Due Vagabondi: May 2026

With the USA/Israeli war against Iran cancelling our trip to Egypt, Jordan and Turkiye, it seemed like a good time to stay somewhat close to home and visit our former country of residence, Mexico, while travelling to a state that we had not visited in the past.

The journey looks like this: Playa Escondido - Oaxaca City - San Pablo Villa de Mitla - Santiago Matatlan - San Jose del Pacifico - Pluma Hidalgo - Hualtulco - San Agustinillo/Mazunta - Puerto Escondido

The simplest way there and back was in and out of Puerto Escondido, which considering that we haven't had a beach holiday for several years, seemed like a good idea.

At first it seemed counterintuitive to head to a tropical country as our Canadian spring approached, but on landing I realized how beautiful the end of a long dry season can be. Many flowering trees and bushes are in full bloom and, with the leaves fallen away, their vivid colours paint the walkways. There's the purple of jacaranda; the white, pink and yellow of plumeria; the lemon colour of golden showers; the brilliant orange-red of the well-named flamboyán tree; the oranage, red, white and yellow of hibiscus; yellow and pink trumpet flowers; the magnificent bougainvilleas with their vast array of colours; the purple and orange plumes of birds of paradise; the huge ceibas with pink and white flowers; the scented jasmine and gardenias; and others that I didn't recognize.

It's also mango season. The tiendas and mercados have baskets and boxes full, marked 'especial' (in one place: 10 pesos for a kilo or CAD $0.78). In a roadside eatery the other day, admiring an enormous mango tree on the property dripping with fruit, we were gifted fruit to take home. Walking through a neighbourhood where the trees especially like to grow, and people stack mangoes free for the taking outside their gates; we passed an abandoned property with two big trees and hundreds of ripe mangoes on the ground. We used as many as we could: in smoothies, salsa, tacos and fruit salad. Mostly we see yellow mangoes but spot a couple of trees with the bigger red variety.

Fourteen days in Puerto Escondido was divided between two neighbourhoods, which allowed us to explore several beaches and communities.

We started in the Playa Zicatela area, staying at the top of Las Brisas hill, near the highway. It was an easy walk to the beach lined with restaurants, clubs and shops, and there was often free entertainment. Inexpensive colectivos were just half a block away.

At Mercado Zicatela, we enjoyed sitting at the back in the food stalls overlooking the beach, catching the cooling breeze while enjoying an antojito or cold cerveza. With arts and crafts for sale and higher grocery prices, it felt more tourist-oriented than Mercado Benito Juarez in Centro. The food stalls served reasonably priced meals, but still higher than in Centro.

One favourite find: packets of roasted peanuts, mixed with dried and roasted garbanzo beans, garlic cloves and red chile pepper.

Freshly caught mahi mahi. We are told that most of it will go from market to restaurants, but we can also buy fillets here to take home.

This (molino) mill in the market can grind for you - on the spot: corn, beans, coffee, oats, peanuts, chili, rice - and if that's not enough: dried grains. He also sold many of these products.

These are just a few of the cut flowers available at the market.

Looking down on the beach from an eatery at Mercado de Zicatela

The down side to Las Brisas was the noise - traffic on the hill and highway, plus nearby venues playing music into the early hours. A friend-recommended spot - Casa de Dan, just a block or two off Las Brisas felt more peaceful.

Playa Punta to the south looking towards Zicatela

ZICATELA BEACH (AKA: The Mexican Pipeline)

The waves here seem huge to us, but later in May through to August is when they really roll in. They are known as powerful, fast and dangerous - barreling tube waves reaching 10-15 meters in big swells.

People gather towards sunset every evening to await sunset & watch the end of the surfers for the day.

People on the beach were invited to come to a fashion show, set up on the sand with a runway for the models and chairs for guests. The sponsors were a Turistico department and a mezcal company. The award-winning Oaxacan designer partners with an Italian designer. She brings the Oaxacan needlework and patterns and he brings the flowing outline. It was a lovely evening as each model was brought to the runway with a sax instrumental. Attendees could purchase a mezcal cocktail, or a small bottle for 50 pesos.

