Mrs. ItchyFeet Hiking groups can be loads of fun and a really great way to meet new people while visiting areas that you might never think of going. I’ve seen more areas of Seattle than I ever knew existed with my favorite running group. It’s a wonderful excuse to get out of the house and get moving. So I was so excited to learn about the hiking group here in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, México. Here’s the thing… they mostly hike midday. Have I told you about the tropical hot-hot?
What could go wrong?
The meetup for the hike is at noon, but it’s a 30-minute walk (with hills!) from the condo I’m renting and I want to get there early in case I get lost. Better early than late! I had this real debate about getting up early for breakfast with an early lunch before the hike or sleeping in and only eating a late breakfast. Obviously, I opted for sleeping in!
I was already hot and sweaty by the time I made it to the hostel that served as the pickup stop and didn’t know if I should go inside or just wait in the parking lot. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long before a couple parked and ushered me inside. My goodness, that hostel is so cute! Pool table, swimming pool, lounge area with books, and a large chalkboard filled with all the activities you could join in at the hostel or around town (with prices).
As more people arrived, I was introduced to a wide array of humans from all over the globe (mostly Canada but also Germany, USA, and other parts of México). There was also a really adorable black poodle mix who demanded scritches. Love doggos! Once everyone arrived, we started discussing transport. My assumption was that the organizer of the group also arranged vehicles to get us all to the start of the hike. Nope. We piled into various people’s private vehicles (I chose the car with the dog, who was also very excited!) and headed out.
More doggos!
We ended up on a dirt road with even more people (and three more doggos including two mini-chihuahua pups!). Another group had met up in Zicatela, which is on the other side of the bay from me. I could have walked to either meetup spot, but Zicatela was a tiny bit further. More introductions were made and off we went. We stayed on the dirt road for a while as the peeps with longer legs quickly outpaced us shorter legged humans.
Tons of cows and horses in large pastures stared at us from both sides, wondering what the crap we were doing exercising in the intense noon-day heat. It was crazy hot. Because the UV was about 12, I had on a hat, sun-shirt, and capris. And because I was hiking, I had on socks and tennis shoes. Barefoot in the shade on a beach in a swimsuit would be more appropriate for this weather!
Luckily, the dirt road led us to the most amazing massive tree I have ever seen in my entire life, a Ceiba (Silk Floss Tree)! These trees with spiky trunks can get up to 200 feet tall. We all surrounded the trunk to get a picture of us giving it a friendly hug. We are adorable! The tree provided some much needed shade to rest, drink water, and chat even more with my new friends. I was, however, getting slightly concerned that I didn’t bring enough water (only one liter) for this level of heat.
To the river!
After heading back the way we came for a bit, we turned down another dirt road leading to a very shallow river. There was loads of discussion about how, during the rainy season, the river will become enormous and pretty much flood the entire valley. Now, you could easily walk all the way across. It’s practically dry. Two of the dogs had the best time jumping around and playing in the water. The other two weren’t quite so riotous, but cooled off nonetheless.
By now, the sand on the dirt road is getting freakishly hot. I think the UV today was supposed to get up to about 13, which is absurd. The hot surface is too much for the smaller dogs, who are now demanding to be carried. Luckily, the big German shepherd has long hair covering his paws and isn’t bothered by the ground temp.
After taking several turns, we end up walking past this creek with murky water. One hiker yells that he has seen crocodiles in the creek in the past, so we should not let any of the dogs play near the water. And with that, the owner of the German shepherd lets him off-leash and that hot pup is immediately splashing around in the creek. Sigh. To be fair, I’d be very surprised to see anything hunting in this heat.
Um… is that what I think it is?
The dirt road eventually led us to a wide lagoon. Like… the road ended into the lagoon… with a very large sign warning of cocodrilos (crocodiles!) in both English and Spanish, so you don’t make any mistakes. And that German Shepherd ran right into the water! There was a bunch of discussion as to whether or not this was safe and who was responsible for watching for moving logs. How awful would it be to lose a dog right now!?!
But again… it’s mid-day, which is not a normal time for crocodiles to hunt. At that point, the poodle was also allowed off-leash and the two dogs had the best time diving for stickers and chasing floating coconuts. As the dogs were playing, an old man paddling from the back of a small canoe steered his craft onto the bank of the lagoon. Yup… this is the ride-share we ordered to take us across the lagoon to the beach and bar on the other side.
We carefully loaded up three people at a time, and the old man slowly paddled us across. A wonderful gentleman in our group offered up his dry bag for our cell phones, just in case the canoe tipped over. The boat wobbled at times while the captain admonished, “medio! medio!” (middle! middle!) as the passengers tried to shift around. With four people in the boat, it was sitting real low in those crocodile-infested waters (misnomer as crocs live there naturally, so only the humans would be “infesting” the water). My mind immediately went to the UWMC doctor who was killed in Costa Rica while on a night canoe tour. Just a splash and he was gone!
