Better Than The Dollar Store

It doesn't matter how many times I have been to the market, I am always amazed at the quality and freshness of the fruits and vegetables here.

Have a look at this photo...all of this for less than $200 pesos!

 

Enough said.

 

See you Monday, have a great weekend!

Taking Your Sensory Records with You When You Go…

Today's guest post is from Sue McClam.

On April 30^th I will return to the US.  As I mentally prepare to go, my senses record the images, smells and sounds I treasure from Huatulco.  As they flash through my mind, I make a mental note to keep them with me until I return in September…

• Exuberant bugambilias that shamelessly enter your home unnoticed and await you on the stair reminding you to appreciate their beauty

• Arching mango branches bending with the weight of ripening fruit

• The pink flesh pulp of recently fallen almonds in the street

• The ee-oo-ee (i-u-i en español) cry of the sanates as you drink your morning coffee

• The smell of fresh tortillas on the comal at the corner outdoor kitchen becoming a business
• The smile on the face of the guard at the navel hospital as I peddle by nodding a quick buenos dias in the morning and a buenas tardes as I return after teaching - always someone different, always the same smile
• The scraping, rustling, shooshing sound the palm fronds make this time of year
• The curly brown pod sculptures of the Guanacastle
•  Biking through the thick blanket of pink blossoms that cover the ground as they claim their moment in the season
•  Ants, ants, in search of water and sugar always. Large ants on the sidewalks in the evening busy carrying away the debris left them during the day. Tiny ants in my garbage bag getting a head start on the compost
•  The hot dry breeze coming down off the mountain in the afternoon
•  The occasional intrusive thumping base of the techno-pop beat next door

Ok, so maybe there is one thing I won't miss...

Spring has Arrived!

Pink Trumpet Tree

Spring is here!  Albeit in a different form than the standard snow melting and greening of the trees as we see in the northern climates...hot, just gets hotter!

Just like the Sakura Tree (Cherry Blossoms) of Japan, you know spring has officially arrived when you see the blooms of the Pink Trumpet Tree.

I have to admit, I'm a tad a late on this blog as the last of the flowers have fallen from the trees.  But, have a look at the photo and you can imagine how amazing this floral display is after months of dry weather.

The Pink Trumpet Tree tends to show up in regions where there is a sharp division between the dry and wet seasons.  Huatulco, and the Oaxacan coastline are the perfect places.

This is a fairly fragile flower, and as the winds tend to intensify around the same time that this tree is in bloom, they only last a week or two.

It's a fleeting time line, but sometimes you appreciate things more when you know you won't have it forever.

Chacahua Lagoon National Park

Tricolored Heron - click for larger image

We have survived Semana Santa down here!  And, the only way that can be done is to venture to the nether regions of Oaxaca...sounds like a trip to Chacahua Lagoon National Park is in order.

Located about 45 minutes to the west of Puerto Escondido is one of the largest salt water lagoons in Mexico...Chacahua.

The drive from Puerto Escondido is very straight forward, save for the odd unpainted tope (speed bump) which will send your transmission to the curb faster than you can say "tope".  Aside from that, expect an easy excursion to a military check point which marks the turn off to Chacahua.  We were politely asked to exit the vehicle while they inspected our car for the standard illegal paraphanalia.  Having discovered nothing more than the odd chewing gum wrapper, we were on our way!

Mindful in Mexico

Today's guest post is by Sue McClam.  When not in the United States, Sue spends a a great deal of the winter months in Huatulco where she teaches her language courses.  She has a Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish, and has recently retired after 22 years of teaching at Columbia College in South Carolina. www.huatulcolanguagecourses.com

When I am here in Mexico, I take my time.  I put into practice what the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh tells us about being mindful. I try to remember that “when I am walking, I am walking.”  I am present to the sights and sounds of the street, the smell of the flowers, the cracks in the sidewalk.  I take a minute to greet my neighbors as they pass by.  At home in the US, when I hit the ground in the morning I am already planning my day, three steps ahead. 

The World's Smallest Mango

Click photo to view larger image

When I first saw "it", I thought "it" was some kind of experimental fruit being tested in Huatulco.

It turns out that "it", was a mango!  Down here, the locals call it a "mango niño" or in English, "child mango".

It is aromatic and very sweet...it seem kind of like a dessert mango to me.

Look for it the next time your are down in the area.

Huatulco - Clean Beach Day

Today's guest post is from Greg Glassman, Director of Montecito, a luxury residential development located at the eastern end of the Bay of Conejos.

From local businesses, to schools, and government officials, more than 700 people showed up early this past Friday morning to lend their support to Huatulco’s Earth Check Clean Beach Initiative.

Using donated equipment and materials from the community, participants were broken into teams and a coordinated effort was launched to not only clean trash off the beaches of Huatulco, but to continue environmental awareness within the community.

Barrancas del Cobre

Today's post is another great example of the diversity of geography in Mexico.  We rarely hear of this great canyon, but it certainly deserves more attention than it receives.

The Barrancas del Cobre or Copper Canyon in English, is an area in the state of Chihuahua that holds 6 dramatic canyons greater in size than the Grand Canyon of the United States.

The entire canyon system is larger than the Grand Canyon and in some parts deeper also.  The canyon was formed by six rivers cutting a path through the soft sandstone.  It is part of the Sierra Tarahumara, and the river system drains it's western end and merges into the Rio Fuerte and eventually the Sea of Cortez.

