Puerto Escondido - Waves, hammocks, and even more tacos

Puerto Escondido was essentially a normal Mexican fishing village. It probably would have stayed that way if surfers hadn't discovered it. Thanks to the waves, many young people in the village now have the task of teaching surf enthusiasts like us or providing accommodation and food for more experienced surfers. It's a gentle form of tourism, it's not crowded at all, the place hasn't (yet) sold its Mexican soul, and yet everything is taken care of that you need in a surfer's paradise 😊 So it's a blessing for the residents, because there probably wasn't much work before. But you can see that construction is going on and that the place may change in the coming years, which our teachers also regret because they don't need more tourists to live well.

Our teachers Julio and Neiser love their work and we are happy with our choice! We have about 2 hours of classes at Zicatela Beach every day (50 m from our accommodation) and we surf between the fishermen or the fishermen fish between the surfers 😊 The fishermen argue with pelicans for the sardines that swim in abundance in the water. The pelicans come so close, it's beautiful! On the first day, the waves were pretty beneficial, so I did really well right away. It took David a little longer, but it also worked for him in the following days. On the second day, the waves were very flat and slow, which is uncool because you spend half the time waiting for a somewhat suitable wave. On the third day, the ocean was relatively wild and we experienced a few wipeouts 😩😉 Also not ideal for beginners, but that's the sea...

The sport is relatively complex, but for beginners, the most exhausting thing about surfing is definitely paddling, which often leads to severe muscle soreness, as is the case with us. But we got used to it pretty quickly. However, what really bothered both of us were really painful rib pain caused by the unfamiliar paddling position and the resulting strong pressure on the lower ribs. Really intense. We both had to take a day off because we just couldn't go on. Of course, we had hoped that it would be better the next day, but no chance 😔 It wasn't until the day after next that we were able to surf again, so the planned 5 days became only 4 days of surf lessons, and the remaining time we used to rest and do absolutely nothing. Everything could have gone better overall... but on the 4th day, we went to the nearby Carrizalillo Beach, where it's a bit calmer, and we had a few small successes. At Zicatela Beach (where we practiced before), it was really intense and the waves were really big 😮

On one of our days off, we went to the market in the village. Fruit, vegetables, cheese, handicrafts, flowers, fish, and meat in abundance... whole pigs and goats are sold there. And even small fried grasshoppers are offered everywhere as a crispy snack. The love for meat in Mexico is very strong... but so far we have hardly had any problems, at least there have always been vegetarian alternatives when we asked for them. And since so much corn is used, the wheat issue is also not a problem. During our market visit, our experimentation was limited to fresh orange juice and the vegetable chayote, which belongs to the pumpkin family. Delicious!

When we weren't in the water ourselves, we loved watching the experienced surfers. The local youth, basically growing up on a board, showed off their skills. The hammocks in the beautiful garden of our wonderful accommodation were also among our favorite places. Even a few hummingbirds flew around in the garden, which are native here. And otherwise, we either let ourselves be cooked for in one of the numerous local restaurants and stuffed with tacos that we will never get tired of, or we drank fresh coconut water, which is really refreshing in the heat 😍

In the few days of surf lessons, we only learned how to stand on the board and stay standing for a while, so really the basics. Surfing a wave on your own, without the teacher's support, still feels a bit like magic to us 😆 For more progress, to better handle the board and the sea, you need at least 2 to 3 weeks more practice... But we had fun and we will remember Puerto Escondido fondly! And there are supposed to be more surf beaches in South America, who knows 😉 Now we're moving on to San Cristobal de las Casas!

If you're interested, you can simply enter Puerto Escondido on YouTube, and you'll find some scary wave videos from championships that take place here 🤗

Puerto Escondido is a village located in southwest Mexico where we signed up for a surf school for 5 days. The idea of trying out this sport came to us in Australia, where we saw a lot of people learning to surf. But of course, Mexico is much cheaper to do these kinds of things, so we decided to wait until we got here ;). The little town clearly depends on surf tourism, and there are schools everywhere, although you still see many people who make a living from fishing. Let's say it's at that pleasant tourism point without becoming overcrowded, let's see how long it lasts... The beach where we have our classes is called Zicatela, specifically at its point, and it's full of sardines and pelicans, so fishermen, surfers, and birds compete a bit for space :-).

Our teachers are Julio and Neiser, and we are quite happy with them, they are very flexible with the class schedule and have a lot of experience and patience with us. These five days don't allow for much, and what they teach you basically is how to position yourself correctly on the board, how to paddle, and how to get on the board. Surfing a wave ourselves still feels like pure magic. The learning process is quite tough, and we had to take two days off to recover a bit from the rib pain, as the body is not used to being on a hard surface face down for so long. Ninja is much better at it than me, she was already standing on the board from the first day, and I had to wait until the third day :).

During our free time, we also enjoyed the beach, swimming or sunbathing, or simply chilling in the hammocks of our hostel-school, which has a beautiful garden with flowers, plants, coconut trees, and mangoes. Even a hummingbird has come close to taste the flowers around here. The food, in general, is very cheap, so we hardly cook and go to the restaurants nearby, and we're already getting tired of tacos :-). One of the days, we also went to the center of the town to do some shopping. The town itself is nothing special, but the market is very nice, with lots of places to eat and vegetable stalls full of colors. Used to European standards, the meat and fish stands don't seem very hygienic, but I suppose it's just a matter of getting used to it. What I like about the meat stands here is that if you buy something, you know exactly what you're buying because they practically butcher the animal in front of you, and I think that has been lost a bit in Europe, when you go to buy something and they already give it to you pre-cut on a tray (and yes, I'm still a vegetarian ;) but it caught my attention).

Although we struggled a bit, we really enjoyed the surfing experience, and if we have the opportunity, I think we'll take a few more classes during the year. For now, our next destination is San Cristobal de las Casas, in the state of Chiapas!!