No dying!
I also thought of the saltwater-crocodile tour I took in Australia many years ago. The large boat had this massive dent in one of the rails. The tour-guide said that a huge male croc was being territorial one year and tried, dramatically, to climb onto the boat. Nobody was hurt in that encounter, but I do watch a lot of horror movies… so… I’m keeping my hands out of the water. They let the German Shepard swim across. Again, it’s mid-day so we should all be fine.
The beach bar was lovely, overlooking this magnificent massive white sand beach along the Pacific Ocean! Unfortunately, there were 17 of us and only one person working in the entire establishment (cooking, serving, cleaning, she was doing it all). Maybe we should have called ahead? The owner was smart about it though because she pulled out a cooler filled with ice, beers and sodas and told us to keep track of whatever we grab. People were ordering food as well as coconuts, which made it even more complicated for the owner.
She’s back there opening coconuts with a machete and making guacamole by hand, all while grilling whole fish served with spaghetti. She was a very busy woman! Every person who got the fresh coconut water wanted the coconuts opened up for the meat insides. One of our peeps tried to help the owner by opening his own coconut (he had brought his own machete, so why not use it), but it’s clearly a lot harder than it looks.
Do people swim in that?
With all the heat and dust, a lot of the group tried to take a dip in the Pacific Ocean. The problem is that the beach is not sheltered, so the waves are ginormous. You could get slightly wet, but any further into the surf and you will get smashed. It clearly made the owner of the restaurant nervous that people were even trying to go in. There’s probably a pretty good rip current in that area as well. The Pacific Ocean is no joke. It’s not like the nice calm Caribbean side.
We all had a great time chatting and eating and drinking. My guacamole never came but I’m not worried about it. The lady across from me offered up some of her coconut insides. Noms. I can’t drink beer because of the glutens but I was very excited about the soda. Mexican Coca-Cola is the best! The dogs were playing with sticks and getting scritches from everyone. At one point, the owner of the two mini-chihuahuas starts freaking out.
One of his dogs had slipped out of his harness and snuck off! This is crocodile territory and those dogs are bit-size delicacies. Plus, the pups are very young and haven’t learned to come when they are called just yet. The owner was in a panic, but we quickly spotted the little chihuahua hiding in the bushes. Safe!
Cuanto cuesta?
Now is the time to settle the bill. This was an interesting process because the owner wanted it all together, but there was no menu with which to check on prices. We all handed money to one gentleman who figured out the tab. Then there was the issue of paying the captain of the canoe 30 pesos per person (US$1.50). I was really confused about this one as the hike cost 250 pesos per person (US$12.50). What did that charge cover if not the canoe ride and gas for the drive to the trailhead?
Whatever. The organizers told the slower walkers (that’s me and my short legs!) to take off now and the faster walkers would catch up. I’m off to the canoe! It was interesting to see some equestrians on the beach. They were clearly giving horse-riding tours. I wonder how they made it over the lagoon? I ended up with one other lady on the way back and we were by ourselves for almost the entire hike. We clearly are not as slow as we anticipated, or the canoe tipped over?
We had a great chat on the way. I was telling her all about how I kept hearing parrots by my condo for months but have never seen them. Not two minutes later, we spot a pandemonium of parrots flying around, causing mischief! Big green ones with the loudest shrilly calls. So cool to see them in the wild! The rest of the group finally catches up to us as we are taking pictures of this very curious donkey posing in a cow pasture.
I’m so dusty!
Back at the vehicles, we all say our goodbyes. That was a long, hot, dusty trail. I think I’ll stick to the evening hikes from now on. I was, however, very excited to see Laguna de Manialtepec. That’s one of the local lagoons that has bioluminescence. You can do night tours when the moon is new and the conditions are right. A woman got attacked by a crocodile while swimming there a few years back. Her twin sister saved her. They were on an illegal tour with a non-local tour-guide who didn’t know not to swim near the mangroves. She almost died, and he got into a lot of trouble.
Another woman riding in the car with us mentioned that they had a bioluminescence tour this morning from the hostel. However, they left at 4am. Nope. It’s probably that early because that is about when the moon sets right now, so it would be the darkest. We dropped her and another lady off at her hostel, where we had met many hours earlier. What a day! Lucky for me, the driver lives by me and offered to drive me home. That is so nice because it’s like a three kilometer hike and I’m tired. Also, lesson learned: one liter of water is not enough for that long of a hike (10.5 kilometers!!!) in this tropical hot-hot!
Someone offered up a street mango before we left the hostel parking lot and I totally accepted it. It’s that time of year! Mango season where they are just falling out of the trees everywhere. Noms! Hiking is such a great social activity. I’m glad I went and I’ll definitely go again, but not at noon. Someone had mentioned a Spanish/English Interchange meetup on Saturday. That’s perfect because I really need to practice. What a crazy adventure!
Love the story, glad you lived, didn’t get eaten maimed or sunstroked.