Zipoliete

At last some beach time, amazed its taken us 6 months to hit the sand. Its a holiday from travelling and its a very fine feeling! After 5 bouncy bus hours (3 of which felt like a ride on the cyclone) we hit the lowlands and arrived in Pachula. Here we hurled backpack and personage into the back of a tarp covered truck (the local transport to Zipoliete) and settled down with some oddly snooty hippies. 30 mins later we arrived on the sandy back road to the beach lined with little seaside shops and cafes.


Enterance to our pasado Mexico

We were here to hook up with Jonnos friends who ran a resturant together, dave met them last time he was in Mexico.


our view from our room

Our first night is spent in the lovely pasado Mexico with its restaurant on the beach. 250 psos a night but it was beautifully planted and we got a 4 poster bed and our own patch of neatly manicured sand garden (combed every morning for us) and the obligatory hammock.



We were straight into our cossys and jumping into the cleanest aquamarine sea, it was like a warm bath with a tidal wave accompniment.



Not actually possible to swim the currents are so strong but great for splashing about, we didint go very far out as people drown each year here, the rip tides are a force to be reckoned with. The waves break all at the same time all along the massive beach so we wont be surfing here.


a beach bum

Afterwards we relax in our restaurant digging our toes in the sand and eating the daily catch as the sun goes down, perfect.

The next day we met Javier and Paco who were a little jaded by the unexpected sticky May weather even though it was March. They graciously invited us to stay in their guest annex for the rest of our stay, bless them. I thought their dog was a stray and I was trying to forcefully remove her from my feet , that dog got copious amounts of lovin after I realised my feu parr. Not sure what Javier and Paco thought of my skitso behaviour though.

Javier

paco

Gabina (a sweetie and well deserving of much fuss)

their lounge

Their pad was very cool, cut into the side of a hill overlooking the beach. The main living areas and bathrooms were all outside with simple palm roofs and no walls, a great way to live.

We arranged to meet them for sundowners at ‘a nice place on the beach’ (always good to be shown the best spots by those in the know). In the meantime we whiled away the afternoon frolicking in the sea laughing at the surf.

Two sandy skips down the beach we ate fantastic steaks at Pachamamas and then settled back into more booze back at ‘a nice place…’ The barman here (a geordie lad) seemed quite normal till we found out he’d changed his name to Crazy horse, we then spotted his surprising drunken night tattoo. Those of you offended by serious swear words look away now, its our journalistic duty not to sensor the trip.... sorry mum!

waiting for the ball

Later Javier takes us down to the end of the beach and we climb over some rocks in the dark and find a 10 piece mellow funk band playing to packed candlelit tables across the sand, NICE!

We drink cold beers and marvel at the red moon above us, never seen one of those.

These are the rocks the next day.

The annex at javiers and pacos is sweet. Moorish cool white curved walls and little steps up to the hanging bed. We are at the height of the tree tops and from the outdoor shower get a good view of bright blue birds going about their business as if we aint there.

our pad

our shower

one of their cats

On a monster walk along the shore we pass a fair few nude men (starkers apart from backpacks) strutting with a swing from one end of the beach to the other. One in particular has a lot to swing but we thought better of showing his wears online, sorry, he was a BIG boy though, blimey O riley! Our end of the beach is nudist we saw a man and woman with all over tans sunbathing with a man standing over them chatting. She was looking up right at his undercarrage as he spoke to them for over 10 mins, not a veiw most of us often get, particularly in the sunshine.

Later we have a wonderful early supper at Javier and Pacos restaurant, it really is by far the best in town.

The food is devine, decor stylish and the ambience fantastic.

When we get back I paint dave a birthday card in drunken semi darkness. I think it may have worked out better this way, here it is……

The birthday!!!!!

Melon and bananas in bed then up and out for a birthday swim, red flags are out but we just don’t care.

Then we quickly pack a bag and head off to another beach (San Augustin) for a surfing lession.

Here's the happy birthday boy checking out the surf.

Watch out everyone!

The breaks are a good size, coming in at perfect intervals and near the shore so none of that tiring paddeling out. We catch them straight away on our bellies and discover we are holding the boards wrong so have a bit of beach posture coaching before heading back in.

The birthday boy was ofcourse best and had a whale of a time. I ducked out 15 mins from the end with grazed knees but it was worth it. Later we found out he tought us the quick fix way of surfing which is (according to anybody that surfs) not the way to go at all. So we’ll have to unlearn going onto your knees first on the board and just spring straight up, should save on knee grazes in the future though.

Lunch and later cocktails at sunset back at our beach (the sun sets and rises at the same time, cant remember when though).

Then back at the restaurant....

Paco cooked us some more amazing food. A French canadian we met on the beach had popped in before we arrived and left money to buy us a drink which was very sweet. We ate curried samosas with minty yougart, stuffed peppers, seard tuna and coliflower soup, washed down with mojitos and mescal.

We waited for the guys to finish and Javier took us to a groovy bar where we enbarrassed him by being too drunk to play pool very well. He was a shark but of course hadnt had all that lovely booze.

Daves a star the following morning (well its not his birthday anymore is it?) and he goes into town to buy us tickets to St Cristobel for the following day. Cant stay beach bums for long got a whole new country to cram in before we start messing about in boats.

More swimming, cocktails and sandy scran, you know the drill.......

Later the hammock breaks with 2 in it and Dave narrowly averts breaking his back .

We say goodbye to our gracious hosts and new friends and their idyllic foodie beachy world.