Puerto Escondido is a port town and resort on Mexico's Pacific coast in
the state of Oaxaca. It's known for its many beaches and buzzing nightlife.
The town's central Principal Beach is lined with palm trees and
thatch-roofed bars. Busy Zicatela Beach is renowned for its Mexican Pipeline
surf break. Neighboring La Punta Beach has smaller waves. Carrizalillo Beach
is set in a cove backed by steep cliffs.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was known as Punta Escondida
(Hidden Point), then later, Puerto Escondido. At that time, it was just a
small fishing village that intermittently was used to ship coffee. Back
then, Puerto Escondido suffered from a lack of potable water, although the
Colotepec River ran nearby. This caused people to settle in other places.
Some did stay, including Nazario Castellanos and Escolástica Valencia, who
were the night watchmen for the nearby coffee plantations and considered to
be the town's first residents. There was no real town until the 1930s, when
Puerto Escondido's activity as a port was more firmly established.
Puerto Escondido belonged to the municipality of Santa María Colotepec.
However, eventually the residents petitioned to change jurisdiction to
another nearby municipality, San Pedro Mixtepec, which was granted in the
1940s.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, a church was constructed and the first
school was built. Wells were dug to alleviate the water supply problems, and
generators bought to supply electricity to the pumps and the few
streetlights. However, there were still problems getting needed outside
supplies such as sugar. These commodities only arrived when a merchant ship
entered the bay to sell its wares. Sometimes, this would not happen for
months. Residents got by with local products such as fish, poultry, iguanas,
chicken and turtle eggs. After the Sola de Vega road to the capital of
Oaxaca was constructed, this problem was alleviated somewhat.
In the 1960s, Highway 200 was built, connecting Oaxacan coastal towns with
Acapulco. Surfers and other tourists began to find the quiet beaches around
Puerto Escondido and tourism began to flourish. Its function as a port
diminished as coffee began to be transported by truck. Other infrastructure
added included those to supply the area with potable water, a small airport
where the Rinconada is now, mail service and some government offices.
However, in the 1970s only about 400 people lived in Puerto Escondido.
With time, Puerto Escondido's importance as a tourist attraction increased,
with hotels and resorts being constructed. For many years, restaurants were
almost exclusively in "palapas" (thatched roof shelters) with
fishermen preparing their catches; however, these have mostly given way to
modern tourist facilities. Puerto Escondido is one of the most important
tourist sites on the Oaxacan coast.
The community of Puerto Escondido is divided between two municipalities. The
Zicatela Beach side belongs to the municipality of Santa María Colotepec
and the western portion belongs to San Pedro Mixtepec. The boundary between
the two municipalities is in dispute, leaving many businesses in limbo,
sometimes paying taxes to both municipalities. Puerto Escondido is lobbying
for a more independent status with the Congress of the state of Oaxaca,
against opposition from San Pedro Mixtepec. 69% of the municipality's
population lives in Puerto Escondido. In addition to the above problems,
backers of the measure stated that while the community generates most of the
municipality's income, it does not receive support from the municipal seat.
In August 2008, residents of Puerto Escondido blocked the highway to the
municipal seat of San Pedro Mixtepec to protest the lack of money for
infrastructure in the town. As of the 2009 census, Puerto Escondido had a
population of 20,178.
On 30 July 2009, the state congress declared Puerto Escondido to be a city.
However, the declaration did not resolve the boundary dispute between San
Pedro Mixtepec and Santa María Colotepec.
Puerto Escondido is mostly located in the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec
in the western portion of Oaxaca's coast also known as the Emerald Coast.
Its bay is adjoined by a number of rocky cliffs, which vary in height
between 15 and 30 meters. The town center is located on the north side of
the bay. The climate is tropical and humid, with an average annual
temperature of 28 °C (82 °F) with a rainy season in the summer.
Puerto Escondido is the oldest tourist attraction in the region, and is the
main centre of tourist activity, both for nationals and foreigners. The
large waves of Zicatela Beach put it into the top ten surfing
destinations. The port does continue to support commercial fishing
activity, and it also attracts people for deep-sea fishing (esp. for
sailfish).
Puerto Escondido is not as well-known or visited as other beach resort
areas such as Acapulco or Cancun because there are only domestic flights,
discouraging a number of visitors. Bus rides from the Oaxacan capital used
to take seven hours over hairpin turns as the roads descend the Sierra del
Sur mountain range. The trip now takes 2 hour and the newly completed
highway. Most of the bus terminal coming from Oaxaca are located in the
downtown.
Puerto Escondido is mostly downscale and rustic, with many small and
mid-sized hotels and restaurants, but there are a few upscale hotels. Most
cuisine is based on seafood and local plants, which include eleven species
of banana, chocolate and coffee. It also has some Italian restaurants, which
were opened by recent Italian immigrants.[citation needed]
The tourist center of Puerto Escondido is not a plaza but Pérez Gazga
Avenue, known locally as "El Adoquin" or "La Zona Adoquinada"
(the paving stone street). Beginning with a statue of Benito Juárez are
found bars, hotels, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, craft shops, Internet
cafes, corner stores, tour operators and scuba diving rental. It also serves
as a promenade as it parallels the main beach of the town, and is
pedestrian-only after 17:00. At night it is crowded with locals and
tourists. This is one of the areas to buy Mexican, especially Oaxacan,
handcrafts such as loose-fitting blouses, shirts, vests, wraps, tapestries,
handbags, bags, jackets, hammocks, carved stone jewelry, silver and seashell
items. However, the main market in the town centre is where you get
competitive Mexican prices. Away from the beach above the Adoquin is the
Coastal Highway 200.
