Birding Oaxaca 2004 - Pacific Slope - 07 Feb

07 Feb 04 Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
As the falcon flies, it is perhaps 60 miles from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido. As the road twists, it is more like 120-130 miles, and a 6-10 hour drive, depending on your route and how suicidal you are feeling. Our detailed travel plans went the way of any detailed plan in Mexico, but we did eventually make it to the coast.

Plan A was to rent a van, and have our friend Ramiro drive us over at a leisurely pace, stopping at some good spots along the way that Ram and Kerry had heard about. We met downtown at 9 AM to rent a van. There were no vans. But wait, there might be one at 1 PM. Okay, that would still work. Ram and Kerry and I went off to bird San Felipe Park, on the outskirts of Oaxaca City. Nancy took a nap.

San Felipe Park is a gem. Lots of good birds. A beautiful location. A good time. All the birds we saw this day are from the Park.

At 1 PM we reported to the rental car agency. The van was there, but my credit card would not work. We were absolutely unable to rent a van.

Plan B: Kerry and I would take a shuttle service to Puerto Escondido on the coast; Nancy would ride over in Ram's VW with Ruth and Josh. We found a shuttle with room, leaving fairly soon, but it was going to Pochutla, north of Puerto Angel, a fair distance east of Puerto Escondido. With our options narrowing, we took Cristobal Colon's Autoexpres van to Pochutla. Five and one half hours in the back seat of a jam-packed van, with inadequate air-conditioning, on the twistiest road in my personal experience, with a Mario Andretti wannabe at the wheel. The last hour, Kerry and I were both getting a little green. We made it into Pochutla on time, but discovered no taxis ran to Puerto Escondido that late in the day. But we found an Urbanos, an inter-urban bus, that was making the run. And the air-conditioning worked! One and a half hours of blissful stupor later we reached downtown Puerto Escondido. From there, a taxi ride - with a peak speed of 170 kph - got us to the Hotel Best Western Posada Real. Probably eight and a half hours, altogether, to get 65 air miles.

About half an hour later, Nancy and Ram and his family arrived. We made very tentative plans for the following day, and staggered off to bed. We won't talk about the wedding party up the hill that kept us awake half the night.

Ruth, Josh and Ram Restaurante del Naranjo, Oaxaca	Ramiro Aragon Perez volunteered at Alaska Bird Observatory in 2000. Ram returned to his home in Oaxaca, married his sweetheart Ruth Guzman, and last year their son Joshua was born. It was a pure delight to see Ram again, and we are deeply grateful to him for all the help he gave us on our trip.
Melodious Blackbirds drinking at the hotel fountain Posada Real, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca	Each morning, the fountain at our hotel would host a series of birds, including Melodious Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, and a variety of doves and pigeons.