10 Interesting Facts about Oaxaca

Oaxaca Coat of Arms

Here are some more interesting facts about Oaxaca that I dug up.


1) Oaxaca's coat of arms features a red background that commemorates the many battles that have been fought in the state. The top of the design is adorned with an eagle holding a snake atop a cactus, Mexico's national symbol. Seven stars represent the state's seven geographical regions: Istmo (isthmus), Costa (coast), Papaloapan (river basin), Sierra (mountains), Mixteca (Mixtec territory), Valles Centrales (central valleys) and Cañada (woodlands). The emblem's central oval is bordered by the phrase "Respect for the rights of others will bring peace." At the bottom of the oval, two hands are breaking a chain, symbolizing Oaxaca's struggle against colonial domination. On the left is an indigenous symbol for Huaxycac, the first Oaxacan region settled by the Spanish conquistadors. To the right are the Mitla Palace and a Dominican cross, representing Oaxaca's indigenous history and its ties to Catholicism.

Volcanoes in Mexico

To me, what makes a country interesting is the geographical and geological diversity within it's borders.

As many of you know, Mexico isn't just about the beaches, although we certainly love those.  We like the fact that on any given day, you could hop on the airplane  or catch a bus and experience any myriad of things in this country.

I shot this photo about 2 years ago while flying from Mexico City to Huatulco (see other photo in the gallery), and while I knew that there were were volcanoes in Mexico, I didn't fully connect the dots with the location and the sheer size of them.

Located only 70 km to the southeast of Mexico City, Popocatepetl volcano is still highly active.  It sits at a dizzying elevation of 5,426 m (17,802 ft) and is the second highest mountain in Mexico.

Mexico's National Tree

Located about five miles outside the city of Oaxaca is the town of Tule.  Here, you will find the national tree of Mexico, and the largest one at that.

The “Tule Tree”,  is an especially large Montezuma cypress near the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. This tree has the largest trunk girth at 58 m and trunk diameter at 11.3 m, and is 40m tall.  It stands as one of the most magnificent trees of the world.

For many years, detractors argued that it was actually three trees combined to form one larger tree  – however, careful DNA analysis confirmed that it is indeed one massive tree.

Nature's Sports Drink...and a whole lot more.

What has more potassium than a banana, more electrolytes than most sports drink, and is 99% fat free?

One cup of coconut water!

Coconut water is an amazing way to re-hydrate your body. This is especially important during exercise and recovery from a workout. Coconut water is the purest liquid second only to water and full of nutrients: calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, protein and vitamins. Unlike many sports drinks – it is low in naturally occurring sugars and does not contain any of the artificial colors and flavors found in sport drinks, making it an ideal natural beverage.

Mazunte Cosmetics

Since I am no expert on cosmetics, I figured who better than Renée to blog about the world of beauty down here.

Post by Renée Netzel

Mazunte is one of the most beautiful beaches on the coast of Oaxaca, with its warm sand and clear warm water, sparkling with hues of blue and green. And the town of Mazunte has managed to succeed, with some help along the way, in keeping balance with their natural resources.

At the beginning, Mazunte was a town that survived as a result of the turtle commerce. However, in 1990, as environmentalists all over the world celebrated the forbidding of further extinction of turtles in Mexico, the little village of Mazunte thought it’s whole world was falling apart. The livelihood of 90% of its people was forced to an end, leaving them unemployed and facing a bleak future.

Surfs Up!

The month of April usually marks a noted shift in the winds and seas around this coastline.  Most notably, this means the surf season is upon us.

Where the months from October to March generally mean calm seas among the many bays of this coastline, April to October are the prime months to wax up your board and stretch your surf muscles.

April and May are great months be down here as the south swells are just starting to ramp up, creating very good surf and great weather conditions before the rainy season ahead.  And, for those of you who aren't into the body damaging surf of the summer months, it's a great time to learn to surf while escaping the last bits of cold weather in the northern climates.

I'm Sick...

Day off today.

Can a Place Help You Live More Organically?

We're not really talking about eating free-range turkey legs or prairie wheat grass gathered by hand and put into a hemp basket.  What we are really talking about is that, is it possible for a place to change the way a person thinks, and help them to live their life more organically?

I say YES!  

Here are 10 ways that Huatulco can help you live more organically.

The Simple Things

Remember when there were no iPhones, laptops, PDAs, Skype, 60" inch TV's, fax machines, beepers, text messaging, 24 hour gyms, 24 hour supermarkets, 24 hour bank machines, Blue-Ray disc players or internet?  It wasn't that long ago really.

What about when an eight hour work day really meant eight hours, and not 12? Or, when the concept of work/life balance wasn't even a concept yet? 

This kind of reminds me of my last trip this weekend to Mazunte, about an hour to the west of Huatulco.  There we were, sitting in a beach side bar with a palapa roof, the hippies were out selling their necklaces, the locals selling their wares as well.

Aeromexico

Great news from our inbox today...AeroMexico announces flights to Huatulco!

AeroMexico is a Mexican-owned airline servicing almost 40 destinations within Mexico and other North American destinations, including Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and more. 

The new flight from Mexico City to Huatulco will, no doubt, mean a much-welcomed increase in tourism from within Mexico, Canada, and the U.S....making it easier for passengers to connect with their luggage and tickets, all the way through to our beautiful coastline.

Here’s a little history about AeroMexico: