MAZUNTE & ZIPOLITE
Mazunte and Zipolite are two very unique places just to the south of Puerto Escondido. There are certain people who find these places literal heaven on earth. There are others who don't care for them. At the same time as they are unique they are very polarizing. They are also rather different. I lump them together here because of their close proximity to one another and the general similarity in the landscape. However they have distinct vibes and personalities. Mazunte, is a place that my friends and I came to refer to as 'Hippy Disneyland'. It's not the only place that I ever will refer to as Hippy Disneyland, but it certainly is one of them. There's a lot of people walking around and calling this place home that are living life based on the phases of the moon. Walking around in oversized elephant pants. White guys with dreads, in dresses. The whole thing. We have all seen it before. That's what this place has become. I am not saying that any of this is a bad thing. On any given night out you will find people congregating in the streets. Sitting on the ground and playing music together. Dancing in the streets. It is a lovely vibe at times. But at the same time sometimes it felt like too much to rely solely on your zodiac sign to determine your personality. Along with all the free love and that has come some really cool shops and restaurants. Health food places. Yoga and spirituality. It has a lot of that. Its one of best place in this part of Mexico to come if you are looking to dive into spirituality. So there's that. It's also a very beautiful place. The beaches are stunning. The water a fake-looking color of blue. I do think that this place has changed a lot in the past decade or so. As all of these cool hippy spots do. The people who came here and created the culture years ago have been pushed out by some of your bohemian bitcoin boys or trust fund hippies. That's par for the course though. For me, it was a great place to go visit for a few days. Zipolite is renowned in the area for being, progressive on the hippy front but also a hub for the LGBTQ community in Mexico. There's a vibrant gay scene going on. The beach of Zipolite is also the only legal nude beach in all of Mexico. So just judging by that you can get a pretty cursory understanding of the type of vibe that is to be expected here in this town. It's not dissimilar from Mazunte in its hippy roots either. It's a really nice town though. With a cool little touristy walk that has cool restaurants and stuff. The beach is also really nice. It's a long white sand stretch of beach, with pretty good waves as well. I actually preferred Zipolite to Mazunte, its twin brother to the north. It's a more relaxing environment as well. The following pages will be very brief overviews of each of these town with some photos. I didn't spend too much time here. Some people come to Mazunte and never leave. If you are the type of person that will love Mazunte, you probably already know about Mazunte. And if you don't already know about it, and you go there, it will be pretty clear to you pretty fast if you are going to love it, or just want to stay for a little. But regardless, if you are in the area, both of these places are for sure things that you should visit.
