Zipolite Beach is a beach in the town of Puerto Angel of which we had heard mixed reviews. Seems you either love it or hate it. We loved it.

Zipolite Beach

So what could one possibly find not to like in such a beautiful location? Well, some people find the clothing optional policy a bit hard to take. Others find the frequent smell of marijuana wafting on the wind overwhelming. Others get tired of the dreadlocked backpacking crowd, the fire spinners, the jugglers….We, on the other hand, were able to pretty much ignore the naked, fifty something plus men (the majority of those who chose to go nude were older men, and they seemed to love to either bob their way up and down the beach along the water’s edge or lie spread eagle in the sand), and we found the young people interesting to watch and the vibe relaxed and vibrant. There were nice restaurants, the sand was great to walk on, and we were happy to be back on the coast.

All along the beach were restaurants and accommodations, many that allowed tents to be set up and hammocks strung, making for inexpensive living conditions for the young backpack/surf crowd. We opted for a campground in an old mango plantation a few blocks off of the beach that would allow us to get away from the “scene”, have a shower, maybe get some wifi.

While in camp we met a great couple from Colorado (Doug and Lindsey) who have sold almost everything they own and are making their way to South America. Along the way they will be looking for a place where they can settle down, buy some land, maybe build a restaurant or a hostel. If they don’t find what they are looking for in Central or South America, they might ship their truck to South East Asia and look there for their new home. Pretty exciting times for them.

By the way, they had an amazing truck camper custom made by a company called Phoenix Campers out of Colorado. I gasped when I was invited inside, there was so much room. The camper pops up and the ceiling was a good 2 feet about my head. They had the camper designed around their beloved mattress from home, and there was ingenious storage inside and out of the camper.

Additionally their truck was very similar to ours except for a flat deck setup, some slightly more enhanced suspension and dually axles (which for narrow roads we are still glad we don’t have). So Derek and Doug had lots of truck/gear stuff to talk about too.

We could have stayed for more than our two nights, but decided that we needed to get back on the road to get to Belize by mid February to meet my niece and her partner. And so, we packed up and headed to another beach!

Sunset from a beach restaurant.

Window in rock at the end of the beach.