My time in Puerto Escondido is dwindling away rapidly. So I need to take a good look around.  

I'm in the northwest part of town. I've already been in the central part of town. I'm going to the southeastern part tomorrow for a surfing competition. So today I'm doing the largest portion, which is the northeast.  

I took a different route through the central part, and stayed on the main road, which is the western edge of town, almost all the way to the mountains. Then I took a right and kind of zigzagged my way back to the center of town. I was trying to go from one area to another to see what differences there might be.

Puerto is still a warm place, compared to where I've been. Maybe because it's late November, maybe I'm getting a little bit used to the heat (don't think so), but it generally feels a tad cooler here, even if it is the most southern place I've been. There seem to be more breezes, which might make the difference.  
 



 
There are a couple of steep hills.  


 
My greatest impression is that there is room to breathe here. Even in town, the shops and residences are more spread out, and with spaces between them (not all of them, but at least there is some spacing). In the 'suburbs' (the town is only about 3 mi by 4 mi), there are some dirt roads, but the town is mostly paved, and it seems to me that they continue to try to get all the streets paved.  

Remember what I said about shanty areas? This town has a few 'shanties', and only a few, and they're not just in one spot.  


Look down the unpaved streets I've pictured (all from one intersection), you might spot a few houses that, although they may look slightly decrepit (from an american viewpoint), are on the better side for mexican homes. There's tons of room between most houses. Lots of houses are being upgraded or added on to. This is the most livable town I've seen.  
 













 
 
Drivers in town can be a little frenetic, for the size of this town, but for the most part they're quiet. Taxis and combis everywhere I've been use a combination of horns and sounds to get your attention; lets you know they're available, but mostly their trying to drum up business. You can be traveling in the opposite direction, and they'll stop and ask if you need a ride (they're very willing to change their direction). You don't get a lot of that in this town. So it's much quieter and less hectic.  

Population is about 30,000. Zihuatanejo, which is my next favorite place (so far) has about 100,000 in about the same area.  

Got back about three hours later, having gone about six miles. Picked up an orange drink from a street vendor along the way: it was about 20 oz, and my stomach started sloshing after a while!

Checked on the internet: nothing. Saw the owner's wife after a while and told her about it. Around 9pm, it was working again. Then it quit at 11pm.  

Guess what? Bedtime!