Zipolite

I had no idea where to go after Oaxaca and Nick turned up with glowing praise for Zipolite which is about 60km south of Puerto Escondido, back on the coast. So I decided to head down there for a bit of sunshine. A week too late though apparently, it was raining when I arrived and didn’t stop so after a couple of days I cut my losses and headed back to Guatemala.

Here is the description of Zipolite from the brochure at the hotel - their words, not mine:

Zipolite means “beach of the Dead Ones”. It’s a magic place. Since ancient times it was visited by the Zapotecans, inhabitants of the high plains of the Oaxacan Valleys, who turned it into a tourist attraction and a ritual site. Afterwards, during the sixties, it was discovered by young people from different nationalities, known as hippies at that time, who found in these beaches great enchantment living among the few native settlers that inhabilited the area. Thus, a town and a tourist development with very peculiar characteristics was originated.

A great interest for nature contact, a high appraisal to rustic and simple life, far from the artificial comfort of modern world, and a tendency for liberal habits brought down differences of races, beliefs, nationalities and languages which nowadays turned it into a place that is frequently visited all through the year by hundreds of young open minded people, from all over the world, who love nature, freedom and peace. Zipolite consists of around one hundred homes whose families rent rooms at very low costs, and offers a wide range of possibilities such as restaurants, bars, discotheques, stores and many other attractions to visitors which can be considered as a “very special adventure”.