News Articles for Puerto Escondido
Conde Nast Travel Concierge.com | Puerto Escondido Mexico
The Coast is Clear
by Mark Jolly
Published April 2008
Along a seventy-mile stretch of Mexico's Pacific shore, four towns include seemingly every stripe of simpatico beach getaway. Surfing, ecotourism, hippie chic, and luxe family resorts all coexist-and, blessedly, without any crowds. Mark Jolly discovers the multifaceted appeal of Puerto Escondido and nearby unspoiled seaside spots
By the time I drive into Maznte, it's nearing the golden hour, and the late-afternoon wash of light beckons me to the sea. For three days now I've been scuttling from one location to the next, exploring the Oaxacan coast and pondering how I will ever, seriously, be able to brave the waters of this perilous part of the Pacific-which impishly touts itself as the Costa Chica, the Little Coast. I throw my knapsack into a beach shack and wander down to the waves.
In truth, the shores of this tiny village have been fine for swimming during the past few months. Only now, as the season slips into the stormy months of fall, has the ocean started to stir again. But at least, I realize as I get tossed about in the surf, there's not a single tourist anywhere along the mile-long bay; just a few fearless Mexican kids (who cast themselves into the swell as if it were their own private wading pool), some fishermen fixing their skiffs, and-wait, what's this?
I glance back at the beach and see that a dozen people have suddenly collected, jostling, pointing. The waves drown out their words, but I can tell there's excitement in the air. With great effort I paddle back to land and find, between them and me, a large turtle waddling along the sand. The crowd, now double in size, moves to let the visitor find space, and peace, to lay her eggs. They know the routine. Yet still more staring and pointing, more waiting and wonder. By the time I'm all dripped dry, the turtle has had enough and, without laying her eggs, has stolen away into the sea. The commotion, it seems, was too much for her.
Let's hope she can get used to it: Word is slowly starting to spread about the lesser-known Pacific Mexico. For years, the seventy-mile coastal strip of central Oaxaca-the nexus of the Costa Chica-has been in the shadow of its flashier, noisier neighbors to the north: Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and even small-town Zihuatanejo. Beyond the loyal coterie of international surfers and middle-class Mexicans, this seaside stretch between Puerto Escondido and Huatulco is still unknown-despite its spectacular string of beaches and its rich biodiversity (more olive ridley turtles hatch here than anywhere else on earth). I have come looking for a blissed-out Mexican beach dream, and-owing to a confluence of socio-geographical seclusion, government mismanagement, and singular surf breaks-it just may exist.
Click for entire article
New York Times Travel - Havens Puerto Escondido Mexico
Fishing Boats, Surfboards and Not a High-Rise in Sight
By BETH GREENFIELD
Published: January 11, 2008
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, a tiny fishing village turned surfer's hub on the Pacific coast of Mexico, certainly has the hallmarks of a tropical paradise: wide beaches, hidden coves and rocky cliffs that soar above crystalline waters.
But the many American homeowners there - perhaps intent on not unveiling their coveted hideaway - are quick to point out that Puerto Escondido is not for everyone. It's remote, they warn, with terrible roads and few flights. Then there is the inefficient culture and the legal vagaries involved in buying land.
"You don't come because it's cheap," said Richard Malmed, an Albany native who happened upon the place with a buddy in the 1960s when their camper van got stuck in the sand. "You come because you love Mexico."
He was captivated by the location, and he and his wife, Mimi, have returned every winter since - first camping, then staying at an inn and then living in a friend's house. In 1999 they bought a pair of adjoining lots for $40,000 and in 2000 finally built a house for $75,000. It's topped with a palapa (an open-sided structure with a thatched roof) and sits on a bluff that overlooks the sea. They stay from October through April these days, before returning home to the Adirondacks.
"It was the end of the road," Mr. Malmed said of his impromptu arrival nearly 40 years ago. "We had to ford rivers to get here, because there were no bridges."
Now there's a small airport and a steady stream of foreigners who often wind up buying because, among other reasons, it's so affordable. Prices have nearly doubled in the past year, local real estate agents say, but the average house is still around $250,000. Waterfront lots, though there aren't many left, can be had for $80,000.
And Puerto Escondido is still relatively unspoiled, with no chain stores, resorts or waterfront high-rises.
Click for entire article
Concierge - Conde Nast Traveler
THE 2008 IT LIST
By Ondine Cohane
Published: January 2008
PUERTO ESCONDIDO and the OAXACAN COAST
It's a traveler's truism: Where surfers go, other tourists eventually follow. Wave-riders sniff out the best beaches before the mainstream discovers them, and board culture has the effect of turning sleepy towns into enclaves of board-short-wearing hipdom. Witness Sayulita, near Puerto Vallarta, and Troncones, a stone's throw from Zihuatanejo. The next frontier? Puerto Escondido, Puerto Angel, and the beaches south of Huatulco. The future of this unmanicured stretch of nirvana is much more secure now that FONATUR (the Mexican agency responsible for the development of Cancún, Cabo, and Acapulco) seems to have run out of steam in its attempt to make it the country's next big thing. For now, the beaches are home to fishing villages, quiet lagoons, and coconut plantations-if you need a visual reference, the idyllic beach ending of Y Tu Mamá También was shot here. Check into the Santa Fe hotel in Puerto Escondido and take day-trips to Playa Manzanillo, Playa Carrizalillo, and Zipolite (one of the most beautiful beaches around); consider adding a sojourn inland to the city of Oaxaca, one of the country's colonial gems. For expert surfers, Playa Zicatela is one of the best pipelines in the world.
