Mazunte, Oaxaca

 

About an hour south-east of Puerto Escondido lies the charming small town of Mazunte. Here we stopped to explore the Living Museum of the Sea Turtles (Museo Vivo de la Tortuga Marina), a place of conservation and research. The museum itself is divided into two parts: an outdoor area and an indoor aquarium. The outdoor area is somewhat pell-mell, with some structures empty and others occupied. There were a large variety of turtles to see, however, which my children enjoyed, but no touching was allowed. The indoor aquarium has turtles and fish to admire as you walk around its circular shape. The cost of entry was $31.00 pesos for adults and children over age eight (at the time of this post), and I should also mention that all the information plaques about the turtles is in Spanish only. Interestingly the museum use to be a turtle processing plant and apparently converting it into a living museum has been a successful venture for this small community.

Near the town of Mazunte we had the chance to admire hand woven hammocks. I would have never known of this place if it were not for my friend insisting we go there. Maria has spent a good amount of time living in this area and is well acquainted with its secrets. Truthfully, I have never seen such beautifully made hammocks and chose to invest in a matrimonial hammock for back home. Before leaving the area we drove to San Agustillino to enjoy drinks on the breach. Felix helped a local gather snails from the rock outcroppings while the other children enjoyed scrambling over the rocks and playing in the waves.