Testing Out the Top Five Things to do in Puerto Escondido

Intro

Puerto Escondido is a laid-back beach town on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. It’s a popular spot on the backpacking circuit because not only is it a beautiful beach filled haven to relax in but there’s also a ton of activates to try out.! It’s actually overwhelming how much there is to do in this gorgeous little corner of Mexico.

We tried out the top five things to do and below are our honest experiences with all of them.

1. Beach Bumming

Yes, it would be rude not to mention beach bumming in this list, so let's start with the obvious.

After two weeks in Mexico, only visiting cities, Mexico City and Oaxaca, we were chomping at the bit to get down to a beach. We arrived in the early hours of the morning, dumped our bags, changed into swimwear, and legged it down to La Punta beach.

We sat in plastic chairs, with toes in the sand, tucked into a breakfast of huevos rancheros, and watched giant pelicans swoop over the crashing waves. Then came the most spectacular bird flying above the pelicans. I'd never seen anything quite like it, the size of a bird of prey but with the elegance of a songbird, black with a white throat and a long-forked tail. A great swallow-tailed swift (I had to google it), sweeping and gliding across the sky. I smiled into the sky and couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be.

Another great thing to watch at La Punta Beach is all the surfers, always fun! There were a lot of beginners and people on lessons, and I felt like we were really rooting for them to succeed and did a little cheer whenever they stood up.

But the best thing of all to watch at La Punta and the many other beaches in Puerto Escondido is the sunsets. Dreamy pastel pink sunsets to melt into, cocktail in hand.

We visited quite a few beaches and I definitely recommend trying to visit as many as you can while you're here, one of the most beautiful is Playa Carrizalillo, a small paradise at the bottom of green covered cliffs, it's stunning. Being so beautiful, the only downside is that it's a busy beach.

My personal favourite was Playa Coral. Some people call it the hidden beach because you do have to walk over some rocks from Playa Bacocho at low tide to be able to reach it. It has lovely calm water for swimming and it's beautiful and quiet with palm trees for shade. Just make sure you bring your own food and water for the day.

2. Surfing

I was apprehensive about our surfing lesson because the last time I had tried surfing I hated it, but I had told myself that was because the last time I tried it with no lessons, so, of course, I couldn't do it! This time would be different.

I've talked about my past experience with surfing in Bali here 👇

Back at the surf shop. We tried our steps on land, ah so that's how you do it! I felt better already.

In the first half an hour of the lesson I enjoyed it, I wasn't doing too badly, I nearly had it and I felt proud watching Joe the first time he stood up and rode a wave.

Then I kind of stagnated, stopped improving and the instructor completely lost interest in me. He told me to just wait while he went to talk to someone. I ended up stuck waiting for the next half an hour watching other people surf while my instructor was flirting with the local surfers.

I was trying to be in the moment and just enjoy the feeling of sitting on a surfboard in the Pacific Ocean. Some of those moments with the sun squinting on the water's surface with the pelicans diving overhead were beautiful, but I started to feel a bit annoyed at being forgotten about.

Then we were finally back in the game. I was determined that I was going to stand up this time. But I didn't. Off I fell, over and over and over again into the salt and froth, before battling the waves and paddling back to the same point. It was exhausting and frustrating.

The instructor gave only one piece of advice

"Relax Chica"

and I tried to relax but the thing is relaxing isn't a thing you actively do. It doesn't work when you're trying. It's like when you try to sleep. Or when being told to calm down just riles you up more.

I couldn't help but be reminded of the hopeless surf instructor from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". I wish he could just tell me where I was going wrong because it's all over so quickly, I didn't have a clue.

So, how was everyone's favourite activity in Puerto Escondido? I bloody hated it, but at least I know now that it's not because I did it wrong or didn't have lessons. It's just not for me and now I can let it go. Even though I didn't enjoy it, I'm still proud of myself for trying and for trying again.

There's a buddha quote that I love "In the end, only three things matter: How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of the things not meant for you." And now I feel that I can gracefully let go of surfing. It just isn't for me.

3. Releasing Baby Turtles

I can't quite believe I'm going to say this next sentence. We released baby turtles into the sea! Eeeeeppp! Pinch me!

This happens at Playa Bacoch during hatching season. It's all part of a local conservation project to protect the eggs from predators both animal and human. The poaching of turtle eggs is a big problem here. Once hatched, tourists are allowed to take part in their release. The money generated from this is used to fund the project. They only cost us 100 pesos each which is only about £3.

We queued up with nervous excited energy, we were each given half an empty coconut shell with an impossibly adorable baby turtle perched inside it. The coconut is to protect the turtle from our hands, were not allowed to touch them. The little head poking over the rim of the coconut shell was so cute I could have cried.

