Once waking and arriving at the bus terminal in Puerto Escondido, despite being tired Cassie and I were both really excited! Puerto is also known as the Mexican Pipeline and is one of the most dangerous beaches in the world to surf, therefore attracting the entire surfing crowd, big competitions and a big party scene. We shared a cab to a recommended hostel with another guy from the bus and settled in to our private cabana on the beach. Buena Onda was very relaxing literally on the beach and I went in for a nap ready to face the rest of the week! After waking late afternoon we headed to the market, got food and drinks and got ready for our first night out. After a few quite nights and cold towns we were ready for a drink, we joined some other Mexicans in our hostel for some tequila drinking games and then went to the Reggae Party. These guys were just taking it easy on a Sunday night before returning to the city in the morning for work. They had a new bottle of tequila every half an hour and we realised then we were out of our depths! The evening basically involved stupid amounts of dancing, Aussies and Cafe Mezcal (a sister drink to tequila but blended with coffee...a killer). This mix obviously made it a great night and was a great start to our Puerto experience. The next day was a chilled one, both of us sunbathing, had a little swim and I sorted through some boring stuff on the computer. We ended the day joining some locals to play volleyball on the beach, once the sand had cooled down, with the sunset.

Another lazy day went by just enjoying been back in the heat, although too hot for me to sit in for more than ten minutes, I enjoyed the hammocks in the shade to read my book! After another game of volleyball, we returned back to the town for another ladies night! This was in Kabalah and it was a gorgeous beach club with a marque over the sand and seating where we all drank listening to the DJs and dancing later.

On Wednesday we decided to explore the town and go to a Yoga class at sunset. This was relaxing looking over the ocean and cured our headaches ready for our next night out...Salsa night!

First we went for dinner at a recommended restaurant -Fish Taco - which was amazing! And then we headed over to a different hostel where we met the guys staying and working there the night before. With a few tequila shots each we were ready to go and headed out for a night full of dancing!

After four full days on the mainland we decided to explore the quieter island-like lagoon of Chachua. After a lift, collectivo, taxi, boat, pick-up truck, we arrived at the beach in Chachua. Although only two hours or so away from Puerto it seemed like a different world! The boat took us through the lagoons, with the mangroves and lots of different wildlife including birds and crocodiles! We then went along the bumpy 'road' surrounded by cacti and cows for 45 minutes. In this time we met an old, crazy local guy and he let us sample his fruits. It was a sister to a dragon fruit (we think!) which was interesting! On the beach it was wide, white sand to the wavy shore line of the coast. At the start of the beach there was a series of family owned and run beach huts which contained a small kitchen. Here you get a hammock or tent for a dollar or less if you eat at their hut. We were recommended Frank's and Janet's and as we arrived Cassie bumped into a group of friends from her home town. It was nice for Cass and pretty coincidental as we were basically the only couple of people staying there. After chatting to the guys and cooling off in the sea I retreated to my hammock and read for a while before dinner. This place really was the most chilled out place ever feeling completely isolated from the rest of the world. With no internet, mirrors or anything inside it was cool to relax and have a break from the nightlife! The dinner at Frank's was amazing. I had a fresh shrimp ceviche and all the other guys enjoyed their traditional meals too! After chatting and watching the stars I headed in for the night to my hammock reading then falling asleep under the stars.

The next morning we rose with the sun and chilled out before heading out to cool off in the sea. I then just read and grabbed some lunch before heading back to the mainland at 3ish. Time just seemed to disappear in Chachua and a few of the guys literally couldn't remember how long they had been there as without a watch, internet or anything to do other than surf, read, eat and swim the days easily blend into one! Definitely want to return one day!

We headed back with an Aussie couple who were staying with us at Frank's. Once of the direct boat back they had hired a car so offered us a lift back to Puerto. We jumped in the retro VW Beetle and when I realised I could see the road through the rusted holes in the floor, the lack of a second gear and other major MOT fails I realised we were in for a fun ride. After struggling up the hill to the main road without the second gear things seemed the run well, once half way back however we realised the breaks no longer worked, so with speed bumps, random giant holes missing from the road and other unexpected hazards that become the norm in Mexico it became quite a challenge for Dave the driver. With the use of the 'lay bys' in sudden traffic stops and other techniques we avoided running into the backs of other cars and the usefully placed brick outside the hire shop to stop allowed Dave to pull through and return the car and us in one piece.

Once back in Puerto we went for a change and headed straight over to the guys hostel for more drinks, pool, dancing and out to BarFly. This however was just our warm up with the next day, Saturday 15th September been the Mexican Independence Day. So with lots of locals and surfers around it was going to be a great night. In the afternoon we headed to the main beach to watch the surfers and body boarders, grabbed some lunch from Fish Taco and then headed back to the hostel for the pool party. With people arriving steadily we had lots of sombreros, Mexican body paint and the tequila was flowing. In the main town there were fireworks and a traditional show but we all missed that due to the drinks so we headed out lateish back to BarFly.

After another fun night I found Sunday rather difficult and decided to make full use of the hammock on the beach. This day also disappeared as started quite abruptly after midday as we realised we needed to check out! Once recovered and packed we headed to a close by burger bar which was also recommended to fill up before our next night bus. This was just what I needed and off we went on our way to Oaxaca City. We had a great time in Puerto Escondido, not so culturally growing but a nice typical summer party place, meeting lots of aussies and having lots fun nights out and totally relaxing, back to basics style at Chachua.