Mazunte

Further west is the tiny village of Mazunte. Though it has grown in recent years, it remains a languid, laid-back place with a dazzling beach. It’s more peaceful than Zipolite, and lacking the hippie-party vibe. In addition, the surf is less powerful here, and at the western end of the beach, beyond the rocky outcrop, there’s a smaller bay where the waves are even gentler and it’s safer to swim. The village’s name is derived from the Náhuatl word “maxonteita”, which means “please come and spawn”, a reference to the Golfina turtles that come here to breed, although it was once the site of an abattoir that, at its most gruesome, supposedly slaughtered three thousand of the creatures a day. In 1990, the Mexican government bowed to international pressure and effectively banned the industry overnight, removing in one fell swoop the livelihood of the villagers, who then turned to slash-and-burn agriculture. Since then, Mazunte has been declared a reserve, and more sustainable, long-term ecotourism programmes have been encouraged, including the cooperative Cosméticos Naturales (t958/583-9656), which you see as soon as you enter the village, set up with help from companies such as The Body Shop and selling beauty products made from local ingredients and organic produce. The government-funded Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga (t958/584-3376, wwww.centromexicanodelatortuga.org), at the east end of the village, features an aquarium with some particularly large turtles and a turtle research centre. It’s well worth the visit, especially as proceeds go towards the conservation of this majestic species.