Surf and Turf

I’m here to say that not all pizza is created the same! La Mediterraneo makes extremely good pizza. The other pizza place actually made us a pizza with hot-dogs and deli ham on it. Seriously? Oddly enough the hot-dog-pizza place is always packed. On Halloween it was packed with goblins and scary brides.

I’ve mentioned it before, I’m sure, but Puerto Escondido is a surfing town. Surfing is the pulse of this community. The cafes are open early and packed with people getting coffee and pastries. If the surf is good then the town is empty. The night-life in this part of town is non-existent. Everyone eats super late because it’s too hot to eat earlier, but then it’s off to bed. They have a party scene over in Zicatela for the foreigners, which is where the best waves are. It only cost 35 pesos for a taxi. Heads up, that’s not a swimming beach. The northern beaches are for swimmers because they’re in bays.

We are going to language school at a language/surf combo called Oasis. We are learning the Spanish language, but there is definitely a surfing language. 

They talk a lot about the Mexi Pipe Warrior (the ultimate surfer, or Roger the owner of Oasis), the olas (waves), the kook (doesn’t know the surf rules), the snake (wave thief), and wave hog (tries to take every wave without waiting in the line-up). Joe starts surf school Monday :)

We walked all the way to the locals market. What a crazy scene! I couldn’t buy anything… I was too overwhelmed. Buckets or birdlegs, crickets, tongue, and things I’ve never seen before. Joe bought some peanuts. The noise alone was enough to make me run out with my tail between my legs. I guess I prefer the beach, where you can watch the fisherman prepare the fish right there and then they cook it for you. I haven’t been able to convince myself to try the octopus yet. Ironically the locals cringe in disgust when you mention eating turtles, like they are some sort of household pet, but see nothing amiss with chowing on some poor octopus!

There’s a park near our home. It’s almost entirely cement, which is a treat in the jungle. At dusk it’s pretty crowded. Right now it has a carnival being set up to celebrate the day of the dead. We were cutting across this park the other day, and I was once again thrilled with the way Mexicans do family. Maybe they can’t afford video games, or don’t have good enough reception for TV in their houses, or maybe the house is just too blazing hot, but in the evening they are outside… together. As we entered the park (I wish I’d taken photos for you) a group of about ten teens were practicing a traditional folk dance. The girls had their big-long skirts on, the boys were in surfer shorts. The center had three families, including mom, playing soccer amongst themselves. One group even had a whistle. We kept moving. On the far end was a group of five young men taking turns break-dancing! We stood there and watched for about twenty minutes. Really, they were very good. One guy could even spin on his head! And then we rounded the corner and found a random shrine,

We made it to Zicatela for Joe’s (known here as Pepe) birthday. We wondered around for half the day until we were bored and came back to our part of town. The Rinconada just feels better to us. That side of town seems more touristy. The beach is absolutely enormous! The huge waves break right on the sand, so it’s super dangerous with a strong undertow. The surfing is done at the southern end of the beach at an area called La Punta. We took a taxi straight back to Puerto Angelito to avoid the hike :)

While sitting on the beach we noticed a boat loaded with passengers drifting towards the rocks. The captain kept starting the out-board motor and going forward about twenty feet, only to have the engine die again. Back they would drift. The attention on the beach grew. Locals began to walk towards that end of the beach. Twenty feet forward, twenty-five feet back. Tension mounted as we were sure we would be witnessing a boat wreck against the sharp rocks. The passengers huddled together with their life-jackets clutched close. It is a strange thing to watch a tragedy about to happen, and be helpless to intervene. Finally the captain got the motor running and off they went on their tour of the cliffs nearby. I would’ve jumped ship and swam ashore!

I’m a little surprised by how many international restaurants they have here. Italians are the leading group of immigrants here, followed by the Spaniards. An excellent little restaurant near us is called Relish. The owners are from a small city near Venice. They are so nice and the food is yummy… except they have a habit of turning a sandwich into crunchy bruschetta on both sides. Too crunchy. I just eat the inside, which is very good.

The ultimate dining experience is at the cliff-side restaurant, Espadin. The view is incomparable and the food is delicious. We splurged and ordered separate plates. I got the Mole Negro (chicken with the famous mole sauce), and Joe got a hamburger (it’s hard to say why he does this-but that’s Joe). He had 2 Bohemias (delicious dark beer), and I had an Argentinean Malbec… all for under 30 bucks. If you’re here, you must try this restaurant. If nothing else, you can enjoy a cocktail and watch the sunset.

Settling into Puerto Escondido

Treno, the hotel dog is checking out our view

Our new room is gorgeous, still no AC but gorgeous. It’s on the third floor with a view of the ocean in the distance. It has windows on three sides, so it gets a nice breeze. The swimming pool helps. After we hop in the pool, and then stand under the fan or out on the porch, usually we cool off. It also has a private kitchenette. The owners of the school live below us and he said Joe could use his work-out equipment in the garage, so that’s a bonus.

