# Advice re: relatively small Pacific coast towns?



## carphie (Dec 9, 2015)

Hi,
I vacationed in Zihuatanejo a couple years ago and now I'm looking for a similar-sized or smaller town for a longer stay, at least 3 months, maybe more. I'm less interested in super touristy places, I'm a hiker/runner and I want be close to the coast. Do you guys mind throwing out areas that I can research online? While away I'll also want to do a language immersion program so I can finally become fluent. I'm from the Caribbean originally so I think that's why I'm drawn west to the Pacific. But if you know a Gulf coast town that fits my search criteria, please, let me know.

I appreciate any help you can offer to get me started. January 2016 is when I want to move.

Thanks,

C.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

carphie said:


> Hi,
> I vacationed in Zihuatanejo a couple years ago and now I'm looking for a similar-sized or smaller town for a longer stay, at least 3 months, maybe more. I'm less interested in super touristy places, I'm a hiker/runner and I want be close to the coast. Do you guys mind throwing out areas that I can research online? While away I'll also want to do a language immersion program so I can finally become fluent. I'm from the Caribbean originally so I think that's why I'm drawn west to the Pacific. But if you know a Gulf coast town that fits my search criteria, please, let me know.
> 
> I appreciate any help you can offer to get me started. January 2016 is when I want to move.
> ...


I have a bunch of suggestions, slightly annotated:

San Blas, Nayarit - a few foreigners but definitely off the tourist route. Lots of no-see-ums on the beach. Some surfing near by. Beautiful estuary. Famous for banana bread.

Sayulita, Nayarit - no personal experience. Supposedly an artist hangout.

Yelapa, Jalisco - Somewhat touristy small town. Access by boat, and maybe by primitive back road.

Barra de Navidad, Jalisco - small somewhat touristy beach town

Melaque, Jalisco - Just north of Barra de Navidad, a little more laid back

La Manzanilla, Jalisco (not to be confused with Manzanillo, Colima) - way more laid back.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Champotón or Campeche, Campeche. the Gulf Coastal strip from Progreso to Dzilam de Bravo, Yucatán (with numerous coastal fishing villages providing reasonable access to Metropolitan Merida for formal language training), Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo. Perhaps Celestun, Yucatán. Boca del Rio, Alvarado or The Tuxtlas and Catemaco áreas to the Gulf Coast, Veracruz. A number of Pacific coastal towns from Puerto Escondido to the Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

The Oaxaca coast has several villages or small towns you may like, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Angel , Mazunte, Agustinillo and Santa Maria Huatulco.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

citlali said:


> The Oaxaca coast has several villages or small towns you may like, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Angel , Mazunte, Agustinillo and Santa Maria Huatulco.


Do you know if any of these places offer Spanish immersion programs?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

No I do not but I would think that Huatulco or Puerto Escondido have Spanish teachers. I seem to remember there is a school that teaches Spanish in Puerto Escondido as I remember some Italian kids talking about it on a bus one day but I never looked into it.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Do you know if any of these places offer Spanish immersion programs?


Good point. No small town is likely to offer a typical immersion program where you take classes and stay with a Mexican family. However, most every small town might have a Spanish teacher for private lessons, and you can't get much more immersion than living in a small town where you rarely see any English speakers.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Yes that is what I was thinking if you like to go hiking in the hills or go up a little out of Puerto Escondico in the towns of the Coasta Chica you are not going to find a whole lot of English speakers. There are lots of interesting areas if you take an interest in textiles. Many of the indigenous areas on the Costa Chica produce beautiful woven textiles and you can find the original Mexican cotton that is brown and called coyuche or find the green type grown utside of Ometepec a couple of hours from Puerto Escondido or observe the milking of the snails that produce the purpura and so on..The music on the costa chic has strong African influence and so do the festival as part of the population are decendent from the slaves who escaped from Vera Cruz. The Costa Chica north of Puerto Escondido is really fascinating if you take an interest in the local culture.


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## carphie (Dec 9, 2015)

citlali said:


> Yes that is what I was thinking if you like to go hiking in the hills or go up a little out of Puerto Escondico in the towns of the Coasta Chica you are not going to find a whole lot of English speakers. There are lots of interesting areas if you take an interest in textiles. Many of the indigenous areas on the Costa Chica produce beautiful woven textiles and you can find the original Mexican cotton that is brown and called coyuche or find the green type grown utside of Ometepec a couple of hours from Puerto Escondido or observe the milking of the snails that produce the purpura and so on..The music on the costa chic has strong African influence and so do the festival as part of the population are decendent from the slaves who escaped from Vera Cruz. The Costa Chica north of Puerto Escondido is really fascinating if you take an interest in the local culture.


Hmm, great advice. I'll check out Puerto Escondido. Thank you.


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## carphie (Dec 9, 2015)

Isla Verde said:


> Do you know if any of these places offer Spanish immersion programs?


Thanks for that follow up question.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

There is something called Oasis Surf and Spanish school or Spanish and surf school in Puerto Escondido..that figues...check the web You also have schools in Mazunte and Huatulco. The whole coast has foreigners in the winter so you will find teachers and schools if you look. You can also go to Juchitan or Tehuantepec and you will be the only foreigner there or one of the few. You can also take trips in the foothill villages and you will not hear any English there.


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## carphie (Dec 9, 2015)

citlali said:


> There is something called Oasis Surf and Spanish school or Spanish and surf school in Puerto Escondido..that figues...check the web You also have schools in Mazunte and Huatulco. The whole coast has foreigners in the winter so you will find teachers and schools if you look. You can also go to Juchitan or Tehuantepec and you will be the only foreigner there or one of the few. You can also take trips in the foothill villages and you will not hear any English there.


Thanks. I'm looking at Rinconada now, a section of Puerto Escondido where that school is located.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

carphie said:


> I'll also want to do a language immersion program so I can finally become fluent.


The only quality school I know of on the coast is La Catalina Natural Language School in La Manzanilla. I drove up from Melaque for their evening classes and they are excellent and web site says they offer immersion. Fly into Manzanillo is easiest 

Home « La Catalina Natural Language School


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

sparks said:


> The only quality school I know of on the coast is La Catalina Natural Language School in La Manzanilla. I drove up from Melaque for their evening classes and they are excellent and web site says they offer immersion. Fly into Manzanillo is easiest
> 
> Home « La Catalina Natural Language School


I never would have guessed that La Manzanilla would have a language school.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

If you think about it many of these beach town are full of foreigners in the winter so schools or teachers are popping up in most of them. If you really want to immese yourself you need to go to a place with very few foreigners and the beach is not it..


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## carphie (Dec 9, 2015)

citlali said:


> If you think about it many of these beach town are full of foreigners in the winter so schools or teachers are popping up in most of them. If you really want to immese yourself you need to go to a place with very few foreigners and the beach is not it..


Hmm, great point. I see what you're saying.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Carphie it is all up to you and if you like the beach go to the beach just make sure that you have hobbies and activities where you meet people who do not speak English. I learned Spanish in Ajijic that is full of English speaking people, I just made sure to never speak English with people who spoke SPanish and I learned Spanish so you can do it , it is just a little more challenging.


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