okay, so we gave up on that too!

Then, we had heard that David and Marina were in town. This is a couple that we had met at Playa Zipolite a few years ago. They're actually from the town of Perth, Ontario which is only an hours drive or so from our home city of Ottawa. Anyhow, they've got a little apartment rented here so we went over and visited with them for a while.

David, Marina, Ruth, and Kevin

In the evening, we had invited Mary and Alfredo over for dinner. They left the kids with her Mom, so they got a well deserved evening away. After dinner, we taught them how to play Yahtzee.

And so, we're outta here. We always enjoy Puerto Escondido, but it's time to move on. See you in Huatulco!

Oh, one last sunset photo from our balcony at the Sunset Point Resort Hotel!

Happy Birthday to Kevin's sister Alison! 



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

HELP US CREATE A FUND TO CONTROL ZIPOLITE'S DOG AND CAT POPULATION ...


Dutch hardstyle live February 5th, 2013 @ 11:40pm EST dutch hardstyle dj live ! Event DJ Redje Dragon Fan 2


February 5th, 2013 @ 11:40pm EST
dutch hardstyle dj live !
Event DJ
 
2

. . . carry out two campaigns of sterilizations.


Terre Xtra

Terre Xtra





hola amigos
hasta ahora tenemos, con un poco mas de 16’000 pesos, la mitad del monto necesario para realizar dos campañas de esterilizaciones. les pido un esfuerzo con sus amigos, clientes y otros conocidos, a introducir este proyecto, para tener suficientes recursos para los dos campañas de esterilizaciones después de la semana santa y en diciembre. de antemano les agradezco la voluntad de cooperar.
zipol proyecto 2013: http://terrextra.npage.ch/fondo-esterilizaciones.html
lista de donaciones: http://terrextra.npage.ch/bild-boxes-spanish.html
rediseño de la pagina de terrextra: http://terrextra.de.to/
saludos
tintin
Hello friends so far have, with a little more than 16'000 pesos, half of the amount necessary to carry out two campaigns of sterilizations. I ask an effort with your friends, customers, and other acquaintances, to introduce this project, to have sufficient resources for the two campaigns of sterilizations after Holy week and in December. in advance thank you willingness to cooperate.
zipolite project 2013: http://terrextra.npage.ch/fondo-esterilizaciones.html list of donations: http://terrextra.npage.ch/bild-boxes-spanish.html redesign of the website terrextra:http://terrextra.de.to/ greetings tintin (Translated by Bing)

Buyer beware: 10 common travel scams Tom Hall and Kylie McLaughlin 10 July, 2012




http://www.lonelyplanet.com/themes/big-trips/ten-common-travel-scams/?intaffil=lpemail


Buyer beware: 10 common travel scams

Tom Hall and Kylie McLaughlin 

While you’re often safer overseas than you are in your hometown, a few scams seem to pop up all over the world. Repeat the mantra: if it looks too good to be true, it must be too good to be true…

1. Fake police

Sometimes also the real police, they’ll demand to see your passport and find something wrong with your visa, but then suggest your troubles will all be over if you pay a fine. To them. In cash. Right now. Standing your ground and offering to accompany them to the station will usually see the error ‘excused’.

2. Gem or carpet deals

On entry into a store, often prompted by an enthusiastic taxi or rickshaw driver, you will be offered a deal so preposterously lucrative that refusing it seems unthinkable. Think again – those gems are going to be worthless and the carpet you buy may not make it home at all. There are legitimate traders selling both jewels and rugs, and they don’t act like this.

3. Airport taxis

Drivers taking you into town might try every trick in the book, from asking you for an inflated fare to driving around the streets to raise the price higher. This is usually harmless, but you should only travel with licensed taxis and, if you can’t pay in advance, agree on a fee before starting out and don’t pay until you get where you want to be.

