After driving across the extremely windy Isthmus of Tehuantepec heading west - keep your eye on the semis! - and passing miles and miles of wind turbines, you continue west on the two lane Route 200 that hugs the coast. A slow drive with lots of twists and turns and up and downs it is very scenic with the ocean occasionally showing itself on the left. Six hours later I arrived at Huatulco, one of the numerous resorts basically created out of whole cloth by the Mexican agency FONATUR (including Cancun, Ixtapa, etc.).
campsite in Huatulco (Tangolunda)
Bahia Tangolunda
There is a campground - a sign on the street actually says "Trailer Park" in English - in between a golf course and the palatial Quinta Real hotel. Essentially a large parking lot with bathrooms (no seats on the toilets...not as unusual an occurrence in Mexico as I wish it was), it is safe and has easy beach access for only 50p/day. In the picture of the bay in the left-center you'll see an empty spot set back with trees around it. The campground is behind that. The resort to the right of it is the Barceló. It seems odd, or incongruous, that one can camp in the midst of such fancy resorts, but score one for the cheapos like me! The water of the bay is perfect.
Bahia de San Augustin
There are nine bays that make up the Bahias de Huatulco and the one furthest to the west is San Augustin. Lined with restaurants (but no hotels...yet), it is possible to camp next to some of them. They simply ask that you eat a meal there each day as payment. I checked it out, but elected to keep going. I wouldn't rule it out in the future, though, as it's picture perfect.
signage near where I stayed
the beach I camped behind in Mazunte
Mazunte is a beach resort on the way to Puerto Escondido. Kind of funky, hippie-ish with lots of yoga, massage, vegan options, often advertised on hand-painted wooden signs, strategically nailed to something or stuck in the ground at a "we don't really give a dang if you find us, whatever, dude" angle. This is just down the road from Zipolite, the somewhat famous nude beach of Mexico (I've been there, and you're likely to see folks my age strutting around...not good). So, there's a vibe around here, you dig?
sunset horseriding on Zicatela is available
Another spot I come back to each trip is Puerto Escondido, just up the coast from Mazunte. I've always taken a room at the relaxed Beach Hotel Inez, located smack dab in the middle of Playa Zicatela, the long surf beach that is home to the Mexican Pipeline.
the Oaxacan coast
I ran into a couple here, Bob and Marilyn, that I first met in Puerto Arista and then Huatulco. They own a place in Loreto on the Baja, but like to spend a few months every year on the mainland. They have been coming down to Mexico for over 40 years. Back in the mid-seventies they would camp at the ruins of Palenque (you can't do that anymore) and they drove into Cancun before it was even officially open and camped on the Tulum beach before there was really a town of Tulum! Now that's a Mexico I would have liked to see.
city of Oaxaca and area
Taking old Route 131 up to Oaxaca (the red line on the left side of both maps) is a very slow 20-22mph drive for the most part. Otherwise, it can be a beautiful climb up into the mountains when you're not frustrated by the dump truck that's in front of you. I made it to Oaxaca about 7 hours later and then to Lachigolo, a small town about 10 miles east into the Valle Central.
at the Lachigolo campground
There is a new campground here run by Del and Kate, a couple I had first met 10 years earlier at another Oaxaca area campground that has since more or less closed. This will no doubt become a very popular stopover. One day I took a collectivo taxi into the Oaxaca centro area. These small taxis pile three people into the back and two people into the tiny one person front passenger seat. That's where I got to sit, one cheek on the seat squeezed next to a not small woman. Then the guy hauls ass into town. All for 20 pesos, so it's cheap fun. I later made my way up to San Felipe de Agua, a suburb of Oaxaca that is just a few miles north of the centro. I looked at and booked a house to stay in for a month that I had seen on HomeAway.. Then it was back to the campground for a few more days. Another couple I had first met in Xpu-Ha showed up. Erica and Gunther are from Switzerland and have been traveling for 16 years around the globe and have become somewhat well known in camping circles because of it. They are the current record holders of the long-term travelers I have met. The last five years they've been crisscrossing North America. I have found, in talking to them and others, that a common trait among these long-term travelers is that they periodically put their vehicles in storage and fly back home for some R & R. I wish I could afford to do that, I can see it being much easier to face those long trips on other continents. So, while still impressive, it's really 'sixteen years' with an *.
