My partner and I were fortunate to be able to spend all of April in Puerto Escondido during the first phase of the Oaxaca virus-related shutdown. It seemed as if we were only there for a few days.
We had our own pool, a great view of Zicatela beach and a mango tree that provided us with the ingredients for daily agua frescas, a popular drink in Mexico made with fresh water, fruit and a little sugar. We also had fresh caught mahi mahi, sea bass and tuna delivered daily to our door.
Puerto Escondido is a town of approximately 45,000 with a city- center that offers many services including a Chedraui grocery store as well as an excellent market. North of downtown are the beaches of Manzanillo, Puerto Angelito and Carrizalillo where nice restaurants are located and surfing is taught to beginners. Going south from the city-center is the popular Zicatela beach, which stretches approximately three kilometers from the Mirador down to Punta Zicatela. The powerful waves of Zicatela have made it an international surfing destination.
I am a runner and ran six kilometers every day on Zicatela beach, which has great views of Puerto Escondido and the surrounding area. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about Puerto Escondido.
If you drive south from Puerto Escondido towards Huatulco you will pass many very nice beaches like Tomatal, Costa Cumaná, Rancho Neptuno and Agua Blanco before arriving at Mazunte, San Agustinillo and Zipolite, each of which require a separate blog to describe, which I hope will be coming soon.
As a real estate professional in Mexico for years, I have found it interesting that one of the results of the pandemic has been a dramatic increase in interest from North Americans in relocating to Mexico. We are very busy. Properties priced in Mexican pesos are now very attractive due to the 25 percent devaluation of the peso as a direct result of the collapse in oil prices, which was a result of the closing down of the world’s economies. We are expecting business to increase significantly as the virus becomes more controlled.
After our month in Puerto Escondido, my partner and I headed home to Oaxaca City. The drive from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca City takes about six hours through the pine-covered Sierra Sur mountain range. I always like to take time to stop at San Jose del Pacifico, which is halfway home, and spend the night with a roaring fireplace at Puesta del Sol in one of their very nice cabins. All of them have gorgeous views of the mountains, and on a very clear day, you can even see the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
San Jose del Pacifico is in the municipality of San Mateo Rio Honda, which is a town about 40 kilometers east of San Jose. All of this area shares a distinctly new age/hippie vibe with the Oaxacan coast from Puerto Escondido down to Huatulco.
Soon, we will be driving to San Miguel de Allende for a week and then to Austin, Texas by way of Nuevo Laredo. I have made the trip from southern Mexico to Texas at least 50 times over the last 36 years. The Mexican interstate highway system has improved significantly during the last several decades. Door-to-door from Oaxaca City to San Miguel de Allende now takes just seven hours on beautiful tollways surrounded by spectacular landscapes.
