surf's up.

in case you were worried, we did find a place to crash for our first night in puerto escondito. in fact, it was a simple place actually recommended in the lonely planet! other then the fact it was up four steep flights of stairs, we were happy campers.

the best part about this chapter of our trip, is that we just rolled with it. we didn't make any real plans, and when things needed to change, we just let it happen. i was right at home on the oaxacan coast. in terms of vacation (for me), this is when it truly began. everything i did was purely for my own enjoyment: sunbathing, sleeping, watching surfers, drinking mojitos, sunbathing, eating, reading, sunbathing...

i made a REAL effort when:

i read two full books (mostly while lying in a hammock)

we navigated our way from puerto escondito to zipolite (only to immediately find an indent for myself in the sand)

i lathered my entire body with sunscreen each morning AND reapplied (my march resolution)

i walked the whole length of the beach in zipolite (but thought i'd have a little rest before turning back)

you get the picture.

puerto escondito was discovered by surfer's long ago because of the infamous 'mexican pipeline' along the playa zicatela beach. while we couldn't really swim because of the harsh undertoe, we had an impeccable view of all the surfer's riding the waves. it was certainly not immersion in mexican culture, but more of an exploration of surfing culture: too bad neither of us can actually surf! it was fun, though, to have a concentration of healthy restaurants, surf stores and cheap accomodation. it felt more like daytona beach then mexico.

zipolite was a small, hedonistic town that draws travellers and sucks them in, never letting them leave. you lose all sense of time and place in zipolite, and when you leave, you definitely have no idea what day it is. it is the only beach in mexico where nudity is legal and chillin' out is a form of employment. it was the perfect place to forget the world, find a hammock, eat with your feet in the sand surrounding by candles... a definite budget traveller's scene. ginny and i could have spent longer, but after two days of nothing, we sadly left, albeit with sand still between our toes.