Above are just a few of the models and below are the young women who walked the beach, inviting people to come in.

The street along Zicatella is where we strolled in the evening as many of the night clubs, restaurants and stores are here.

To the south of Zicatela Lies Playa La Punta

The 'village' surrounding this beach had a bohemian feel with youthful energy, lots of eateries and bars, and a beginner-friendly surf. The waves are still too strong for my comfort.

One day while relaxing at La Punta, a fellow came along, mezcal bottle in hand, introduced himself and hung out for a while. He is Canadian, from BC, but has lived here for over a decade. He tells us stories of children he has sired, surfing the big waves, while doing handstands, and of money gained and lost. Taylor is the owner of the Pipeline Hostel on Zicatela.

Later, I learned that he is well respected by the 'Big Wave' community here. Known as both the "Handstand Surfer" and the "Night Surfer", heading out with only stars and far distant lights from shore to guide him and his board. He is a man who lives dangerously.

He was captured on video by Dogtooth Media

And to the North of Zicatela ...

The Los Manos statue at the north end of Zicatela beach, before it becomes Playa Marinaro, is a tribute to those lost at sea.

North again, is the busy Playa Principal where the marina and the fishermen are located.

One can of course go out fishing for a day, or just have a local take you out for dolphin or whale watching.

Marlin, sailfish, mahi mahi and tuna are the big catches here, but red snapper, octopus, oysters and shrimp provide a steady income.

Our second stay was in the Rinconada neighbourhood, north of Playa Principal. From there we had access via short walks - and lots of steps - down to either Playa Manzanillo/Puerto Angelito or Playa Carrizalillo. (We didn't make it as far north as Playa Coral or Bochocho.)

Our accommodation with a salt water infinity pool, was high above Playa Manzanillo and overlooked the Puerto Angelito. The landscaping here was beautiful, and we enjoyed the two ginger cats, one of whom was a lap cat.

Sitting by the pool, under the stars we watched lights turning on one by one as the fishboats headed out for a night of work.

We went to Play Manzanillo only once. It is very small, somewhat rocky, and quickly became crowded as every morning four to five big tour buses parked on the street to disgorge beach goers.

Our preferred beach required a walk to the main section of the Rinconada neighbourhood to descend the 160 steep stone steps to the sand at Playa Carrazalillo. This beach has quiet, rolling waves, with lots of sand and no rocks. It suits us and feels open and larger than it really is.

Everything for the restaurants and vendors had to be carried down those 100+ stairs. One worker, making endless trips, did it while wearing a full-face luchador mask, singing as he worked. He could carry three cases of 24 beer at a time or a huge bag of coconuts.

Rinconada is an interesting neighbourhood too, and is our new evening walk.

Our time here comes to a close.

Did we enjoy our time in Puerto Escondido? More or less. A week would have been sufficient. Would we return? Not likely. However, it is an immensely popular spot with many people that we read is growing rapidly. We knew it was a surfer town when we came, so knew we wouldn't be in the water much, but really enjoyed the couple of beaches with gentler waves, and the warmth of the water. We picked accommodation that had pools.

It's a place where you can either walk everywhere or catch an inexpensive colectivo to get where you need to go, and the taxis are reasonably priced. The restaurants range from high- end to street food and everything in between.

That said, we saw a surprising number of abandoned construction projects, and more men drinking on the streets and sleeping on the streets (perhaps after too much drink) than we've seen anywhere else in Mexico.

In general, we found the prices for accommodation to be quite high, considering what you get and that we were there in an off season. We know we could rent beach loungers for a day at a seaside in Europe for less than what was being charged at several of the beaches here.

As always, the people of Mexico are kind, friendly and welcoming.

We are looking forward two weeks in our next stop: Oaxaca City.

Just before leaving, I tripped on broken sidewalk and did a full frontal face plant, banging knees, wrists, and my head. Here's hoping it won't interfere with all we want to do in the city.

RANDOM PHOTOS OF STREET ART IN PUERTO ESCONDIDO