Turning brown in Oaxaca

So by now we´ve been to two beautiful beaches on the coast of Oaxaca. We´re currently blogging from beachy, but touristy, Pto. Escondido. So far the differences bet. the two beaches (mazunte and pto. escondido) abound. Mazunte is a smaller, more intimate beach with few tourists year round (though this is changing). It´s also a "sitio ceremonial-magneto" as coined probably by some foreign hippies, though it truly is a sacred and awe-inspiring spot. Speaking of which, while the beach is littered with unkempt, drum-circle happy hippies, most of the tourists were either German, French or Latin American (and many more Mexicans than we remember from two years back). Finally, the prices are way better and the food and drinks more pleasing. Pto Escondido, on the other hand, is on the way to becoming the next acapulco. While it´s no cancun, it´s filled with pale, overweight canadians and americans, most of them seemingly preferring sun over water and strong drinks over commendable bartending. The beaches are also much larger and boats are everywhere, both docked and in transit. The waves are also higher, and Pto Escondido is known for good surfing. Horse-back riding is also availab le, for about $10 american the hour. Finally, hotels are a bit pricier and accomodations less rustic. It´s hard to beat a bamboo-thatch cabaña on the ocean-side of a cerrito (hill) for $35 american per night.

Ok, so this post is getting long and we´re in a hurry to move on to the next town. Our next stop is Santiago Jamiltepec, on the coastal mountains of sw Oaxaca. We´ll b e spending a couple of hours there exploring the market and checking out some mixtecs. After that it´s on to DF (mexico city, which mexicans always refer to simply as "Mexico") via acapulco.

Till next time!