Puerto Escondido, Mexico: December 27-Jan 2, 2018

With the Night of the Radish tour finished, we flew to Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca. The evenings were in the 70s and the daytime temperatures were in the high 80s. Perfect weather for the beach.

In Puerto, mostly we relaxed, took siestas, and went to the beach. We both arrived with colds. My cold was acquired from Dan. My body fought it is much as it could but after 10 days in Oaxaca, my body threw in the towel and I got sick.

We took Gina The Information Goddess' Saturday walking tour of Puerto. We began with breakfast of tortillas, nopals, and beans at a small cafe on the Playa Principal where fishermen sell their catch and where most local people hang out.

Virgin of Soledad, Patrona of Oaxaca

A fighting cock

The walk took us into Puerto's market where Gina introduced us to many previously unknown food items such as crisp tortillas baked with cinnamon and a little sugar.

We stayed in an Airbnb casita that was across from the entrance to Carrizalillo Beach. Our routine was to pick up coffee/hot chocolate and pastries at Cafecito restaurant, walk down to the beach, settle in lounge chairs under a palapa and make occasional trips into the clear, warm water, have lunch, return to the casita for a siesta.

Carrizalillo Beach

Gina also arranged for us to visit Laguna de Manialtepec one afternoon. The lagoon is a bird watchers paradise. A boat driver named Modesto ferried us through the lagoon to the spit that separates the lagoon from the ocean. It is a beautiful way to spend an almost full-moon evening. We saw egrets, snowy egrets, many types of herons (great blue, tricolor, night), anhinga, ibis, black bellied whistling ducks, osprey, black-necked eagles, jacanas.

We got home late on Jan 2, 2018, and except for Dan's germs, we had a very good vacation in Oaxaca.