We went back to the Stair-Master beach yesterday. I’m happy to say that it wasn’t as difficult as the first day! A cute little waitress convinced us to try her favorite dish; deep-fried shrimp tacos. Let’s see, I ate banana bread for breakfast, fried tacos for lunch and then for dinner we had pizza again. Thank goodness for the stairs.

After the beach we thought, Hey, let’s try to find the grocery store. It took us awhile, but we found it and we found air-conditioning… Eureka! It’s the first time Joe was willing to wander aimlessly around a grocery store without complaint J We have a small grocery store near our place, but it’s actually more of a bar. On the sidewalk outside they have big screen TVs and chairs full of people watching sports. It helps that you can buy beer in the store and drink outside. Really, it’s brilliant. That store is always packed.

Today was more of the same; frappaccino, Spanish language school, I bought a whole loaf of banana bread, down to the beach to buy beach-towels from a sweet lady selling clothes and beach toys in a lean-to shack, and crossing over to a different beach to lay like beached whales for 3 hours while eating shrimp tacos. The people watching was exceptional today. All of the tiny beach restaurants are crammed together like sardines. Entire families are together at their restaurant, from infants to grandparents. The teens are the servers, the parents are the cooks, the grandparents are bossing everyone around, and the children are playing hide-and-seek. It’s nothing to see an 18 year-old waitress take someone’s order with a baby on her hip. 

Today the waitress had an ingenious way of getting her little girl to stay out of the way; she put her in a big hammock with a bag of chips, tied off the opening, and walked away to take food orders. It was like a playpen for the beach. The toddler crawled around inside of it and entertained herself without getting covered in sand and dirt.

We went over to check out our next hotel and loved it… it has an AC! Yahoo! I’m very excited, but by then I’ll probably have acclimated.

Our favorite beach waitress

We had a fantastic dinner at El Nene. One of the guys behind the bar is Italian and he recommended the barracuda with white wine, garlic and capers. Wow was that good. Joe had a skirt steak with a side of thinly sliced chili poblanos with a cream sauce. The wine selection down here is quite good. I had a glass of Carmenere from Chile. In general the food is good here. I’m trying to let go of the fish tacos mentality. I assumed that would be the specialty here, as it was in Playa del Carmen. Fish here seems to be served cooked whole or in filets But for tacos, shrimp is the popular item here, and octopus or even iguana. The maid was telling us that they make really good iguana here, but she doesn’t like the bugs and worms… okay now that’s just gross, sorry. We have come to accept that the shrimp tacos are deep fried, regardless of what they may say.

We met a couple from London. They are on a one-year trip of Latin America. They started in Cuba and then came to Mexico. They’ll stop a couple of more times and then head into Guatemala. I think that’s amazing for someone in their thirties. How in the world do they get that much time off of work? And to be able to afford it? Another couple, who’re very young, just arrived and they don’t know how long they’ll stay… maybe until Christmas! 

Arrival at Puerto Escondido

Just kidding, this wasn't our plane!

I try to write an honest blog. Sometimes that means I’m writing about my emotional response to our adventures. For example, my first impression of Puerto Escondido was excellent. As we came down the stairs of the plane we were greeted by several very good-looking Latinos. For Joe who had to carry our heavy carry-on bags down the steps… maybe he had a different picture :) The airport here consists of one small open-air room and luggage conveyor belt. Everyone said "Bienvenido" and acted as though they really meant it. That’s something that has stayed consistent here, the sincerity of a greeting. We stepped out of the airport to see a guy holding a sign with “Joseph” written on it. So far, so good.

My second impression was, wow it’s hot and humid here! We were dropped off at the school (Oasis Surf and Spanish Lessons). The owner gave us a ride to our temporary lodging for two nights. Then we will move to the room Joe wanted, but wasn’t available yet. It’s hard to describe this little complex. It’s mainly a grouping of family dwellings connected by a center courtyard of cement and mango trees. Our little room is in the upper corner… on the sunny side of the complex… heat rises. Upon entering the room, which was quite warm, she informed us that it didn’t have air-conditioning. Heidi wasn’t happy :) I commented that at least we’d have an AC in the next more permanent room they were providing. She looked confused, like maybe it was an inside joke. The poor thing didn’t understand that I’d had a grand total of one hour of sleep on one of the three planes we’d been on since the night before. I wasn’t tired, I was exhausted. Thankfully our room has an enormous fan.

We changed to swimsuits and went to town for a plate of chicken tacos. “Town” consists of one street about the length of a half a mile lined with shops and restaurants on the shady side. Puerto Escondido is somewhat broken into three parts; the lower beach level surfer zone with lots of pubs and shops, the central part with the grocery store and hospital, and our part which is on the bluffs. This is the quiet part of town and October is the slowest time of the year.