The Andador Escénico (Scenic Walkway) is a set of paths, stairs and bridges
that begin at the main beach of the town and winds its way over rocky
oceanside cliffs, passing below the lighthouse to a lookout the named Sueño
Posible (Possible Dream). In some places the walkway is very near the ocean
and gets wet from the waves.
Each year, the city celebrates Carnival which begins with the "quema de
mal humor" or the burning of bad mood. This is done with an effigy with
the purpose of ridding the people of bad thoughts and moods in order to
enjoy the festivities.
The main attractions of Puerto Escondido are its beaches, which have become
internationally known. The area also is attractive to scuba divers because
of the variety of fish, large oysters, lobsters and manta rays. Although the
Pacific Coast of Mexico generally runs north-south, this section of the
coast in Oaxaca runs east-west, Playa Zicatela is on the eastern end.
Puerto Escondido became famous for surfing competitions held at Zicatela
Beach every year in November. The competition brings competitors from
various countries. Nicknamed the "Mexican Pipeline" due to the
similar power and shape of the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu,
the wave that breaks on Zicatela Beach draws an international crowd of
surfers, bodyboarders and their entourages. Mid to late summer is low season
for tourists, but a prime time for waves and international tournaments. A
number of international competitions such as the ESPN X Games, and the
MexPipe Challenge have taken place. This beach is separated from the other
beaches by a rocky outcropping called "El Morro" (the nose). The
beach is 50 to 100 meters wide and four kilometers long with large waves
that reach up to sixteen meters high. Lifeguards are stationed at this
high-risk beach as well as on the other beaches. About half of these are
professional and the other half volunteers. Zicatela is still a surfers'
beach, with the strong rip current making the area unsuitable for swimming.
The Zicatela Beach tourist district caters to surfers, including specials on
surfboard rentals. The beach now has a promenade, landscaped with flowers
and shrubs along the restaurants, many recently established.
Playa Marinero
West of Zicatela over the El Moro rocky outcrop is Playa Marinero, which is
the best beach for swimming as the surf and rip currents are much less.
There is some surf, but gentle enough for beginning surfers and bodyboarding.
West from Playa Marinero is Playa Principal, or main beach, fronting the
town proper. This beach has boats and water taxis are anchored close to
shore. Here, fishermen arrive at dawn to sell their catch to local
restaurants and families. It is 500 meters long with fine, gray sand and low
to moderate surf. This is the primary place to hire boats which take
tourists to otherwise inaccessible beaches, to see porpoises and marine
turtles or for deep-sea fishing. This beach is also popular with Mexican
families to picnic on and play soccer.
West of the Playa Principal is the lighthouse with a stone walkway, Andador
Escénico, below it. From the end of the walkway, and a bit farther west,
are the twin beaches of Puerto Angelito and Manzanillo, between which is a
small rock outcropping. These are on a sheltered cove, making it safe for
swimming, with Manzanillo having slightly more surf. Angelito Beach has
small, family-owned restaurants located in palapas (open-air thatched
structures). These beaches have water that varies in color from emerald
green to turquoise blue. Puerto Angelito tends to be crowded and frequented
by busloads of visitors. Playa Manzanillo is quieter as there is no road
access.
Playa Carrizalillo
West from these beaches is Playa Carrizalillo which has white sand and
cobalt blue water edged in light green. This 300-meter-wide (980 ft) beach
is on a small bay. There are no vehicular roads to this beach, and the
footpath descends a steep slope on a recently installed rock stairway. It
takes about fifteen minutes to walk to here from the town. A water taxi ride
from Playa Principal is another option for accessing Carrizalillo. Waves are
normally gentle, except for a zone that opens directly onto the ocean where
waves are big enough for surfing. The difficult access means that the beach
is not as crowded with walking vendors as the Puerto Angelito Beach. There
are few restaurants and the area is generally cleaner. On the east and west
sides of the bay are rocky outcroppings that serve as habitat for a wide
variety of fish and coral, making it popular for snorkeling. Near
Carrizalillo is the Rinconada, a former landing strip that is now lined with
restaurants, salons, and shops. It also contains a lending library run by a
local charity run by expatriates.
The westernmost beach is Playa Bacocho with upscale beach clubs. It has
fine, soft sand, palm trees, warm, blue-green water and a moderate surf
although the far west part of the beach can have a strong rip current. It
faces southwest, offering good sunset views.[8] West from Bacocho are still
undeveloped beaches.
Puerto Escondido International Airport has flights to the city of Oaxaca,
Monterrey and Mexico City. Commercial buses from the city of
Oaxaca take about seven hours.
A new three-lane superhighway ("supercarretera") from Oaxaca is
coming to Ventanillas, Oaxaca, about 13 km east of Puerto Escondido, where
it meets the old coastal Highway 200. The project, now more than a decade
old, has been plagued by several delays. Its opening was currently scheduled
for the end of 2022 and has finally been completed. This reduced the travel
time from Oaxaca to two hours, instead of seven hours.
