Zach Plopper in Oaxaca

Greeting’s Matuse Family,

Now that I have kicked the e coli that I brought home with me from Oaxaca I can tell you a bit about the trip.

WiLDCOAST is initiating several projects on the Oaxaca coast to conserve important sea turtle nesting beaches, points and wetlands. Many coastal villages in the region have transitioned from consumers of sea turtle meat and eggs to protectors of several of the world’s most significant sea turtle nesting beaches. The area has tremendous biodiversity and is very important for a number of endangered and threatened marine and terrestrial animal species.

Our work during the visit involved meeting with community leaders, touring their local coastline and hanging out with a lot of exuberant local kids. One local grommet asked if we wanted to see the hidden surf spot down the beach from his village one day. It was a twenty minute walk he said. An hour later and with an endless torrent of sweat pouring out of me our 13 year old guide skipped along, barefoot, and batting snakes and ferocious land crabs out of the way. We arrived to not much in terms of surf but the potential was obvious and the undisturbed beauty of the beach, bay and mangroves was incredible.

We got plenty of fun waves between meetings and Bhutan death marches. Hurricane Carlotta whipped through the region one night and dumped a lot of rain which made beach access interesting. Fortunately it wasn’t until the last day I was there that one of my daily Tlayudas caught up with me. A Tlayuda is an Oaxacan dish similar to a quesadilla but about eight times the size and filled with everything edible. They are delicious but I don’t miss them after the last week of illness.

The potential for great things on the Oaxaca coast is tremendous as is the potential for disaster. Rapacious development ventures are still on the agenda for the region despite failure in coastal areas throughout Mexico. Fortunately, the local communities are vehemently opposed to further development near their beaches and villages and are excited to work with WiLDCOAST to protect their unhindered coastal access and precious marine resources.

Special thanks to the communities of Playa Grande and Rio Seco for the hospitality and conservation interests. For more information visit wildcoast.net.

Cheers, ZP