We found that place in Barra de Navidad, a tiny little town a few hours south of Puerto Vallarta. It was just what we were looking for - everything concentrated in a few blocks with just a small selection of restaurants, bars and shops, and a long curving expanse of beach. It was a quiet little town so it was a nice change after Puerto Vallarta. We found a room with bathroom and kitchenette for $15 a night and spent a nice chilled week swimming, cooking and walking along the beach. We were even in town for the annual Chilli Cook-off, which is actually organised by Americans in town (for Rotary of course), so not really an authentic Mexican experience. Still, we tasted a few samples and drank a few beers, but again, there were way too many retired Americans and Canadians in one place for our liking. One morning when he was out for a run, Kurt had a very random encounter. Since before we left Australia he had been following the blog of an American couple travelling around the world, and somehow he recognised them as he was running along behind them. He asked if they were who he thought they were, which must have been a surprise to them being recognised in a small beach town, and we ended up meeting them later that day for lunch and a few beers. I don't know what the odds were of that happening, but it was a nice surprise. They're a real down to earth couple with similar views to us, so it was great to share travel stories and experiences with them. After a week here we were keen to move on again though, so we packed up and moved on further south.
When we were planning our trip down the coast and deciding where to stop, there was one place that I was determined to go - Zihuatanejo. It's the beach where Andy and Red meet at the end of The Shawshank Redemption, so when I saw it on the map I said we have to go there. The beach looks nothing like the one in the movie though - probably because the movie was shot in the US Virgin Islands, not in Zihuatanejo. Of course. There are some nice beaches around, but nothing spectacular. It's a relatively small town and used to be just a sleepy little fishing village, but over the years it's become a popular tourist spot so there's a lot of restaurants and bars to choose from. As in Puerto Vallarta there was a nice waterfront walkway, and there was a good vibe to the place. We were in town for the Super Bowl so the bars were jammed that day and plenty of beers were drunk. Next stop on our coastal tour was Acapulco.
Everyone had said Acapulco is a dangerous city and not worth stopping in, so we only planned to stay a couple of days. We don't like big commercial resort places, so not surprisingly, we didn't really like Acapulco. It's a hugely spread out city with resorts and hotels concentrated in different areas. Obviously we didn't stay near them. The only thing we were interested in seeing while we were there was the famous La Quebrada cliff divers. Lucky for us we were able to walk up the hill to the diving spot and secure a front row place to watch before everyone else arrived. There's a hotel on the cliff with a bar/restaurant looking down on the diving spot, but of course they charge a lot for the privilege of sitting there. We had a closer view for a fraction of the price, so we were happy with our choice. When the divers, all males, finally made their way down, we were surprised by how young they were. I think the youngest was 12, ranging in age up to early or mid 20s. And when you see them free climb up the cliff face, it's even more impressive. They all jump from different heights depending on experience, with only a handful climbing to the top of the 40m cliff. But even the young ones dive from a fair height, and the whole thing is made even more difficult by the fact that they're diving into a narrow inlet of water only 7m wide and 4m deep. Not really a forgiving sport if you fuck up. It was a great way to spend the evening and it was cool to see something new.
Our last stop on the Pacific coast was Puerto Escondido. It's a relatively small town that has always been on the surfing and backpacking scene, but it's grown in popularity over the years. There's now plenty of places to choose from for accommodation (budget to expensive), restaurants and shops. We stayed on Zicatela beach which is the main surfing beach and has a cool little community feel to it. We found a cheap place to stay for the night so we could dump our backpacks, then walked around to see if there was a better deal. Turned out where we'd chosen was the best place for us and we got a really good deal for two weeks - only $11 a night. For that we had our own little unit with bathroom and kitchenette, and it was located on a hill with amazing views overlooking the beach. There was even a pool, which was a necessity to escape the heat. It was the perfect place to relax for a couple of weeks, doing nothing but swimming, going for daily walks along the beach and cooking good food. And when we wanted to have a drink and watch sports there were a couple of bars to choose from. It was an ideal combination of chilled beach living and enough amenities to have everything we needed. We both agreed it was the first place we'd been to that we could actually see ourselves living.
While we were staying in Puerto Escondido we made an overnight trip to Chacahua National Park. As is usually the case, we had to take a couple of buses then a boat to get to the island, ending with a bumpy ride in the back of a truck to get to Chacahua. It's a beautiful stretch of beach with a few places lining the beachfront to stay and eat. It was really quiet when we were there so we got a little bungalow for a decent price and managed to get in some swimming and hammock time before the sun went down. We indulged in some local mezcal (a relative of tequila) which went down a little too easily, but nothing a swim the next morning couldn't fix before we went back to Puerto Escondido. We also went on a brief trip to another nearby beach called San Augustinillo, which was a beautiful little place. But there was no shade and food was too expensive, so after swimming, walking along the beach and some sunbathing, we headed back. All in all we loved Puerto Escondido and were sad to leave. Especially as it was our last stop on the coast. But what a great place to finish.
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| On the boat to Chacahua |
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| San Augustinillo |