We carefully carried them down to the hard, wet sand and kneeled, naming our turtles and taking a little picture of them before they go forever. My turtle was raring and ready to go, he sped off down toward the water and I felt like a proud parent at graduation. We were all cheering on our tiny turtles' progress. Joe's turtle was a little slow out of the gate, we laugh that maybe he's a bit special and wonder how long he will last out in the wild.

The seagulls were circling ready for a snack, but the volunteers threw handfuls of sand at them as a deterrent. We were told that they don't eat them, but they attack them and drop them anyway. Killing them for no reason. Sadly, we watched as a few helpless turtles were snatched up from the ocean.

Good luck little ones out there in the big world!

4. Dolphin watching

Early on in the boat, we all thought we were incredibly lucky and that we were going to get a lot more than we bargained for as we headed towards a large dark mass in the distance.

"Oh My God! There's a whale!" exclaimed Joe.

We all jumped around excitedly, trying to peer at it in the distance as we neared it. Then we got closer and collectively realised that it was just a huge floating log. Duped by a log! How stupid we all felt. Oh, it still makes me laugh!

One thing that I particularly loved was all the sea turtles. We were lucky with the season we were visiting as it hadn't been long since they all laid their eggs and were now heading back out to the ocean. They made my heart jump every time one popped its adorable little head up for air.

The first group of dolphins we found, everyone else found too. There must have been about twenty boats screaming after this pod of dolphins, all chasing them. Our guy said that he didn't like that kind of behaviour toward the dolphins, and we turned around to find another pod somewhere else. It made me really glad that we had chosen an eco-tour because I'd read about some tours not being very ethical and harassing the dolphins and I didn't want to do that.

Luckily, we found another, smaller pod of dolphins. We cruised the water slowly and carefully and they came up so close to our solitary boat, right up front. It was a special moment, standing in silence and beaming from ear to ear watching the rise and fall of these beautiful animals in the water.

Life really doesn't get much better than watching Dolphins out in the Pacific Ocean.

5. Bioluminescence

I've saved the best and I think the most unique for last, our bioluminescence tour.

I must say, there is nothing quite so eery and unsettling than sliding through the mangroves by the light of a new moon and a torch flickering on and off, illuminating the dark waters with a horror movie green light.

I was unnerved by the mangroves because I had read that there are crocodiles living in the lagoon, but I thought that the tours wouldn't take you somewhere unsafe, right? There must be a special safe part of the lagoon that the crocodiles can't get to. No. We were told that the bioluminescence moves around, and they follow where it goes. Tonight, it was on the far side of the lagoon. I just couldn't believe that we would be swimming in the pitch black, in the middle of the night at the farthest part of the lagoon from civilization.

I found it very hard to lower myself down into the black water, all I could think of were crocodiles and I was panicking. It took me a while to calm down. The water was surprisingly warm, like a lukewarm bath, after someone has just finished with it.

Joe was happy and calm, enjoying the experience. It didn't look as impressive as I had imagined at first. I blame the movie the beach. But then we swam around to the darker side of the boat and that's when it became fun and mesmerising.

I swirled my hands back and forth in front of me and as I did so saw a torrent of glittering water following, wherever they moved so did this yellow stardust in the twinkling way magic does in a cartoon. I felt like the fairy Godmother in Cinderella and couldn't help but burst into a rendition of "Bibbity bobity boo!"

We were all laughing, one the one hand innocently feeling like a childhood dream had come true, we were witches and wizards, the Hogwarts letter had come in the post after all. On the other less innocent hand, we looked like a bunch of druggies tripping balls on acid. How strange we must look staring at our hands, twirling them around madly whilst making the ohs and ahs that people do whilst watching fireworks.

We'd scream and giggle if we accidentally touched the slimy floor or if a fish brushed past our legs but none so much as when I girl looked shocked and asked if anyone had thrown something at her. Erm…no. Turns out, it was a jumping fish! A fish had jumped out of the water and slapped her square in the side of her head! I laughed so hard; the trip was worth it just for that! The whole way they kept jumping into the boat towards the light amid screams from everyone. Again, too funny!

A night that was both scary and fun, there's nothing in the world quite like creating stars with your fingertips in a moonlit lagoon.

Final Thoughts

I honestly couldn't recommend Puerto Escondido more. It was one of my favourite places in Mexico and certainly one of my favourite beach spots. I actually prefer it to the more popular and well-known places like Tulum and Cancun. Its chilled-out vibes, beautiful nature, incredible wildlife, unique experiences, and purse-friendly prices make it the perfect vacation spot. Try out any one of the things on this list and you're sure to have a holiday you won't forget!

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

This story was originally published on Medium

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Georgina Nelson. Traveller. Writer. Photographer. Yoga teacher.

Sh*t Happens - because the things that go wrong make the funniest stories.