Friday’s Adventure Destination Goodness: Namibia

It was one of those gorgeous afternoons.

As our airliner descended over the turquoise coast of Guerrero, Mexico, passing the built up resort cities of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo it circled over arid flatlands and landed at Zihuatanejo’s modest international airport.  The dry, fragrant heat, the old rescue vehicles stationed off the tarmac and the sway of coconut trees behind the one and only hangar gave us that inescapable rush of adrenalin you feel when you know you just set foot on foreign soil.

We could smell the sea.

We were whisked through customs and jumped into a taxi and headed south, in the opposite direction of Zihuatanejo. We drove for forty minutes or so on the main highway -Carreterra Federal 200- through a cluster of tiny towns until we reached Juluchuca, a small village where it seemed sleepy dogs and scampering chickens outnumbered the population. We entered Juluchuca and traversed its only lumpy, sandy road and pulled up to a shack of a house on the edge of the tiny community. There the driver rolled his window down and asked a woman in Spanish, “Si pasamos?” (“Can we pass?”). She beamed and nodded with a laugh. He turned to me and said. “Vamonos!”

Thus began our love affair with the casual and friendly nature of the people we were to meet on the next two weeks throughout Mexico.

Within a few minutes our little taxi forged across a river with laughing, naked children and sweaty women doing their laundry. We continued on along the solitary road for another ten minutes or so, cactus and hardy, knotty foliage hemming us in on both sides.  Suddenly we came up over a rise and found ourselves at the end of the line.

If there are two words that can sum up a getaway that captures the essence of luxury rustic and yet is a model of harmony with its natural surroundings, then here it was, right in front of us…

Playa Viva.

A team of architects and ecological experts from the Bay area of California headed by David Leventhal have created an off-the-beaten-path escape that not only defines everything a self sufficient, sustainable retreat should be but takes it to another realm that all visionaries should follow.
We didn’t even have time to get out of our taxi before we were surrounded by the ear to ear smiles of our wonderful hosts.  We were led over sand to our guest quarters, a stunningly designed open-air suite that summed up what beach living is all about. But perhaps the crowning touch was that the adobe-like walls and palm frond roof of our “hut” were separated by a gap through which the warm breeze and sounds of the ocean would fill our dreams for the next few days.

Ahhh…the beach…

Within seconds our sandals were off and we were standing in front of a wild, honey-colored, sweeping beach that disappeared in either direction. The sight of rolling, jade-colored waves cast its spell as we stood hypnotized and watched a giant, glowing red disc dissolve over the horizon in what would be our first of memorable sunsets.

In the days that followed we would walk this 10 kilometer stretch of beach for hours, not a soul or dwelling in sight…seriously. We watched as whales breached and dolphins frolicked seemingly just beyond our fingertips, as manta rays and fish skimmed along cresting waves and pelicans glided by on their mysterious missions. Playa Viva literally means “Beach Alive” and it became easy to see why it had been given this title.

I could go on forever about the sensational hospitality of the on site crew that took care of us at Playa Viva, of their wonderful, sincere smiles and the mouth watering, traditional dishes they prepared every day. I could describe how special it was to visit the nearby Turtle Sanctuary , a shelter built down the beach to provide a protected, birthing habitat for the threatened turtle species in this part of Mexico.

The superlatives quickly pile up.

But there was something else about Playa Viva that struck us and needs to be mentioned.

Playa Viva was not only a gorgeous escape from our daily grind elsewhere but a reminder that a more conscious focus on the conservation and nurturing of our surroundings is possible…while traveling. From the organic gardens that supplied virtually all of the food we ate, to the rainwater-trapped irrigation system and solar powered energy, Playa Viva was not only a profound example of what little impact we can achieve abroad while chilling out but of a philosophy and practical approach to our environment that we should take with us when we go back home.

As travelers, vacationers, beach bums, thrill seekers, whatever, it’s critical to be aware of how we tread over this planet. If there was one thing we appreciated above and beyond the staggering beauty of this beach haven it was that we ended up indirectly being some small part of a project –not just a retreat- that pays respect to the very soil it was built on and strives to protect the environment that surrounds it.

~Ricky

It’s mid winter, frozen tongues of ice hang from your gutter, the sky is dark grey and the ominous moan of a painfully cold wind curls around your house. What do you do? You ignore the dire US Homeland Security warnings, turn your back on the negative images splashed across your computer and TV screen, stuff some clothes and sun block into your travel bag and head to…Mexico.

Mexico?

But what about all the violence? The uncontrolled drug warfare?

Having just got back from there, I can honestly say that the charm of our southern neighbor was intoxicating and my wife and I felt utterly safe.  Yes, you will notice an increased police presence but contrary to what you might think, it made us feel safer and they were certainly respectful of the comfort level of foreigners.

Let’s understand one thing.

The reports of unprecedented narco-violence are distressing to say the least.  I would not be doing justice to an outsider’s fears if I didn’t mention that. But consider this; as is often the case in sensationalized international media coverage, the worst problems are usually very isolated issues, both geographically and psychologically. Most of Mexico’s drug cartel warfare outbreaks are close to the US border. International borders -by sheer virtue of being an official division between cultures -create spontaneous and often ugly cities that harbor all manner of transactions and interactions between both nationalities. Sadly, sometimes those negotiations breed unpleasant results.  Bear in mind though, virtually every international border in the world is a hotbed of illegal activity. Mexico is no exception. Nonetheless, and not to downplay the violence, Mexican border towns such as Ciudad Juarez have some serious problems to overcome and we can only all hope that the Mexican government will take command and find a way to genuinely end the gang warfare that has claimed so many innocent lives.

Mexico is a big country.

Its culture and geography twists and morphs from the northern deserts of states like Chihuahua to the paradox of pine-clad mountains and jungle-strangled lowlands of its most southern state, Chiapas.  Not to be outdone by other -perhaps more popular- tourist destinations, it may be surprising to know that Mexico is in the top 10 most visited countries in the world, contains the most UNESCO Heritage sites in all of the Americas and has one of the largest, fastest growing economies on the planet.

It has 500 yr old colonial towns, world class museums, colorful, indigenous populations that remain virtually unaltered from the Spanish Conquistadors, fantastic ancient pyramids, a cuisine that has my mouth watering just writing about it, butterfly covered forests, endless rivers, stunning canyons, and literally thousands of miles of beaches.

What more do you want?

My wife and I only had 2 weeks to play with so our golden rule of travel raised its hand immediately.

Quality over quantity.

We decided that we needed to ease into Mexico.

Our memories of rugged chicken buses and endless journeys on prehistoric trains didn’t sound that appetizing either. As another rule, we like to go places we’ve never been before so we set our sights on the states of Michoacán and Guerrero, central Mexico, with the intention of arriving on the coast and traveling overland to the throbbing heart of Mexico City to depart back to the States.

Zihuatanejo is a small city on Guerrero’s Pacific coast that happens to have an international airport and thus a convenient entry point. What was once a sleepy, fishing village, “Zihua” –as it is known by locals- has become very developed. I did some research and discovered a long, tranquil stretch of beach called Barra de Potosi that lies about twenty minutes south of the Zihua frenetic buzz.  My online surfing suggested the Barra was a pleasant alternative but not perhaps ideal. I have to admit, we wanted the impossible…a beautiful, rustic palace, gourmet food, a sunset beach that stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions, a beach where our only companions would be turtles, whales, dolphins and the odd seagull…

…And we found it.

If you read my next post maybe I’ll let you in on the secret…

Ricky

Today’s Adventure Destination Photo: Solomon Islands