Words by Tom Freed | Photos by Edwin Morales (FB here)
Whenever someone utters the phrase “from where you’d rather be,” Stab’s collective mind’s eye immediately focuses on a sand-bottomed setup beneath a smiling sun. We’re talking beachbreaks. Trunks. Bath water. All the finer things! And, since we so adore such things, we’ve decided to team up with our like-minded pals at Coronaextra.com.au to deliver you a new series: The World’s Best Beachbreaks.
We’ll be detailing, visually but also through written text, all our favourite sand setups from around the world. The requirements? Nothing but golden grains beneath, nothing but a warm orb above, trunk temperatures only, and a perfect setup to end the day with a Corona and lime.
No. 1: Puerto Escondido, Mexico
Playa Zicatela. Close your eyes and say it. Let
those vowels rattle out of your mouth like a foreign prayer. Picture a
beach on the edge of a jungle with thundering tee-pees spitting both
ways. Music with horns. Women with curls. Palapas y cervezas. Waves with
balls. Keep praying. Zicatela’s ground zero in our world of beach
breaks, folks. The Alpha, Omega and Apocalypto of sandbars. And the
steamy Mexican town that surrounds it — Puerto Escondido — a crossroad
for backpackers, babes, local heroes, pro surfers and nameless hellmen.
With several peaks to choose from, all capable of draining anywhere from
two-20 foot, the place has a little something for everyone. Even Shane
Dorian (the 20 foot part). Yes, dear readers, the original dream of warm
stand-up tubes o’er grains of gold is alive and well in Deep Mex. Now,
follow yo dreams.
Head to Puerto, there’s a good chance you’ll bump into Coco Nogales here. He rules PE.
Lemme break it down for ya:
Go: May-October.
Land in: Puerto Escondido International Airport, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Then: Cab it the ten minutes to the beach, no rental cars necessary, baby.
Stay: At Bungalows Zicatela, but
there are a plethora of other hotels, backpackers, homestays and
hostels on offer. Any price range you please.
Bring a: Quiver. Depending on
the swell forecast, a shortboard, a step-up, and a proper gun if ya got
the cojones. (psst…that means testicles)
What’s she like? Una diosa. (A
goddess). Powerful, glorious, breathtaking. 30 Cels on land, 30 Cels in
the water. Miles on miles on miles of golden sands with copious
bungalows and restaurants to choose from beachside. Extremely consistent
and at her most mighty, a certified big-wave court. But don’t let that
sway ya if yer not into life-vests and 9’6”’s —
Puerto can serve up small-medium sized wedges and teepees, too! (Just go
when there’s not a macker coming). Specifically speaking, the far north
peak called Carmelitas is a super ledgy and hollow righthander that
goes the bigger it gets. Straight out from the lifeguard tower is that
classic Mexican Pipeline split peak and then south a touch is Far Bar, a
mixed bag of wedges and peaks that can get mental on their days.
Ian
Walsh. Yep, Puerto holds size. But the beauty of this world is that all
of us like different things – some of us love the thrill of fear. And
Puerto caters to all kinks.
What really makes her tick?
Canyons. As in those deep submarine canyons serendipitously off the
coast of Puerto suckin’ in that swell like underwater topographical
vacuums. Indeed, because of those deep canyons off the coast, south
swells can travel that 3,000 miles across the Pacific, funnel into the
bay through those ditches and still be, like, 20 feet. Unlike a lot of
windswell-whore beachbreaks, Puerto loves long period groundswell,
uninterrupted by local wind and weather. Direction from the 280-295
degrees-zone, so pretty effin’ south. A little more southwest for the
“far-bar” section. Offshore winds are preferable (obvs), which is
north/northeast as not to crumble those notorious Mexican pipes.
And that includes the aesthete in all of us.
Other options in the area… A
consistent, albeit smaller, lefthand point at the southern end of the
bay (bout a mile’s walk) called La Punta is rippable. Can even get
world-class on a big swell. And if Puerto isn’t doin’ it for
ya…apparently there’s some sand-bottomed righthand points a few hours
south, Salina something-or-other. Might just be rumours though.
For a good time… A restaurant
called El Mana has some healthy eats and Cafecito is the spot for great
breakie. Hotel Santa Fe’s got some great food as well, and for early
night fun, Casa Babylon’s got great cocktails, babes, music and Jenga.
To shake your yer tail feathers and find babes (if the Jenga didn’t do
it), Kaballah is an epic place to party.
But it’s not all increased heart rate. There’s plenty of dream scenes to get lost in here.
At all costs, don’t… wander the
beach or take a date for a moonlit shoreline stroll at midnight. It
ain’t Malibu bonfire beach parties. In Mex, a dark beach in the wee
hours could be a prime place to get robbed or hassled by corrupt cops.
If ya wanna be a drunk idiot, be respectful and do it close to yer bed.
Always take a cheap cab as opposed to hoofing it late night, too.
OK, I hear ya, but what’s an expert say? Rusty Long says,
“Puerto Escondido is just a beautiful place that has that special
magnified energy, kinda like the North Shore, and with people that are
there for the love of riding some serious waves. It’s also just so
consistent, which is what keeps me coming back. And the quality, I mean,
when it’s on — I feel like you can get some of the biggest, best tubes
in the world. And in the 10-15 foot (Hawaiian) zone. It’s not for
everybody, but it’s just one of those truly special places in the surf
world. I really love those deep righthanders in the corner. The outside
submarine canyons creates those ones as well as the classic A-frame
peaks in front of the lifeguard tower. Puerto’s crazy too, because the
bigger it gets, the better it can get. Like in the eight-foot-plus or
eight-12 foot zone and coming from the southerly angle, that’s when I
start going to the corner for those rights.”
Shane Dorian surfs this place like a local.
