31 miles, 397 feet of climb, 1450 ft max. elev. (200 ft/div)
I didn't sleep all that well last night because of (1) the lumpy bed, (2) the intermittent pounding of the rain on the tin roof, and (3) the intermittent groaning and screaming from the couple in the next room.
Breakfast just down the street was 30 pesos. The quoted price seems to consistently include a drink. I bought 3 liters of water and some snacks for the road and set off.
Today was a short day and although there was some climbing, there was more downhill.
It's much hotter and more humid here on the coast. I'm much more worried about the heat
than the climbing. I can make it up any hill, given enough time. But when it's hot,
slowing down doesn't help much because when you're moving slowly you get less of a
cooling breeze. I plan to get on the road very early tomorrow and especially the day after
when I'll be climbing back up into the mountains.
I stopped in Pochutla, about 10 km before Pto. Ángel, to buy a Coke and check my email
at an Internet cafe. They had telephone booths there too. I tried to call my homestay in
Oaxaca to let them know I'm OK, but apparently their line was busy.
In Pto. Ángel I stopped in the shade to check my guidebook for a good restaurant for
lunch. But when I went to find it I apparently missed the turn for the beach and ended up
on some road that started to head inland into the hills. I turned around and on the way
back saw a "Welcome to Zipolite" sign. That's OK - Zipolite beach is just up the coast
from Pto. Ángel and there are restaurants and lodging here.
I'm staying at the Hotel Neptune. I got a second-floor room with a balcony directly
overlooking the beach. Cost is 250 pesos ($23) which seems reasonable for a nice room
with ceiling fan and bath. The water isn't heated but it really isn't very cold.
I had dinner at an open-air restaurant just a couple hundred yards down the beach. The choices were tuna or shrimp. I have had lots of tuna in my time but most of it came out of a can. A large helping with rice, a little salad, and two Cokes came to 70 pesos. Sitting under the thatched palapa looking out over the waves, I thought it would be pleasant to spend a couple days here, even for a non-beach person such as myself. The temperature is quite comfortable as long as you aren't trying to exercise.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped in a little store and bought sweet bread rolls, apples and water. I'll just have breakfast in my room tomorrow so I can get an early start.
This will be the first night I don't use earplugs when I go to bed. The roar of the surf
should drown out any other noise.