The Road to Huatulco

Art by Eric!

We were close to heartbroken last Tuesday as we packed to leave Oaxaca. There were hugs all around on the morning of our departure - even little Severa, our cook looked a little misty as she hugged us good-bye.

Amelia, our wonderful host

But our sadness was short lived once we arrived at the bus station where our next adventure was just beginning. After frightening night bus rides in Peru, we decided to take a day bus, assuming the 8+ hour ride would give us a chance to see more scenery, meet more people, and have more fun. The comfy ADP premium bus lived up fully to our expectations, and we had the foresight to reserve front seats where we could watch our driver give his special "papal" wave to each bus, truck, and other large vehicle that passed. He only took hands off the wheel to light a cigarette or straighten his tie, but he did so with such flare and self possession, we were never concerned that we might be bundled off into eternity in the mountains of Oaxaca.


Our arrival in Huatulco was suave - very smooth.


We waved down a cab and, within minutes, found ourselves at the gate of Hotel Delphinus, which was to become our base of operations for our exploration of beach life on the warm Pacific coast. We found this particular hotel on Trip Advisor and it looked like it had all the amenities we would need (AC) and it fit our budget nicely. Basically, in other words, it was a shot in the dark. Little did we know that we had stumbled onto one of the very best experiences, and some of the most interesting and simpatico people we have yet encountered on our Mexican recorrida.

Hotel Delphinus gate

The hotel owners, Roberto, and his wife Blanca, are incredibly gracious, helpful and knowledgeable when it comes to getting around the many playas of Huatulco. Several mornings, Roberto became our impromptu guide and go between. Unasked, he arranged beach outings for us and delivered us to beautiful places we would NEVER have found on our own. Roberto and Blanca are deeply committed to dog rescue in this area and always have a few dogs around that are being nursed back to health by a committed team of volunteers- including several veterinarians - who also help with spay and neutering projects and adoption programs. Currently we have two mama dogs here with 16 tiny puppies!

What do you do in a sleepy little beach town that is off the beaten path for most gringos? You eat and drink, swim and snorkel in bright blue water, surrounded by colorful fish of every shape and size.

Huatulco borders on a national aquatic preserve which includes 36 beaches (playas) - many of which, by federal law, are completely undeveloped. Other playas have some development, usually small beach front restaurants where you can order food and drink, rent snorkeling equipment and basically "plant yourself" for the day along with vacationing Mexican families.

We're getting pretty good at this by now- even venturing out on our own to find secret beaches, recommended by Roberto, to swim and sun or getting up before dawn to see the sunrise. Swim...dive with the fish...siesta...eat...drink cerveza..swim to a cormorant roost...siesta. Are we fluid yet or is it just the mezcal?