The next day we decided to take a nice Sunday stroll to two areas close to Zona Rosa called Condesa & Roma. We were interested in the areas to get away from all the crowds we witnessed the day before at Zócalo. We had a pleasant walk down to see a nice neighborhood with tree lined streets and small parks. Our walk included checking out the architecture, parks, and restaurants in the area. We were also told by the staff at our hostel to purchase our bus tickets at least one day in advance...cuz the buses may be all booked. So we jumped on the metro and took Linea 2 to the last stop called Tasqueña. A busy station that also had Terminal Sur nearby (one of 4 main bus terminals). Here we had to buy our bus tickets to Puerto Escondido (PE), a 14-hour bus ride from Mexico City.
We jumped on to our 6:30p bus to PE, we arrived the next morning around 8:00a. Coming from Mexico City where it was rather chilly and cool, 
PE was balmy and humid. Perfect weather for the beach!!! We grabbed a local taxi and arrived at our hotel called the Tabachín del Puerto. We heard good things about it through our Lonely Planet book as well as through TripAdvisor.com. We had a room that was one of the largest on our entire trip.
It included 2 double beds, TV, air conditioner, private bath, kitchen, and large water cooler. The first thing we did was change into shorts, which we hadn't been able to do since June. Then we spent the rest of the day walking around Playa Zicatela and Marinero, putting our feet in the warm water and getting sand stuck between our toes.
Believe it or not PE doesn't have the large chain hotels that other beaches in Mexico may have, mainly because of the rough surf that affects Playa Zicatela in particular. The truth is that many people have died because of the rough surf and the big chain hotels don't want anything to do with the place.....which was cool with us. In fact, Zicatela is known mainly for its good surfing (one of the best places in the world), however, as a swimmer it is one of the most dangerous beaches in the country. It has a nasty rip current that comes at you quickly and pulls you out to sea. Playa Marinero is better but you may still have to watch yourself on some days. Carrizalillo was probably the calmest out of the whole lot.
The rest of our week was 
spent eating wonderful breakfasts at our hotel, jumping in the lovely seawater at Marinero beach, going to the pool at a local country club, sipping on margaritas and cervezas, eating Oaxacan mole enchiladas, enjoying the calm waves at Playa Carrizalillo, walking along the strip along Playa Principal.
We met some really cool people along the way....Gabby from L.A., ex-pats Michele Gibbs and Annie, as well as some others.
We met Gabby at our hotel, she didn't stay there but she would come for the wonderful breakfasts that they had. She stayed at a new hotel on the far end of Zicatela called Aqualuna. It was quite nice but the host of the place needed a few lessons on learning to chillout a little.
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