ChrisJenTravel.com – Honeymoon Trek

After five days in Puerto Escondito we had settled into a nice routine, but, again, we knew we had to keep moving. Also, we felt like, since we had mostly hugged the coast so far, we may have missed out on some of the Mexican culture in the inland cities. We decided to visit the city of Oaxaca to the north to explore some ruins, see the 15^th century architecture and visit the nearby village of El Tule, which is reportedly home to the largest tree in the world. The map indicated Oaxaca was only about 100 miles away as the crow flies, so we took off without checking the guides closely, expecting a two hour drive at most. A gas station attendant told us the trip would take 4 hours but I doubted it since we should make better time than the buses and pickup truck cabs of the area.

Just outside of town, however, the road quickly turned mountainous, rough and very windy. We tried to make good time but the conditions just wouldn’t let us. Besides the bumps, the road would turn sharply in one direction almost in a full circle, then back the opposite way just as far. After an hour we had only gone about 20 miles! I was frustrated and continued to drive faster around the curves until with all the twisting and jerking from side to side, Jenny was really ill. When we pulled over for her to get sick, we were passed by a pickup truck taxi so full of people there was a guy actually standing on the back bumper hanging on! We started to realize how long the drive might take. Jenny tried driving to help her stomach but that just made me feel sick. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve been slow again on updating the site, which seems to happen whenever we settle into a town we like. First, we don’t have any good “road stories” since everything gets easier, and second, we end up having too much fun to go sit online for hours uploading pics and entries. Such is the case with Escondito. I’d heard of it as an epic surf destination for years, with huge barreling waves that rivaled Hawaii, but we didn’t know much about the town. We were happy to find a town large enough to have all the amenities we needed with a small surfer’s village-type tourist strip set just apart from the rest of town near the main surf beach. Although there are decent hotels, restaurants, shops, food stores and internet/phone cafes, everything was priced for traveling surfers – meaning cheap. How cheap? Well, we found a 6 person spacious room with hot water and cable for about $27 a night and full meals (think huge plates of spaghetti or burgers with fries) with a free beer or drink for about $3.60, while watching the sunset over the ocean, surf videos and great music.

We also found nearby picture perfect bays with clear turquoise water for snorkeling, lined with thatched roof umbrellas, Adirondack beach chairs and small food stands serving oysters, ceviche (fresh fish), plantains and beers. You can spend an afternoon there and feel like you’re on a five-star vacation in Jamaica for a few dollars. Read the rest of this entry »

We moved on to Acapulco, more because it was on the way than because we wanted to spend any time there.  The guides warned us that it was an overgrown resort town that outgrew itself decades ago, but we were still amazed at the size.  Looking down into the valley from the mountains approaching town, it seemed to go on forever.  What’s more, we had no plan to do anything there even though we’d be there for at least a night, so we really didn’t know where to go.  Of course we got lost for a while, got run off the street by some crazy taxi drivers, and turned down some one-way streets – normal stuff.  But we finally hatched a plan to go see the famous Acapulco cliff divers, and found a cheap, clean hotel room nearby.  $14 a night left plenty of room for dinner and treating ourselves, so we were super happy.

We checked in, walked a few blocks to the cliffs and waited for the show.  It started drizzling which made photos tough, but the five divers put on quite a show for $3.  Each one strutted into the viewing area, greeted the crowd in true Mexican machismo style, then jumped down into the water 20 feet below.  They climbed up the cliffs facing us, about 40 – 50 feet – no ladders or ropes – just them and the cliff, and prayed for safety at an alter near the top.  Then, one by one, or in tandem, they dove into a tidal pool only about 20 feet across below with waves rolling in and crashing on the rocks.  The crowd went wild and the divers were even more proud when they climbed back up to see their fans and pose for photos.

The rain didn’t stop and we eventually found out why – Hurricane John had neared shore and was about 100 miles directly south of us.  I was so scared we would be stuck in this awful town but we checked the reports and found out we would be missing the brunt of the storm as we moved west.  After some pizza and internet we called it a night to get on the road early the next morning.  The highlight of our visit to Acapulco was actually stopping at Super WalMart on the way out to load up on supplies.  Jenny picked up some magazines she hadn’t seen since we were in the states-which made her a happy wife.

We arrived at Zihau, a city that we now have a great affinity for since it took in our homeless puppy with open arms. Remember at the end of Shawshank Redemption when Andy escapes to a tiny fishing village in Mexico – Zihautanejo? Well it isn’t a small village anymore – the picturesque bay, great fishing, diving and friendly people have attracted hordes of tourists – but fortunately it still has the feel of a small town and most of the charm. The town also serves as the cultural base for the nearby resort town of Ixtapa, which is set up more like Disney World.