El Mirador in Benito Juarez
entering Benito Juarez
On one of my trips into Oaxaca I scheduled some time to travel up to a couple of the Pueblos Mancomunados in the Sierra Norte mountains, an area shown on the map in blue with the days 114 and 115. These are seven Zapotec villages that are trying to promote ecotourism with some simple lodging or camping, hiking and mountain biking. It's very rural and at some high elevations. You are supposed to schedule and pay for access before heading up the hill which is what I did.
drying corn on the roof
Benito Juarez was, for me, the prettiest of the seven and it's where I spent my first night. They have a lookout point above town and if you climb the tower shown in the distance to the left in the picture above you can see 360 degrees. It was quite windy up there.
lunch with hot chocolate and a sweetened
bread. Chewy.
After having lunch in the town comedor (each town has at least one of these offering basic local food at set prices) I walked over to the ecotourist office to ask about where I could camp with my vehicle. The three men in the office had a discussion amongst themselves in rapid Spanish when one of them gestured that he would get in my car and direct me to a campsite. About 10 minutes of dirt roads past small farms brought us to the site in the video.
the man who guided me. He told me his
name, but it wasn't a Spanish name
Even though this camping area - I found out later it's called Piedra Larga - probably hasn't been used much in years, what with the dilapidated bathroom and the abandoned zipline on the hill behind me, everyone who wandered by, rather than questioning my presence, would offer a friendly buenos dias/tardes and a wave. Old men, twice that I saw, appeared from out of the woods leading a donkey laden with firewood like it was no big deal to be climbing these hills at 10,000' at 70 years of age. As quiet a night as I've experienced in Mexico, I could just make out the lights of the Valle Central in the distance. If it wasn't so cold, I would happily have stayed longer.
a view of the pueblo magico Capulalpam from my
campsite above Amatlan
After I managed to warm up, it was another slow, winding dirt road to get to Amatlan at the northern end of the seven pueblos.
a solitary drive back down the mountain
The only spot they had that would accommodate my setup was about 1.5 miles up above the town. Once again a man from the ecotourist office jumped in my car to show me the way. I had a concrete holding tank for town water on one side of me and on the other this expansive view across the river valley to several towns built on the flat ledges of the mountains like the one you see in the picture. It was fine for a night but then I pushed on back to Lachigolo for two nights before moving over to my house rental.
the coy pond at the house in San Felipe
San Felipe house
What should have been no more than a twenty minute drive turned into well over an hour as I ran into one of Oaxaca's infamous teacher protests. They blocked the main highway with buses, forcing me and countless others to make our way through the city. A freeking nightmare. This house is owned by a boutique hotel in San Felipe called Suites Xadani and cost me about $1100 for 30 days. This is actually fairly expensive but as a last minute short-term lease not too bad. A person could get a long-term lease on a nice furnished house or apartment around here for less than half that, easy.
Oaxacan street. It was closed to traffic on Palm Sunday
a slice of the Oaxaca zocalo
My first week was spent getting used to the area and the roads, like how to get to and from the grocery store...tricky. I took my first bus rides from San Felipe into the Oaxaca centro area (7p each way), the heart of most everything cool, historic or touristy in the city.
comedors in the Mercado
mole vendor in the mercado
One of the main attractions of Oaxaca is the food scene and it was the focus of almost every trip I took into the city. My friend Joan flew down to join me for four days and we hit some of the 'must-eat' restaurants together. Oaxaca's mercado is home to a large group of comedors that serve up all manner of local foods. We stopped at La Abuelita, made famous (well, famous for a humble comedor) because Rick Bayless has had them on his show. I don't think either of us was impressed that day, to be honest. I did have a turkey tamal with mole negro there earlier that I liked, but I would think any of these comedors serve up decent chow (sorry, Rick). Here are some of the finer foods...
