Boating The Mexican South Pacific Route, Oaxaca
The Mexican South Pacific, mainly in the state of Oaxaca, offers visitors a number of ports and harbors of interest which are characterized by their natural beauty and good state of preservation, as well as the myriad of activities available to everyone. Among the wonderful places we recommend you to visit are:
Huatulco
Huatulco is a touristic development located on the coast of Oaxaca. The area covers 26 miles of coastline, which is home to 36 beaches of white sand. The central bay is the Bay of Santa Cruz, where we can find a large pier where cruise ships can dock, as well as a Marina for smaller boats. Santa Cruz, which is a Beach located along a 250 meter-long area, is a beautiful place with white sands and turquoise waters. There are excellent restaurants, such as "La Terraza" where the tourist can enjoy a delicious dinner, and the "Cafe Juanita" if what you want is to start your day with a good breakfast.
Towards the East, we can find the Bays of Chahué, Tangolunda and Conejos. In Chahué, we can find a small yacht marina that hosts around 86 spaces, electricity and running water. There are also highly recommended restaurants as "El Cafecito". In Tangolunda Bay, we can find the largest hotels, several shopping malls offering a variety of shops to suit all tastes, and a beautiful golf course with 18 holes on 78 hectares.
Going to the West from Santa Cruz, are the Bays of Maguey, Organ, Cacaluta, Chachacual and St. Augustine. The main attraction of these is their natural beauty, tranquility and wide and beautiful variety of flora and fauna.
Of special interest are the Bay Cacaluta and Chachacual, which are only accessible by boat, thus adding another attraction for sea travelers. Both bays offer an abundant vegetation, not to mention that, facing Cacaluta Bay, we can find an island that protects the bay from the prevailing winds, making it a very quiet place. When traveling to any of these places, make sure to bring enough of everything: these places do not have places to shop, thus ensuring a ride that will provide a relaxing atmosphere for visitors. As if this were not enough, in the Bay of Chachacual we can find an ecological reserve and two virgin places: The Beach of Chachacual and The Indian Beach.
Puerto Escondido
This port and tourist center has visitors with a more eclectic way of thinking than those visiting Huatulco. Its main attractions are the beaches, and the wonderful places provided for surfing, fishing and bird watching. You can anchor in the Escondido Bay in order to visit the town, and if your visit takes place during November, you can either be a participant or at least an observer of an international attraction: surfing competitions that take place at the Zicatela beach. This beach of about 3 kms. in length, is considered as one of the top 10 beaches in the world for surfing! If you are a beginner, you can practice at Playa Marinero, which has a milder wave. During the time of the competitions, the Carnival is celebrated as well, which ensures a variety of entertainment, music and activities for all the family.
The restaurants in Puerto Escondido offer dishes based on seafood and, amazingly, also a good selection of Italian restaurants, who were founded by immigrants from Italy that came to live in Mexico. The village is rather small and rustic, however, some luxury hotels have started their operations in the area. You can find a variety of crafts at a great price on the Main Market, which is located in the center of this unique and picturesque village.
Mazunte
This coastal town is located 10 kms. west of Puerto Angel. His fame is due mainly to two things: The first is to the sea turtles that inhabit the place and have been studied by the Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, and second, the cooperative Mazunte Natural Cosmetics, which is producing "eco-friendly makeup." At some time the activity of the place revolved around the exploitation of the sea turtle, a situation that changed in the 90s, when this practice was outlawed.
Mazunte Beach, is more than one kilometer long and 50 meters wide. It has golden sands and the water is warm and clear. Other nearby beaches you can visit by boat are Zipolite (a nudist beach), Puerto Angel, Estacahuite, La Mina and Nozzle. In Estacahuite, we can find wonderful places for swimming and diving, like a giant coral reef which is also ideal for fishing. If you are inclined to visit lesser known places you can visit either Mermejeta or Escobilla Beaches. The latter is also known as "Playa Tortugueraâ since, from June to September hosts hundreds of turtles that nest on the site, which is a wonderful show definitely worth seeing.
And for the Jazz lovers, Mazunte Jazz Festival, one of the largest in Oaxaca, is held annually since 2005 mostly during the last week of November, offering visitors an exhibition of pure jazz and jazz fused with other rhythms, as well crafts and several activities to suit people of all ages and tastes.
As we can see, this region offers many attractions for the traveler, with the prevalence of intimate contact with wildlife, pristine beaches, and the opportunity to anchor and enjoy beautiful sunrises and sunsets without the bustle of typical tourist attractions . We invite you to visit this region of Mexico and to witness the fruit of the efforts of environmental protection that have had, at least in this region, a great success!
Article produced by the Editorial Team of "Explorando Mexico".
Copyright Explorando México, All rights reserved.
Photo: Mytze (Flickr Commons)
