Puerto Escondido

(DAY020 : Acapulco - Puerto Escondido : 280 miles)
(DAY021 : Puerto Escondido)

A sign of being spoiled for sure, the ride from Acapulco felt dull and boring. Less greenery, less color intensity, less curves...

But of course, not any less "topes". Topes are the speed bumps in all shapes and sizes that fully cover Mexico. In fact, had they marked the tope-free stretches instead of topes, they could have saved on signs. Well, they did actually, by not marking some of them. Surprise! Ka-Boom! If I were on any other bike with less suspension travel, I'm sure I would've been catapulted off the thing by now.

Aside from the ride, the mood of the day wasn't too bright. Was it being alone on the new year's eve? Was it the bad meal on my way out? Was it the "to dos" that were piling up? I can't tell you. But I did know that this could not be a blast all the way. Time to pay the dues?

It was still very hot, but I kept the jacket on. Then, it turned unpleasantly windy and dusty.

As I was approaching Pinotepa Nacional, I saw another loaded two-wheeler cruising ahead. Shortly afterwards, I was chatting with Peter from Denmark over cold sodas. He too had set out from LA, on an earlier KLR (that doesn't burn oil) for a trip to Ushuaia. Told me he left on 20th, so he's been doing much better time than me. Yeah I know, what a shocker! ;) We should've taken a photo together. I climb on my KLR, he kneels down to sit on his!

We entered a very dusty Pinotepa Nacional and started looking for a place as the sun was getting low. When we found a really (really) basic place for $9, it was already 4:30 pm. Peter checked in as he needed to do laundry, but already in this funky mood, I really didn't want to stay in this dusty nowhere. So I told him how to find me and bolted towards Puerto Escondido 167kms (~100 miles) away.


My only photo op between Pinotepa Nacional and Puerto Escondido.

The wind worsened and for the first time became dangerous. Coco trees made it look like we were in a hurricane. Especially in one particular stretch, gusts stronger than I have ever encountered were hitting from opposite directions simultaneously, giving me a break only when I knew for sure that I was now going down.

With luck, I went through the worst part without an incident. Then, I went through a fire. Quite frequently I'd been seeing these small fires next to the road, possibly put on to burn the road side bush or something. Well this one had grown into a real one thanks to the wind, turning trees and fences into charcoal.

I arrived in Puerto Escondido at 6:40 pm, in the dark. Congratulated Katirga for the time despite all, wondered why Puerto Escondido might be so famous, then checked into a very simple motel for $11 a night. The weather is hot, so the cold water is ok.

At 6 am birds go postal and I wake up with a smile thinking I'm in San Blas or Sayulita. But shortly afterwards the tvs come on, an engine starts, and I remember this is downtown Puerto Escondido. Good news is, the crazy wind is gone.

For a resort style breakfast and internet, I headed out to the fancy Best Western on the "hotel zone". It was really nice, and really weird. It must be the continuing funk that took me there. The trip, Mexico, Katirga, all suddenly vanished, and I was zapped to another life.


Open buffet breakfast at the Best Western. (Yep, they serve laptops.)

I zapped back to downtown Puerto Escondido to look for a rear tyre, preferably a Kenda 50/50 that is said to last forever. The OEM Dunlop on Katirga is already shot, at only 3500 miles. Like Peter said, had I ignored Kawasaki's specs for pressure and run them 10 psis firmer, perhaps they would have lived longer, but now it's too late.

No luck finding a tyre, but I did get a much needed hair cut. Tightened the loosening sub-frame bolts, added more engine oil, upped the pressure in tyres, played catch-up with the journals, and another day was over without finding out why Puerto Escondido is so famous.

Next morning I packed up and left, only to exit again 2 blocks later when I realized what the fuss is about. Too busy chasing the chores I had not bothered to come this far and discover the popular beaches of Puerto Escondido. How can you stay in Puerto Escondido and not even see it? Should I stay one more night?



There is a reason for its fame after all.

I chose to hang out a bit, have breakfast, drool over the calm waters, then head for other beaches down south to compensate. This time I really wished I had someone to keep an eye on the loaded bike while I took a quick dip. Oh well...