Quiet Beaches: Zipolite and Mazunte

Time to hit the road once again and venture further south to a beach recommended by a friend. The town and beach is called Zipolite and it is about 2 hours by bus from Puerto Escondido. There are buses departing from Puerto Escondido every hour starting at 7 a.m and finishing at 10 p.m on weekdays. The cost of the bus is 42 pesos. The buses, however, do not take you directly to the beach. We were dropped off on the side of the highway in a little village known as San Antonio. The only “landmark” being an OXXO convenience store. Immediately we were barraged by taxi drivers offering to take us to Manzunte or Zipolite for 80 or 160 pesos respectively. This is a large sum when considering the distance is only several kilometers. Clearly these taxi drivers prey on either lazy and desperate tourists or those that don’t know better. Since it was still early in the day there was no rush to get to the beach.

A passajero truck operating on the road between San Antonio and Zipolite.

There are “pasajeros” that come around every 20 minutes or so and will take you to Zipolite for 20 pesos per person. It stops just next to the OXXO if you wave it down. A pasajero can be a taxi, small van, or a pickup truck with a tarp covering it. In this case it was a white pickup truck with a green tarp covering the back.  You are sharing the ride with others that are picked up and dropped off along the way. You just hop on and either ring a bell or pound on the roof when you want to get off. You pay the driver at your destination.

It will cost 20 pesos from San Antonio to Zipolite and 8 pesos from Zipolite to Mazunte.

Soon enough we were on the back of one of these trucks, a few locals sharing the ride with us while “Love Hurts” by Nazareth (sung in Spanish) blared out old decrepit speakers screwed to the floor. The jungle streamed by us as we careened down a twisting road towards Zipolite. The truck will stop just outside of the town and it’s a short walk from there to the beach.

The beach at Zipolite stretches almost 2km between high cliffs at either end. It’s a sleepy little town discovered by hippies back in the ‘60s and since then has evolved into an eclectic mix of locals and travellers seeking to avoid large resorts and the party scene of places like Cancun. Here there is a feeling of time slowing down.

The west end of Playa Zipolite.

On the west end of the beach, nestled against large rock formations jutting out of the sand and in front of a restaurant called “Nude” is where more adventurous beach goers shed their clothes. Amidst the surfing lessons and old dudes chopping coconuts to drink are pockets of people letting it all out. It is all of little consequence to the locals who seem completely used to it. This as been a nude beach for at least a few decades, or at least since the hippies discovered it.

We checked into a place called Lomo La Linda, a collection of thatch roofed rooms and balconies overlooking the ocean. Hammocks swinging on the balconies and the sound of surf complete the scene. There are also yoga classes offered almost daily. If you come to Zipolite, expect to be completely chilled out. This is a place to relax and the slow languid pace of those already here affirm that.

The view from La Lomo Linda.

The sounds of surf pounding the beach in the distance carry through the small open aired yoga studio at Lomo La Linda. The instructor is a tiny ever-smiling lady named Issa. We are doing a relaxation yoga which is working wonders on my stiff muscles. An iguana is perched on a branch to the right of me and a bat is flying around high above in the ceiling of our space. Apparently there is a family of bats here, but they are leaving us alone and add to the natural feeling of the place. Issa is a fantastic instructor who’s smile and easy going nature put you completely at ease. By the end of the session I’ve drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Sunset over Zipolite.

The next stop on our journey south is the sleepy little village of Mazunte. Mazunte is only a few kilometers down the road from Zipolite and very easy to get to by passejero. We arrived there early in the afternoon after leaving La Lomo Linda and took a walk towards the beach in search of accommodation. A fellow backpacker we met along the way told us of a place on the beach called Architecto that had very reasonable dorm beds available and the location couldn’t be beat. The dorms at Architecto are very cheap at 60 pesos a night, but we quickly realized that there is little shelter from the elements and no mosquito netting. At the top of a hill to the back of the hostel are beds suspended by ropes and under a flimsy roof but have mosquito nets and the views of the ocean and beach are amazing. It was 130 pesos for the two of us so we decided to go for it. The views are breathtaking and there was a really nice breeze blowing in off the ocean. I felt we had found a great a place to stay. 5 hours later the tropical storm hit…

A hanging bed at Architecto Hostel.

Monica and I were enjoying happy hour cocktails at a little bar and restaurant across the street called Siddartha. The pina coladas are excellent and they make stellar papas fritas that are seasoned with paprika. They really lay the booze on thick in that place as well. At some point into the third or fourth drink, the storm hit. It took both of us a moment to realize that our bed, pillows and bedding were likely getting soaked. I sprinted up the hill at Architecto to find the beds swaying in the wind, thunder booming overhead and a torrential downpour soaking everything in sight. Later we’d end up sleeping on the floor of the restaurant downstairs to escape the rain. The Architecto has a great location and the prices are very fair, but if the weather turns sour you don’t want to be staying there. It ended up raining almost every night we stayed in Mazunte, but after that first night we ended up moving down the road to a drier spot.

La Playa Mermejita

Mazunte is a little fishing village that made its bread and butter fishing turtles up until the nineties when the government banned the practice in order to save the dwindling turtle population. Without the turtle fisheries the town turned to Eco-tourism to survive. It’s a beautiful little village and there are a few quiet beaches to relax at, although only Playa Rinconcito is good for swimming. This is where we ended up spending the majority of our time soaking up the sun and enjoying the water. The beaches at Zipolite and Puerto Escondido were not as nice for swimming, so this was a welcome change.

A view from Estrella Fugaz in Mazunte.

There are a few good places to eat and drink in Mazunte. Check out Sahuaro for sushi and excellent fish tacos, Estrella Fugaz has great breakfast options for a decent price, Siddartha for happy hour, La Baguette for baked goods and El Pescador for fresh seafood.

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