Day 27

What a difference a day (or two) can make. Hugo actually had a solid poop today (yay)!!!! Everyone felt well yesterday, our last day in Huatulco. Since we weren’t crazy about the crowded, seafood palapa-backed beaches, we came up with 2 different options. One was to take a boat to a beach that was backed by a lagoon that was supposed to have a lagoon, and the other was to take a cab to a trail and have a 10-minute walk to a beach that did not have all the palapas. Our first choice ended up not being an option because the marina was closed (due to stormy surf we think), so we went for option 2. This is where I get frustrated with travel books. The first part went okay, the cab driver knew just where we wanted to go and took us to a “trailhead” which was just where the guidebook said it would be. We went loaded with towels, sunscreen, water, “noodles” and a plastic bucket and shovel. We were surprised that the trail wasn’t marked, but Mexico isn’t Switzerland, or the US for that matter, so we ventured on. Our little trail came to an abrupt stop a few yards on when we came to a stream. It was very shallow and sandy-bottomed, so we waded up and down stream a bit to see where the trail continued on the other side. There was nothing. Since the woods was nice and cool, the stream clear and shallow, we decided to walk downstream to see if it would take us to the ocean. It was beautiful in there, and we were once again amazed by the variety of butterflies around here. Within 5 minutes we saw about 15 different kinds of butterflies: huge yellow ones, white ones with delicate black markings, black ones with red stripes, mostly orange ones, little white ones, and on and on. This has consistently been true our entire stay in Mexico, all kinds of butterflies everywhere.

It was a pretty walk so we kept going, and we also knew we could easily find our way back, although the entire time I couldn’t believe we were walking in a stream with no trail markers and I was sure we would not make it where we wanted to go. However, after about 20 minutes, we did indeed come to a beach, and we’re pretty sure it’s the one we were supposed to get to. It was deserted, and really beautiful. With (finally) 2 healthy kids and lots of supplies, we has a great day at the beach. We saw hermit crabs, more frigate birds, and pelicans. We really had a great day to make up for all the bad ones, and it was a good way to cap off the Huatulco portion of the trip.

Today we made our way to a beach town called San Augustinillo. Both Jim and I prefer this area so far. The beach (and the neighboring ones) is much longer, unlike the little crescents in Huatulco. We found the development in Huatulco and little characterless, and didn’t like the way the beaches were developed. Here, there are thatch-roofed cabanas a long the beach. There are palapa restaurants too, but they are a little further from the water and the staff doesn’t pester you to come eat there. They are also spread further apart from one another and each have their own individual character—and different menus which makes it more interesting. The overall feel around here is nice and relaxing, and there is a lot to see in this area—a turtle conservation and breeding center, wildlife refuges, and access to organic coffee farms that you can tour.

The surf is a little rougher here, though in the morning it is supposed to be calmer, and there is no pool, so we are hoping the kids will still enjoy it. Jasper loved body surfing today and wants to rent a boogie board, but Hugo is afraid of the waves.

We capped off the day with a brick oven pizza, gelato, and a couple cervezas at a thatch-roofed palapa on the beach.