Pants

Puerta Escondido has been just the ticket. Seven blissful days of reading, loafing and rebooting. But a change of scenery is needed, so we jump on a bus and motor south for 3 hours to Huatulco for more of the same but with different palm trees to look at.

Well, that was the plan.

We manage the bus bit okay, and checking in to a nice cheapo hotel is a piece of cake, but within minutes my rumbling tummy tells me toilet trouble is imminent.

48 hours later I haven’t left the room. 

Of course, there’s nothing to stop Wend going to see what the new neighbourhood has to offer, and she’s about to do just that when we realise we’ve left a bunch of stuff in our last hotel. 

Actually, I should ‘fess up at this point and say I’ve left some stuff. Specifically, 6 pairs of clean undies and some speedos.

I’m happy to take one for the team and write them off but my wonderful wife insists on making the return bus journey to Puerto to retrieve them.

6 hours on a bus for 6 pairs of undies. That’s how much she loves me.  And that’s why she’s the best.

Fortunately, I recover in time for our last day in Huatulco so we have something other than our hotel lav to remember the town by. 

According to the sales blurb ‘Huatulco has nine bays and no fewer than 36 beaches, and each one is just that little bit more magical than the last’ or some such nonsense. 

If this is true then beach No.36 must be the best, right?

So that’s where we go for a sunset swim. Playa La Bocana is about 5 miles from the centre town and that’s obviously far enough to dissuade any crowds because apart from a handful of fishermen we have the place to ourselves.

And it’s proper, proper gorgeous.

A long stretch of golden sand with a backdrop of lake, trees and mountains in the distance.

What we didn’t expect is the proliferation of birdlife. We’ve noticed wherever we’ve been in Mexico that the birds go a bit mental at dusk, and Bocana is no exception. Today their manic behaviour is exacerbated by the fishing blokes throwing back any tiddlers deemed too small for the table.

Cue mayhem. And we have ringside seats.

First on the scene was a beautiful frigate bird, easily identified by Wend because of the distinctive tail. Of course I just think he looks like a massive swift or swallow (I can't even tell the difference between those two).

The gulls are soon involved - this one provides some scale to show the size of the frigates. 

Having set the cat amongst the pigeons - or sprats amongst the frigates - the fisherman head home with their catch. 

We particularly liked these vultures. They were either too cool, or too lazy to bother with the scramble at the water's edge.