We had a teenage boy named Wilber point us in the right direction for Playa Carrizalillo. As the crow flies we are close to the beach, however I’m not a crow. 175 very steep steps awaited us (It reminded me of Patrick’s point north of Eureka, or Chichen Itza). Remember I’ve only slept an hour at this point. Once we got to the beach, we found Wilber and ordered a beer. I was blazing hot and had the beginnings of a heat-stroke headache, so I jumped in the ocean. After a couple of hours of trying to not sleep in the beach-bar, we returned to our sauna to sleep. I woke up miserable and wondering if I was going to survive.

With quivering legs we got ready to go out to dinner. Pizza at an open-air Italian restaurant restored us a little, but it still wasn’t pretty. We slept like the dead under our monster fan that night. I woke up refreshed and ready to face our first day of school. Our teacher is an adorable petite Chilean lady named Javi. She is perfect for us. After three hours of class and a frappaccino, we scampered off to Playa Manzanillo with a slower decent through shady trees. This is even more of a family beach than the other one, and we went to the marina side. I loved how the women would walk out into the water holding onto each other, that way if one falls they all fall. They get in to about knee-deep and sit down. 

After an hour of getting doused by the waves they crawl out like they’re going to be sucked out to sea. Mind you the waves on this beach are tiny. Children are walking in and out around them. It’s really comical to watch and very consistent amongst the ladies over thirty. By the way, the majority of the Mexicans go in the ocean with their clothes on, especially the women… we’re talking shorts, shirt, even jeans!

We returned to our sauna-room for a siesta and then decided to try to find the lower section of town… in the dark. We failed. We finally gave up and climbed back to our bluffs amidst a lightening show. The humidity had become oppressive and we were beginning to dread another hot night, but I am here to tell you that our area of Puerto Escondido is much cooler than the lower part and has a nice breeze.

We had dinner at a little Spanish restaurant with a terrace to view the lightening and listen to the thunder. So far (11:00 at night) it still hasn’t rained. The owner of the Spanish restaurant told us this is much cooler than September was and nothing compared to May. Note to my readers; if you don’t like the heat, don’t come here between May and September.

Well I close for now. I’m sitting outside in the co-op kitchen listening to Joe snore in the hammock next to me. Time to wake him up and try to get some sleep in our horrid little room for the last time. 

Food Guide: Playa del Carmen

This is a follow-up guide for food in Playa Del Carmen… mostly fish tacos. We get asked all the time about how we find restaurants and where are the good ones, so here are some good ones.

La Riviera Maya Hotel: This one is accessible by the beach. The hotel is located between Calle 4 Nte and Calle 2 Nte. You have to choose the beach loungers directly in front of the hotel to get these tacos. The chairs are rented by the day, or you can bring a towel and sit on the beach in front of the hotel. There are also a couple of tables in the sun between the loungers and the hotel where you can eat the tacos without renting a chair or sitting in the sand. Competition for your business is intense on the beach, make sure you have the correct hotel. The traditional fish tacos are small and come 4 to a plate with double tortillas. They serve Negra Mordelo here.

Shark Burgers on Calle 28 Norte, near 1 Avenida Nte: This little hole-in-the-wall is up 2 blocks from Mamita’s Beach. These hamburgers are delicious. They have a wall of fame for people who could eat their giant burger by themselves. Joe and I split the regular size. We like the one with the bacon.

Aldea Corazon: Calle Quinta Avenida, near Calle 14 Nte. This is for the quiet, romantic, elegant night out. It’s located directly on 5^th Ave. The restaurant front poorly represents the interior. On the right of the restaurant is a little gift shop selling heart stuff. You can walk through the little shop into the restaurant to get a peak at it. It is built around a cenote (sink hole). The tables wind around the small canyon downward right in the middle of the jungle growth. The food is upper end Mexican. If you’re on a budget get a table and split an appetizer and enjoy an excellent glass of Malbec from Argentina. Otherwise splurge and get a gourmet meal. The mole negra is excellent.

Los Hijos de las Tostadas: Calle Quinta Avenida y Calle 38 Nte. This fun little hot spot is constantly packed. It’s way up at the northern end of 5^th Ave on the right hand side. They have about ten tables that spill out onto the street. The shrimp tostada is fantastic, I mean flavor-packed wonderful. The fish and chips are great too. We got one plate of each and shared. The fish is fresh and bright white with a thin crunchy breading. The French fries are the best I’ve ever had. Love this little place.

