Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by Ellen
Puerto Escondido is a cool place. Off the top of my head, here are the top 10 things to love about Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
- Playa Zicatela, the main surf beach, is great for my morning jogs.
- The surfers. I love to watch the surfers. (Yes, I’m going to try it, eventually!)
- Rainbows shimmer on morning breaks when the early sun hits the water.
- The sun sets over the water here (unlike Huatulco, where most bays face south).
- The people are super friendly and kind – everyone’s laid back.
- Our Airbnb rental is perfect – it’s comfortable, affordable and in a great location.
- The city is not overrun with high-rise resorts, so it feels like authentic Mexico.
- The prices are reasonable – from food and rent to cab rides and surf lessons.
- The fish sales on Playa Principal each early morning when fishermen return.
- Not as many people here speak English, so I am forced to try to speak Spanish.
Puerto Escondido is about two hours northwest of Bahias de Huatulco, and an hour northwest of our last stop, Puerto Angel. (I also loved those places.)
My spouse Tedly likes it here as much as I do – although he hasn’t even seen the morning activities yet with the fishermen and the surfers. Things start at 5:00 a.m., and seem to transition around 9:00 a.m. to the lazy beach-goer mode. (Tedly is not a morning person.)
When fishing boats come back from early morning runs, crowds of people rush to the boat to see what they may want to buy. Sometimes it’s still dark out. Once the sales are over some hours later, the remainder of the fish, which all still look great, are loaded into crates and placed in trucks for delivery to restaurants and markets around town.
The surfers are in the water at dawn, if the waves are right. When we first arrived in town, they were too dangerous to surf. They’ve gradually become better, and today was magical for me. The men in the water with the early sun, the rainbows on the break, was one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever witnessed. I will take a camera one day when I’m not jogging and post them here. So far, I haven’t been out with a camera because after I jog, I exercise in the sand.
By the way, my commitment to be the healthiest I can be in middle age still has not waned. Since leaving Puerto Vallarta, I’ve been regular with my jogging (I skipped a week in Puerto Angel but swam more instead) and I eat sensibly. I’m excited to be here for another six weeks, because I’ll be able to find a rhythm to life that fits me – until it’s time for us to travel again to a new place, with a different rhythm to bring to our lives.