Zihua is set between the mountains and the bay, which holds charter fishing boats, pangas (smaller boats of the local fishermen) and sailboats. The streets are lined with markets, vendors, hotels, restaurants, shops and artists, but somehow it doesn’t have a resort-touristy feel. Despite having a population of around 50,000, it’s also fairly clean and feels very safe. You can tell that the locals all take great pride in its Mexican charm and beauty. The streets are swept religiously and the people all say hi and smile as you walk by. As you wind your way through the cobblestone streets that encompass the bay, you see soccer games being played and a busy, bustling city full of heritage and tradition. It’s the first large town we have really enjoyed and wanted to settle in for a while. Read the rest of this entry »

I woke up determined to find the cool part of Troncones and hopefully some of the surf breaks I had read about. First I drove 5 kilometers down the coastal road but could find only 2 spots that even had beach access. All there was were huge guest houses and B&Bs behind 8ft walls and solid wood gates. All the way down the beach. Oh, and some new behemoths being built. This was the furthest thing from real Mexico I had seen yet – more like Laguna Beach with dirt roads. I finally found one of the breaks, Troncones Point and after walking through the lobby of an exclusive bungalow resort and pretending I was deciding whether to stay there. Although there was a nice small left hand point break out back there were also three yuppies sipping morning coffee with their brand new longboards at their side, presumably waiting for their lessons.

I drove back to the hotel disgusted and told Jenny about the rest of the town – we quickly decided we wouldn’t be returning or spending any of our money there. We packed up and left town to try to find two other breaks in the area: The Ranch and Saladita. One of our friends from Barra de Nexpa had written down some directions from memory.

We followed the directions to Saladita but they must have had a few mistakes as we ended up on a muddy road in the middle of some farms. Somehow we found our way back to the right road and asked directions, eventually pulling up in front of the beach. True to the stories, Saladita is a very long, easy breaking left hand wave. It comes in around a point and breaks consistently over a rock reef. It was breaking at about waist high while we were there, perfect for longboarding and, more importantly, perfect to give Jenny some great practice. Only problem was she was still hurting from the ramen noodle incident several nights before and we didn’t want to chance further injury. Read the rest of this entry »

We headed back to Troncones, a small beach town that was supposed to have many surrounding surf breaks. We pulled in as the sun was just beginning to set and began the ritual of shopping around for a place to stay the night. This time, we were surprised to see wall after wall, lining the dirt road. The walls encompassed what looked like huge houses or small, exotic hotels on the ocean. We walked into one and quickly found out that the small town had really just become an extension of California. Expatriates’ homes and hotels lined the dirt road and blocked the main beach access with their overly extensive and overly priced properties. The rates were way too high, so we moved across the street. This time, we walked into the main sport bar and office of a pretty large hotel-looking building. We were hit in the face with a smoke filled room and were greeted by a raspy voiced, rough blond lady who quickly raved about the place and quickly told us that there were no cheaper places in town. We doubted it.

Without warning, a loud, sloppy, trashy wanna-be retired rock star Expatriate came stumbling into the room. He was drunk and completely obnoxious and he was the owner. Imagine the most obnoxious Daytona Bike Fest participant: beer gut hanging a yard over his shorts, greasy long hair, and covered in bad, cheap tattoos. We tried to communicate with him. We tried to negotiate. It was obvious that the hotel was pretty unoccupied. He told us that the price was 400 pesos (a little less than $40). Non-negotiable. We told him thanks and we would be on our way, when he absolutely insisted that we see a room. So, after 15 minutes of watching him fumble and re-learn how to use a key and light switch, scream and curse at the Mexican family who “run his place” (including a young boy), and after watching him literally throw keys at them, we saw a room just to appease him. We managed to escape as he was revving up the karaoke machine and the electric guitars. Bummer. Read the rest of this entry »