Casa Oaxaca: salsa made to order tableside
Casa Oaxaca: suckling pig with mole verde
Casa Oaxaca: between courses
Danzantes: the incredible crispy duck tacos
(grilled watermelon salad behind)
Danzantes: crusted seared tuna
Biznaga: hibiscus flower and dried chile wheat cones
Mezquite: torta de cochinita pibil (piled high!)
Zicanda: tacos de carnitas de rib eye
(with mashed potatoes, chile de agua, onion ashes)
Origen: appetizer of roasted spaghetti squash,
almonds, quintoniles, cherry tomato
Origen: flan de horchata with cantaloupe sorbet
As an example of how affordable all this great food can be, when Joan and I ate at Casa Oaxaca, we had a cocktail each, a shared ceviche, we each had a blue bean soup, then I had the suckling pig, she had turkey with mole negro, and we each had a dessert and coffee. The total cost, including tip, was $80. Pretty reasonable for one of the best restaurants in the city. You can, of course, read about the restaurants I list in the photos online. And there are certainly others that will have to wait until next time. If I had to pick a favorite it would be Danzantes. Those duck tacos, man, it's not a fair fight.
at In Situ
another mezcaleria, El Cortijo (the farm)
In addition to the food, mescal is a very big deal in Oaxaca. Joan and I stopped by In Situ, a mezcaleria where you can taste multiple varieties and then buy what you like.
In Situ is mentioned in the guidebooks as having the largest collection of different, often rare, mezcals in the world (over 180 varieties). We tried a number of them and bought two, but none of those we are holding in the picture.
four mezcals, the hotels' own label, one you can
buy in the States, two private labels
I later went to a couple of other mezcalerias on my own, in the interest of research. They all seem to have their own mezcal makers and so they have their own private labels, like that shown above right. These mezcals are very local, small batch and often only for sale in that particular store. Oh, and alcohol content can easily reach 90 to over 100 proof. When I had lunch at the restaurant Mezquite, I tried several of the mezcals they had and bought one very good reposada for over 1700 pesos, about $100 (not in the photo). Except for a bottle or two of good champagne, this is by far the most I've ever spent for a bottle of booze. Now I'm afraid to open it. After dinner at Casa Oaxaca we watched the dancing that was going on next to the Santo Domingo church. I wish I had filmed more of it because it's pretty neat.
Santo Domingo church
Besides eating, we spent one morning visiting the ancient Zapotec site of Monte Alban, a short drive outside the city. Here are a few pictures from that day.
Monte Alban
Monte Alban
Monte Alban
Monte Alban
A few other miscellaneous shots from Oaxaca and around...
the church in Yavesia, Sierra Norte
chiles and stuff in the Mercado
Textile Museum
inside Danzantes
the church in San Felipe de Agua
along the steep street in San Felipe I had to walk
up to get to the bus stop
a real battle took place at the house.
I think it ended in a draw?
a tree carving
And finally, a shot Joan took on her way out. This shows most of the centro area of Oaxaca with the zocalo in the middle with lots of trees and the cathedral. The very top of the photo left of center you'll see a brown hill. I believe that's the edge of Monte Alban.
About a 6-1/2 hour drive and almost 300 miles gets you from Bacalar to Palenque. After looking at the famous Mayabell campground (I stayed there 10 years ago) I decided it wasn't as great as I wanted to remember it as so I got a 1000p room at La Aldea, very nice for the price. Palenque is one of the must-see ruins in Mexico, much admired for the beautiful jungle setting. I thought it would be worth a re-visit after ten years.
looking towards El Palacio in center distance, Palenque
Templo de las Inscripciones on left, Palenque
Later that day I drove down to the border town of Frontera Corozal to visit the ruin site of Yaxchilan. I took a room at the Escudo Jaguar, set above the River Usumacinta and run by the local Chol organization. I was the only guest for the night (it must have room for well over 100) and I was the only one who spoke any English so I went to bed in total confusion as to how tomorrow would shake out.