Click for entire article
Stunning Puerto Escondido Mexico & over the border in Guatemala, the casas are beautiful, traditional and cheap
The Observer - Guardian Unlimited
By Gareth Rubin
Published: Sunday April 8, 2007
The sunrise over Puerto Escondido, the swish former fishing town on Mexico's southern coast with a booming trade in upmarket tourism, is almost reminiscent of a symphony. Delicate spots of light play across the blue waves, occasionally picking out turtles, while the sun's yellow beams stream over the beach. It is no surprise that 'Puerto' has become the Mexican retreat of choice for wealthier European and American settlers.
Despite average price rises of 20 to 30 per cent per year over the last three years, property here is still reasonable. While most gringos choose to buy a plot of land and build a modern high-design villa to their own specification, there are also a number of developers producing good-quality housing quickly and at low cost. Nashville-born Nancye Radmin from Puerto Real Estate explains: 'It's always sunny here, so we have no downtime; no frozen ground means we can build continually.'
Don Goyo is one of Puerto Escondido's new developments. It is made up of 16 goodsized homes circled around a central communal space with two swimming pools. Each house has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a roof terrace looking out over the sea, and comes with a price tag of £65,000. There's an additional £25 per month service charge for gardening, pool maintenance and so on.
Click for entire article
Hottest foreign second home markets for 2007
Here's where Americans will be turning to this year for second homes abroad.
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Published: January 20, 2007
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Americans have never taken much to living abroad, at least not to the same degree the British have. Some 5.5 million Brits, about 10 percent of that nation's total population, now live as expatriates, with 200,000 more every year.
The massive Brit presence in the heart of Tuscany's wine region has given it the nickname Chianti-shire.
For Americans, though, most other countries were too far away to tempt us. Some Yanks did buy second homes in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but the majority were content to shop within the nation's borders.
That's changing.
Today foreign lands are drawing more Americans than ever. According to State Department estimates, some 6.6 million Americans live abroad, a larger number than the Brits claim, but, at 2.2 percent, still a smaller percentage of the U.S.'s total 300 million population.
There are many reasons for the big build up. More Americans work for multi-national companies, which often take them for long stints overseas. And foreign vacation travel is booming as well. This means a lot more exposure to other countries and cultures.
The big destinations for Americans to buy second homes abroad are still the usual suspects. In addition to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, there is increased buying activity in Western Europe and some newer markets, such as Costa Rica.
Click for entire article
Making It Easier to Buy in Mexico
New York Times: Sunday Real Estate Section
By FRED A. BERNSTEIN
Published: March 19, 2006
WHEN Thomas Keeling, a New York City firefighter, retired from the force in 2003, it took him less than a month to leave College Point, Queens, for this beach town about five hours south of Tucson.
Mr. Keeling, 43, paid less than $500,000 for a 3,800-square-foot house with spectacular views from nearly every window.
But the fishing season in San Carlos proved too short for Mr. Keeling. He hopes to move across the Sea of Cortez to Cabo San Lucas - "where you can fish all year," he says - and has listed his house for $695,000 - about 50 percent more than he paid two years ago.
He just may get it. San Carlos is catching on with buyers. "We're having the best season in history," said Jose J. Martinez, a broker with Snowbird Realty, one of 15 agencies in the town of about 4,500. Richard C. Baca, a former United States marine who owns Sunshine Realty, on the outskirts of town, said: "It's not a boom - but it's been steady growth."
The Mexican government has spurred that growth with a number of new rules that make it easier for Americans to acquire real estate. But authorities are bound by Article 27 of the Mexican constitution, which prohibits foreigners from owning property within 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) of the coast.
Click for entire article
More American Retirees Seek Havens Abroad
New York Times
By HILLARY CHURA
Published: July 30, 2005
These days, some Americans heading for retirement are as concerned with pesos as pensions, and foreign language classes as Medicare. They are part of an emerging population expecting to spend their retirement abroad.
In January, baby boomers will start hitting 60 at a rate of more than four million a year. More mobile, active and adventuresome than prior generations, these 78 million Americans are rethinking retirement. Many will be lured overseas by a more affordable cost of living and temperate weather. Some will want to return to their native countries or to places where they once worked or studied.
Coreen Plewa and her husband, James, plan to move to Mexico in four years. They say they adore their home in Santa Fe, N.M., but will not be able to make ends meet once Mr. Plewa retires from teaching high school math. The Plewas and about 10 like-minded people have been meeting to discuss moves to Latin America.
"This is not like, 'I've got to get out of this hole,' " said Mrs. Plewa, who believes health care costs in the United States could eat up 40 percent of the couple's estimated $4,000 to $5,000 monthly retirement income. "We think our dime will go further."
In December, Mrs. Plewa, 60, a psychotherapist, and Mr. Plewa, 56, will return to Mexico to research where they might want to live. They have been four or five times already, and they are thinking of renting a home there. They have no children. The Plewas have dabbled on their own in Spanish for several years but began language classes a few weeks ago. They have done Internet research on sites like Mexconnect.com and are reading books, including "The Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica" by Christopher Howard (Independent Pub Group, 1995) and "Choose Mexico for Retirement" by John Howells and Don Merwin (Global Pequot, 2005).
Click for entire article
