Puerto Escondido!

There are small airplanes that fly from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido, but those are for people who plan ahead. Team Curious ended up relying on the services of the minibus, which takes the scenic route; seven hours through harrowing switchbacks, up and down mountainsides on the way down to the humid coast. They call this mininbus the VomitComet.

Having been warned, we took a heavy dose of dramamine, and really, it wasn't so bad.


We didn't take many photos in Puerto Escondido, but it is beautiful. Sandy beaches, calm coves, and on the main beach, some fierce waves. We learned that in Mid-November, the town holds a worldwide surfing competition, and gazing on the tight tubes that pounded the shore every ten seconds, it was easy to see why the place is a surfer's paradise.

Swimming though, is not a good idea. The sculpture of the reaching hands (above right) seems to me the best warning against attempting to enter the waters without a flotation device. The undertow is fierce, and even experienced surfers and swimmers lose their lives to its pull every year. Luckily, there are other beaches a quick walk or cab ride away where swimming and floating are featured activities.

Below- gratuitous hotel beauty shots. Our Hotel, Flor de Maria, was so adorably painted that it made me want to live in an alternate universe where everything is CHARMING.


Did I mention the rooftop? With pool? So, who wants to go next year?


But wait, one last very cool thing about Puerto Escondido is Lago de Manialtepec, a lagoon that, for several months out of the year, usually in the late summer-early fall, becomes insanely, beautifully, incredibly PHOSPHORESCENT!!!!



Plankton are what's afoot. When stimulated, they glow. Doesn't come out well in photos, but lemme tell ya- in person, it's astonishing. The water is warm due to the lake being partly fed by a thermal spring. You jump in, and instantly, you are the Glowing Blue Japanime Character of your dreams (You've had the dreams. Don't deny it.) Sweep your hand through the water, and it becomes alive with a bright blue, arm-shaped flame. Lift your hands from the water, and the drips glow. Climb out of the water, and your clothes SHIMMER. No foolin'- for a brief slice of life, you become your own disco ball.


Sasha and Malia (mmm, not really) were kicking it with us in a kayak. When travelling inside the boat out to the middle of the lake, spooked fish are visible beneath the surface of the water, rocketing away like little teardrop shaped bullets.

Lago Manialtepec. Put it on the bucket list.