4. Timeshares

You’re approached by an extremely genial young man who offers you a scratchie card, no strings attached. He’s friendly, so you accept the scratchie card and, lo and behold, you’ve won some sort of prize, which could be anything from a t-shirt and cash to a holiday. What’s the catch? The local insists you must accompany him to a hotel (which might be an hour’s drive away) to collect your prize. If you haven’t smelled a rat by now, you need your senses tested.
The penny drops, you start staring at the ground and shifting your feet uncomfortably, the seemingly-genuine local says that if you don’t come with him, then he won’t get paid for his job. However, if you do end up going with him, on arriving at the hotel you’ll be shuffled into a room with a bunch of other tourists and forced into watching an hour-long presentation about timeshare apartments, which you are pressured into buying at a very special discounted price by slick Westerners. If you come out of it with your wallet intact, at worst you would have wasted an entire afternoon you could have spent lying on the beach.

5. ‘This is closed’

In some countries everyone from touts to taxi drivers will try to tell you that your chosen hotel, restaurant or shop is closed…but there’s another, even better one you should visit, where they can pick up a commission. This is more annoying than harmful, but always insist on having a look for yourself.

6. Motorbike scam #1

Living out your dream of riding a scooter for a day around the countryside quickly turns into a nightmare when the bike you’re riding breaks down or you have an accident. The owner of the motorbike is quick to escort you and your damaged bike (which doesn’t look in that bad a state) to the repair joint of their choice, where the mechanic makes a grossly overinflated estimate of the damage costs. The owner of the motorbike insists you cover the costs, otherwise no customers will want to rent his bike. You shell out hundreds of dollars to cover the costs of the damage you possibly made, plus cosmetic improvements to the bike that you have now also covered for the owner.
More than likely, you’ve just lined their pockets with more cash than the locals would earn in a month. Take photographs of the bike before you start riding, preferably with the renter in them, so they can’t blame you for imaginary damage costs to the vehicle. And don’t rent from companies that are attached to hotels or guest houses.

7. Motorbike scam #2

The motorbike you have hired comes with a lock and two keys: you have one, and your rental company has the other. When you park the scooter and wander off, an enterprising person from the rental company arrives and ‘steals’ your scooter, thus later requesting you pay a large sum of money to replace the ‘stolen’ scooter. As you handed them your passport and you signed a contract, you’re obligated to pay for it. Carry your own lock and key and an old passport to avoid getting sucked into this scam.

8. Bird shit

The surprising splat of bird shit landing on you from a great height is followed by the swift appearance of a stranger who towels you down. In the confusion, valuables are removed from your person, never to be seen again. Another variation on the same scam has someone ‘accidentally’ spilling mustard or other condiments on you.

9. Bar/tea shop scam

Notoriously aimed at male travellers, young local girls approach a tourist and, after gaining trust with some idle chit-chat, you agree to accompany them to a local bar/tea shop. Thrilled at the opportunity to converse with a couple of local lasses, you offer to buy them a drink. On receipt of the bill, the girls are gone, and all you are left with is a massive shock when you glimpse the sum total, which can amount to hundreds of dollars.

10. Hotel scams

As you hop off the train or bus into a strange town and into a waiting taxi, you ask them to take you to a specific hotel. You’re dropped off, hand over the money for several night’s worth of accommodation, you’re persuaded to sign up for a number of day tours then escorted to your hotel room. The hotel’s unusually quiet and it doesn’t seem like the advertised atmosphere. Alarm bells ring: you’ve been duped by the friendly local who talked to you on the bus, and the quick phone call he had to make was to the awaiting taxi, whose driver was very quick to escort you to the hotel of their choice.
Like a well-oiled machine, they worked together to ensure you handed over all your cash immediately, and fleeced you for a couple of tours while they were at it. Many hotels trade on the names of popular hotels and are rarely of the same standard, so make sure you check the name and address of the place before you’re shuffled in to sign your life away.


Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/themes/big-trips/ten-common-travel-scams/?intaffil=lpemail#ixzz2K5h3uUO4