boat dock at Frontera
bats hang in the passages of El Labertino
I was told that I should wait for the day trip visitors from Palenque to arrive on their tour bus in order to save some money by sharing a boat upriver to the ruins. Wandering around the boat docks around 8am, though, I ran into a guy, Francisco, who had his own, smaller boat and after a brief discussion on price (600p) we headed up the river a good hour and 15 minutes before anyone else. I highly recommend this approach in hindsight: spend the night and get your own boat. A short video of the river ride is above. Mexico is on the left, Guatemala on the right.
approaching the Gran Plaza
Edificio 33 atop the Gran Acropolis
I was the only one wandering this beautiful, haunting site in the jungle for all that time. Besides insects, birds and howler monkeys there was no other sound. This automatically goes into my top five ruin sites. In the quiet of this lush, ancient setting you can almost feel a connection to the past, imagining what life here might have been like. Hot and sweaty is the best I can come up with.
Leaving Frontera you have to make a decision to go back to the north towards Palenque, or turn south. The south portion of the road has been considered "unsafe" for some years as Mexico has their own border issues down here. I thought, I need to get this drive out of my system, so I turned south. Other than some crappy road conditions and a couple of military checkpoints it was completely safe. It's somewhat attractive rolling ranchland with some scattered jungle and small settlements. And there are three gas stations. Lack of gas was supposedly another issue, but not really.
Chiapas loop from Palenque to
Lagunas de Montebello
howler monkey (a bit blurry)
My next stop was Las Guacamayas (Spanish for scarlet macaws). This is a beautiful ecotourism lodge run by a local indigenous group on the banks of the Rio Lacantun consisting of clean, spacious cabanas connected by wooden walkways. To complete the perfect jungle setting, around dusk the howler monkeys really lit into it, one of natures great sounds. It gave me goosebumps.
a common sight along the river
some of Las Guacamayas
The next morning I joined a family on a boat tour of the river to see what we could see. Howler and spider monkeys, crocodiles, storks, hawks but no scarlet macaws, except flying very high above. The boat driver finished off the tour (it really was a three hour tour) by zipping around river rocks and logs at a pretty good clip. The video is a very short look at one part of it (not exactly hair raising, but still fun).
storks
crossing a river in Chiapas
a typical mountain view
The road from Guacamayas heads due west towards Lagunas de Montebello. It's on this stretch that the road climbs into the mountains, the hills dotted with corn fields, farms and villages.
usually my only company was the horse down the hill
the gloomy Laguna Bosque Azul
After about 3 hours you arrive at the Lagunas de Montebello National Park, home to several dozen lakes among the pine and oak forests. I found a place to camp on the Laguna Bosque Azul for 30p/night (less than $2). It was the middle of the week and the weather turned nasty so I was the only one here for two nights. The chilly temperatures (50's) and the gray, misty skies gave me a cold that lasted for over a week.
street scene in San Cristobal
On my third day the skies cleared and I took the opportunity to drive up to San Cristobal de las Casas, one of my favorite cities in Mexico. They are apparently trying to widen the mountainous 50 mile road that goes between Comitan and San Cristobal (see map below) practically all at once, which was a serious Mexican cluster if I ever saw one.
I thought this might help my cold (really)
Arriving in San Cristobal at night (I try really hard to not drive at night), I nevertheless managed to find my way to the campground through the narrow, crowded cobblestone streets and get set up. San Cristobal is at about 7000 feet, making the days bright and pleasant and the nights - at least in January and February - quite chilly, even cold. I wrapped myself in sweats and sleeping bag for the duration.
Back down to the Pacific coast and Puerto Arista (Jose's Camping). I make a stop here each trip, but I can't say I ever really do anything. It's more like a hiding place. Jose had the Super Bowl on tv, so I did that...quite satisfying. Surprising maybe, but satisfying.
February 2006
February 2016
The only thing in ten years I can point to that has really changed in P.A. is the welcoming sign as you drive into town (oh, and the turtle statue in the distance in the second picture). When I was there again in October, 2010 the concrete cross beam in the 2006 picture had fallen so it was simply the two end columns. I thought I had a picture of it. Darn. Anyway, that's Puerto Arista.
Chiapas
And that's Chiapas, at least for this trip. Chiapas is a place that never fails to impress me or draw me back. So much more to see! Look at all the roads I have yet to travel.