Club Nautico Tarraya: Next door to La Riviera Maya. When you are standing on the beach looking at La Riviera, it is on the left. This was one of our favorites because of the shade. The restaurant is on the sand with some tables up on a raised deck. This is a locals hangout. Workers come down here in groups taking two or three or tables. Their shoes come off and they sit discussing business for an hour or so with their toes in the sand. The Fish tacos are not fried and similar to their neighbors. (I prefer the tacos at Riviera Maya)  They have semi-dark beer made by Leon.

Zenzi: Located at the end of Calle 10 Nte on the beach. Come here at night. They have a great mix of people. Every night they have a different band and they also have Salsa lessons at night. This is a fun beach bar, very relaxed. All the servers are in shorts and barefoot. My favorite menu item is the chicken nachos. It’s a huge serving… almost too much for us to share. They have Negra Mordelo and my favorite beer, Bohemian. You can also get a decent glass of wine here.

Las Tulipanes: 5^th avenue and Calle 14 Bis. Joe wanted pizza and I wanted a really good glass of wine, so we stopped here even though it’s a bit pricey. Honestly it was one of the best pizzas I’ve had, including in Italy. The wine was top notch. It’s also a fun place to people watch.

Lido Bar and Restaurant: Another beach restaurant. Follow Calle 10 Nte to the beach and hang a left. It’s past Zenzi. The restaurant is behind the beach chairs. They have good shade and good service… barefoot servers again. The best menu item is the fish and chips which are lightly breaded and deep fried. The French fries are the steak fries style and are almost as good as Los Hijos de la Tostada. We came here three times in four days! Good food.

La Barbacoa: This classic cheap restaurant is our favorite. It’s on the corner of 10^th and 10^th where the giant statue of a bull is. The bar is on the sidewalk and is a great place to people watch. We go there almost every day, either for a beer or fajitas. The chicken fajitas are the only thing we like on the menu :) It’s a plate of chicken, onions, and bell peppers covered in melted cheese. Just scoop it onto your tortilla and your ready to go. They have a keg of Negra Mordelo sitting on the bar, and they make super good Micheladas.

Il Forno Classico (Classico Cantina): This little gem is located in Gold River, Sacramento. You may wonder how it got into this blog? Well Cinco de Mayo occurred shortly after we got back and they switched from Italian to Mexican food for the day (a tradition at Il Forno). The owner, Scotty, consuls with his Latino cooks for the menu. Naturally we had to order fish tacos. The chunks of grilled escolar were huge and tender. It was delicious, but you have to wait until Cinco de Mayo, 2017 to taste them. In the meantime you’ll have to try their pasta. This is my favorite Italian restaurant in the States.

Beach Bums

We didn’t find the church Sunday, so we spent the day being bums. I think that’s the day we walked a million miles on the beach. For all of you Playa del Carmen addicts, I have sad news for you… two landmark restaurant/bars have gone out of business; Bad Boys (completely torn down), and Cannibals (they were carrying off the tables and chairs as we stood mourning our loss).

The beach erosion is incredible. I don’t know what they are going to do about it. In the past they’ve pumped sand on the shore. If they’re going to do that again, they need to do it soon. It’s amazing how much work is put into the maintenance of the beaches. Every single day men are out there raking up the seaweed and debris into piles. A tractor follows with a crew who carefully scoops up the debris, not the sand, and sets it in the scoop. I don’t know what they do next?

Monday we changed views, slightly. We took the colectivo van (a small cheep form of travel for locals) to Akumal. Akumal is the next beach town south of Playa del Carmen. I wasn’t as impressed with it as I expected to be. I thought it would be a beach town. As far as I could tell, it’s just another collection of hotels, condos, and restaurants. I think Playa del Carmen is more interesting.

The colectivos are fun in a scary, wow-i-can’t-believe-20-people-can-fit-in-here sort of way. In the morning the van was quiet. All business people reading newspapers or computers. The return was sunburned, tired tourists speaking a mile-a-minute. The driver told us he was actually a cowboy and pointed to his small whip hanging from the rearview mirror. It’s amazing the things people are inspired to tell us because of Joe’s cowboy hat!

Tuesday was our lazy day. I got some more writing done on my current novel about modern day pirates. I’ve been complaining that this book seems to be a straight-forward organized crime story. You know how I love conspiracy! Well yesterday the conspiracy reared its ugly head. Yay! I had to re-write several passages to adapt to the new character, ( and to kill off another character) but it was well worth it.

Joe decided to gift me with two massages from El Faro. I think they are the best and most trained of the hundreds of people along the beach giving massages for half the price. As I was scheduling my massages, I asked the young lady who appeared to be in charge, if she knew Vicki’s daughter, Gaby, from Oaxaca. I suspected it was her, and I was right. We were so excited to finally meet each other! We’d stayed with her mother while at language school in the city of Oaxaca. It was great to catch up and to see Gaby’s wedding photos. Vicki looked great!

Today the schedule is walking, swimming, and eating… oh wait, that’s our schedule everyday :)