The next morning, I drove into town to call Dad and check in on Mamaw who had just undergone a planned surgery. I was driving back down the dirt roads to Nexpa in the middle of nowhere when I saw a tiny black four-legged thing dart off the road into the bushes. Now, for those of you who know Jenny and I and our love of animals, you knew we would have a hard time dealing with the stray dog situation in Mexico and Central America and probably predicted this would happen eventually. Well, we’ve fed many a stray dog a leftover, petted hundreds of dogs that the locals ignore everyday and even had dogs adopt us for the night, sleeping outside of our tent to protect us. I’m happy to say most of them appear to get plenty of food and actually seem happy. And we’ve been realistic so far, remembering our own four-legged son back home and knowing we couldn’t help every dog we came across. But this was different. In a split second I saw a young lab-mix looking puppy – probably 8-10 weeks old with the cutest face and the skinniest body, running scared off the road all by itself. This wasn’t near a town, a house or anywhere where a puppy should get food. And she didn’t have that street-smart look of the older strays – she looked scared. I stopped the car immediately and tried to coax her out of the bushes but she wasn’t coming. I though maybe she had moved on but, after I grabbed a bag of bread I saw the bushes rustle and out she came onto the road – barking her puppy bark at me. After getting her to take a few bites my first reaction was to get her into the village, get her fed and cleaned up, then leave her with someone to watch over her. Heck, even if we left her in the streets of Nexpa she would be better off begging for food than out in the wild on her own. She was well bribed with the bread so I easily picked her up and put her in the car. Read the rest of this entry »

The next morning the wind was back up and the surf wasn’t cooperating as well, which was good since my sore shoulders and neck needed a rest.  I went out for a short session to find the surf wasn’t nearly as good, but it was still way better than I was used to.  We spent most of the day relaxing, running some errands in town and deciding where to go next.  Even though we were doing ok on time and not spending much money in Nexpa, we were down to a day or so worth of money and the closest ATM was 70 kilometers South.  Oh yeah, one thing we’ve found about Mexico – no one outside of the larger hotels or restaurants takes credit cards – not even the government controlled Pemex gas stations.  So, when you’re low on cash, you better make sure you have enough gas and food to get to the next town. 

We did some reading on our next destinations then met up with the group again for dinner and poker.  This time, we played out on the balcony of one of the oceanfront palapas, watching the sunset and catching the ocean breeze while we shared a few beers and many stories.  The greatest nights on the trip so far haven’t required much money or planning – just the right setting and a few other fun travelers to share them with.

We woke up early in the morning to the sounds of roosters, donkeys, dogs barking and a parrot that tried to imitate them all.  However, we were still in paradise and Jenny’s burn was feeling a little better.  We bandaged her bum and tried to have a normal day.  The wind was still on the surf so a group of us decided to go searching North for a better spot. We got a few miles away but only found some farms with no beach access and a small town with no good beach.  After the group all went their separate ways to run errands, we returned to Nexpa to find the wind had dropped off and the surf had improved drastically.  The huge left hand point break the spot was famous for was firing and some of the talented locals were already out in the lineup showing how the wave was supposed to be ridden.  After I watched a few guys catch double-overhead waves that peeled around the point for hundreds of feet I hustled to grab my board and get in the water.

I surfed the rest of that morning and into the afternoon, catching some of the biggest, most fun waves I’d had in a long while.  The locals knew the spot so well they caught most of the good waves but there were plenty for everyone else.  I totally forgot about lunch and only came in for a break when I could barely paddle any longer.  I went back out for a late afternoon session with a few friends and caught a few more worth remembering.  I didn’t get out of the water until after the sun had set… a pretty good day.  Jenny was feeling better so we joined some of the other travelers for dinner at the surf camp and a $10 peso (90 cent) poker tournament that evening.  As usual, Jenny made up for my bad play taking the whole pot, which was enough to buy us, well, not much, but every little bit helps.

**THEFT ALERT** We have finally been the victims of theft in Mexico and can now validate all the stories we’ve heard as seasoned travelers. On the morning we left Pasquales, we learned El Rodeo had been stripped of her antenna during the night (it was easily unscrewed). We aren’t sure if this viscious crime was a prank against the newest Gringos in town and their laughable mud covered means of transportation packed to the gills with beach chairs, toilet paper and a toaster; or just the desperate act of a young Mexicali hoping to get better reception of the rockin’ mariachi music on his new ride. A full investigation is surely underway by the authorities but we will have to survive on our Ipod with no local Spanish music for a while. ***

We drove south for a few hours through the winding and rocky coastal road until we came to Barra de Nexpa. The guides mentioned it had great surf but only some meager thatched roof huts (with no electricity therefore no fans….too hot to sleep this time of year) for accommodations, so we didn’t think we’d be staying. When we pulled up we were surprised to see not only a great left hand point break, but a small surfer-oriented community that had sprung up around it. Read the rest of this entry »