Globe Corner Blogs

Having endured several cold and harsh winters in Boston, I have begun to understand the appeal of heading south for the winter. After a particularly freezing walk home I booked my ticket to Oaxaca, Mexico. Oaxaca is a beautiful city in the southern part of Mexico and I have always wanted to go there. It is a well known culinary capital and is also home to lots of folk artists. After researching more about the region I decided that I also wanted to go to the coast for a couple of days and Puerto Escondido seemed like the perfect destination to soak up the sun and get away from it all. Puerto Escondido means “hidden port” in Spanish. These days, though, it is becoming more of a destination even though it can be kind of treacherous to get there.

Flying was a bit out of my price range, so I opted to book a space on one of the shuttle vans that is both faster and cheaper than the bus. I spent the next six hours holding on for dear life as the van sped along the narrow, bumpy, curvy road. Thankfully I was warned to bring some Dramamine. But if you don’t have any, all of the stores on the route carry it and are making a killing selling it by the pill! Every time we took a break and would spill out of the van, someone had to run up and buy some. It is always a bit concerning when you see the driver continuously crossing himself throughout the drive. I am not Catholic, but I started to copy him just for safe measure.

Not only was the drive a bit unnerving, but every time we rounded a turn with a bit too much speed, a machete would slide out from beneath my chair. At first everyone just looked at it and hoped that it would slide back into place, which it did with the next curve.  Just as a side note, the Lonely Planet Mexican Spanish Phrasebook does not tell you how to say “Please kind sir, can you move your machete so it doesn’t chop of my feet?” I kind of just got used to the rhythm of it sliding around beneath my feet. I am sure that the views of the mountains and the valleys were gorgeous, but I was only able to catch a glimpse due my need to hang on tightly and make sure my feet were not going to get stabbed during the never-ending hairpin curves. However, the trip was worth it and Puerto Escondido lived up to all my expectations; just bring ear plugs if you end up there during Carnival and want to sleep at all.

During Carnival there is a parade of floats that cruises down the streets of the Puerto Escondido with scantily dressed girls dancing in pick-up trucks that are blasting music . All of the floats seemed to have the same idea and were pretty much the same thing over and over. However, one float was particularly interesting. It was sponsored by one of the local health cooperatives and celebrated the fight against tuberculosis. This time there were  girls dressed as nurses and a huge dancing paper mache doctor. But then came the best part of the parade. Following the truck was a group of adorable little children dressed as tuberculosis tablets dancing their way down the street.  Now that is a parade.

Read more: Bus Travel, Carnival, Festivals, Mexico, Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido, Solo Travel, Travel, Travel Tips and Resources


Lisa can usually be found staring longingly at the Eastern European shelf at the Globe Corner Bookstore. However, she really wants to go to Colombia.

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