Zipolite, Guerrero
April 7 - 12 2009
We had been looking forward to Zipolite not because it is a nude beach - although that would be interesting- but because we had heard from fellow travelers that it has a distinct vibe. We were told to expect hippies, many European travelers, candles, yoga, great inexpensive restaurants .. .... and of course, nudists. We were stoked!
We followed the rudimentary directions given to us by 2 different people and sure enough we landed exactly where we needed to be. Sounds simple enough but when you are given directions like "turn right at the soccer pitch, left at the brick wall, near the 4 story white building, that sort of thing, you're never really sure where you'll end up. We found "Marias" place which was basically the bungalow/restaurant owners back yard which was right on Zipolite beach but at the quiet end.
We set up about 6 feet from the restaurant washing cistern and for the next 5 days found ourselves right in the middle of all the family activities. We witnesses everything from teeth brushing, washing of ALL the restaurant dishes, showering of children, pressing of bags and bags of oranges for the restaurant, and the cleaning and filleting of a 22 kilo tuna!. All the while Maria washed, cooked, cleaned, scrubbed and swept the entire area about 3 times a day. On the weekend several visitors set up tents on the beach side which meant they carried or wheeled their luggage and tents right past our breakfast table. It was a constant flow for 5 days. We now understand why we have witnessed so many Mexican people having sex or at least a major make out session in the ocean. It's the only place to be alone!
The great thing about all this activity was that Bowen and Hollis made friends with Daniel and Julio, the 2 Mexican kids who lived there. They played soccer, showed them their Nintendo DS, and each of them made spinners from pounded bottle caps and string. There wasn't a whole lot of talking going on but they all had fun playing anyway.
We met 3 young people from Ireland who are in Guanajuato teaching English ( with a strong Irish accent, I assume) and were in Zipotite for the holiday. Each morning they borrowed plates and cutlery to use for their breakfast- they were traveling light.
There are 2 other towns along this stretch of beach( Mazunte and San Augustinillo) and we are eager to explore. Up until the early 90's Mazunte's main source of income was from the slaughter of sea turtles- about 50,000 a year! After the ban on this sort of activity the town turned the slaughterhouse into a turtle research center. Many of the captive turtles are recuperating from some sort of illness and will eventually be released back into the sea. There are 8 varieties of sea turtles in the world and 7 of them are found here in Mexico.
San Augustinillo was just a few kms away so we walked in the heat to check out the honor system and book buying library as well as some of the more upscale accommodations offered here. Bowen has been itching to take a ride in a "camioneta' which is a covered pick up truck outfitted with wooden seats down each side, a hand rail for standing and some seats over the cab of the truck. Guess where our boys sat for the .50c ride back to Zipotlite? These things are usually jammed with people but for some reason this one was empty so we took loads of goofy pictures and hoped like hell our kids wouldn't get flung out the top as we made our way back over the potholed, winding road.
Too tired and sticky to cook we opted for dinner in Zipolite. The main ( and only) cobbled street is closed to traffic after 7pm and instantly fills with artists hawking everything from Argentinian earrings , I bought some!, to hand made tamales.
Our 1/4 bbq'd chicken dinner included, rice, grilled onions and tortillas for everyone for the grand total of $7.50. The walk back to our end of the beach is always interesting as the smell of pot wafts past our noses and some of the nudists are out for their evening walk. Our kids are experiencing a lot on this trip!
The architecture on this beach is very unique! You can see from the photos what I mean. The "cabanas"up top rent for about $20/night - double that during Semana Santa. Hammocks are available too for about $4.
The Easter bunny found us in our little van which made for a quick hunt Sunday morning. The idea that he might not find us was all consuming for Bowen. He even went to the trouble of making a sign for the Easter bunny and leaving him a carrot in case he got hungry.
I came across this procession in the street on my way to get eggs or milk or something. These Catholics are serious about Easter!.
Our last day in Zipolite we decided to check out the small beach just beyond the rocks to the east. Much to our surprise it was the preferred spot for the local "flamer" population - not that there is anything wrong with that. It took the boys a considerable amount of time to just "get over it' and have some fun in the crazy, crashing surf. It was hard to relax in the water as the undertow would try to pull you out to sea when it wasn't trying to thrash you against the rocks ( or a set of naked genitals) Unfortunately for me it was the latter and I found myself apologizing to the guy who had been strutting his stuff up and down the very small beach all afternoon. There is nothing like getting tossed upsidedown by the surf, finding which way is up then coming face to dink with a TOTALLY sunscreened Mexican .
-Liz
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