December 22, 2009 - Oaxaca, Mexico

Queridos amigos, familia y mas,

Last time we checked in we were in search of paradi$e. Things didn´t go exactly as expected (as if they ever do) but everything worked out beyond our wildest expectation. Instead of a bustling tourist beach packed with walking wallets what we found was la playa mas tranquila. After running our errands in Mexico City, meeting some really cool party people in La Condesa (the hip part of town), spending a weekend in Oaxaca City, and stopping for a night in San Jose del Pacifico (more on that later) we were there: Mazunte. The beach was small (maybe 500 meters) and sparsely populated. The water was WARM and clear enough to see fish in the waves from our room. There were beaches to the east and there were beaches to the west but we knew we`d found our home. We spent that first day inquiring about potential rooms and there were many good ones. We were about to call it a day without making a decision when I noticed we`d skipped a large section of the beach. Cruising to the far side where there are mostly just restaurant huts we saw, rising from the sand like a dilapidated mirage or something out of Swiss Family Robinson, Hostal Carlos Einstein.
Cesar, the hunky manager, showed us around some really crappy rooms until we asked what was behind door number ten. They were saving the best for last and as soon as we stepped foot inside our new room we were home. We agreed on a monthly rate and brought our bags. We had a bed w/ bugnet, bathroom, table w/ chairs, hammock, and a wall w/ a door that locked. Perfect. Where there would otherwise be walls we had a panorama view of the entire length of the beach, with three large coconut palms providing just the right amount of shade and privacy. Before you assume too much, this was no luxury suite. The above mentioned amenities were housed in walls of nasty stucko, under a roof of rotting palm thatch, and animals could come and go as they pleased. Perfect.
The next month passed like a dream. That might have had something to do with the fact that we stayed in bed a lot. But hey, when your bed is outside in the breeze with waves crashing and palms swishing, whadaya gonna do? Lazy is relative to the amount of stuff one must do. We must eat and breath and... well, the kitchen was right downstairs. Only on special occassions would we go out for a two dollar tlayuda but for the most part we cooked for ourselves three times a day and enjoyed every minute of discovering how many different things one can do with tomatos, onions, chilies, and garlic. While horizontal we read daily (and finished seven books between us) and listened to podcasts to stay up with the affairs of the states (things ain't lookin' so good for ya'll, huh?). So much for making money.
Occassionally, however, we would venture out to explore what Mazunte had to offer. Which was not a lot in terms of infrastructure (one paved road), services (just internet and laundry), or shopping (trinkets and beach wear) but who needs that stuff anyway. What it did have was nature and people from all over (ok mostly Europe). Our favorite hike was out to Punta Cometa which took you passed the cemetary, through the mystical forest of really spiky plants, down the sliding sand hill of death, and finally to the point where you could watch the sun set over the ocean as the fishermen called it a day. On the weekends we'd go watch the youth soccer matches on the big dirt field and treat ourselves to some coconut ice cream. When we ran out of food or money, we'd just hop on the truck to Pochutla to refuel. We had it all.
Thanksgiving presented us with a challenge. First, find food that somewhat resembles what our families would be eating back home. Second, find some Americans who give a damn to enjoy it with us. On the food, we found potatoes and green beans. We saw some turkeys running around in a field but were unable to acquire one; we settled for beef. On the companionship, we found Canadians. They had already celebrated their Day of Thanks (or whatever they call it) a month earlier but were nice enough to share our special night and contribute a yummy salad. Emily got to video Skype with her entire family for free for an hour. Tyler got to talk to some of his family for seven minutes on a sketchy satelite phone for $10.
One special adventure we had was an overnight trip up the mountain, back to San Jose del Pacifico. We had met two cool folks from Oakland, Lupita and Jack, that had just bought a VW bug and had heard of this town. With a little encouragement from us we were off the next day. This town is well-known for its close connection with the magic of mushrooms. Pictures of Maria Sabina and wooden carvings of caps and stems fill every restaurant and hotel. We spent the evening wandering the woods above town watching the sunset over the sea of clouds. As the temperature dropped into the 40s for the first time on our trip we were reminded that it is winter here too. Lots of warm atole and chocolate was all we needed to remedy that and the next day we headed back to the beach.
At last, Brad, a good friend from college, and his girlfriend Shana, answered our call for someone to come share our winter wonderland. In the week that we had together we did more than we probably had the entire previous three weeks. Here are some highlights:
1. Three-hour boat morning boat tour which included catching sea turtles (and releasing them after we took photos), swimming amongst the largest pod of dolphins I've ever seen (hundreds, possibly thousands), and snorkeling (not nearly as exciting as the first two).
2. Drinking lots of local mezcal (maybe not the best idea).
3. Pretending to be fishermen
4. Frolicking naked on the beach
5. Finding our way to Agua Blanca, a strip of restaurants on pristine beach with good waves, free camping and only solar power.
6. Partying one night in Puerto Escondido (actually they did all the partying because Tyler was struck by a fever that made his head pound with every pulse that is just now going away, don't think it was Dengue)
Thanks so much to you two for coming down here and making ours a Happy Holidays. Things couldn't have gone better (except for the fever), we're really glad you got to do that trip together. Now, we are in Pochutla awaiting our night bus to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas where we plan on spending Christmas y mas. We are really missing our families right about now and we hope that the holidays bring everyone closer to the people they love and the people they'd like to love. We just put a ton of pictures of the whole trip (and Burning Man!) on Picasa (link below) so anyone can see them. May they bring you closer to us. We love and miss you all, keep rockin' and for god's sake call your congressman about something. Merry Christmas a todos! Peace and Love, Tyler y Emily