Huatulco a Hidden Paradise in Mexico
Huatulco is a Resort Destination area in a paradisiacal outstanding Natural settlement. Huatulco is located on the South west coast of Mexico, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Huatulco is just over 400 kilometers south of Acapulco and is part of the State of Oaxaca, which is full of History and tradition. Huatulco is composed by a series of nine bays and numerous small coves appearing along 26 kilometers of coastline, offering over 30 white sand beaches. Huatulco has an International Airport with direct international flights from the United States and Canada, operated by Continental Airlines, Sky Service and First Choice. Mexicana has many connecting flights from all major US Gateways connecting through Mexico City. Local Airlines also connect from major cities inside Mexico and are Magnicharter, Nova Air, Polar and Aero Tukan.
The Central Area of this grouping of bays is Santa Cruz, close to the icon town of La Crucecita, which supplies most Tourist and commercial activities. Cruise Ships dock at Bahia de Santa Cruz so passengers have direct access to artisan hand craft shops, discothèques, bars, restaurants; as well as to activity agencies, for Jungle tours, sailboat excursions, deep sea fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skis, surfing and other water related things to do. Bahia de Santa Cruz is the most popular Bay and even has the Santa Cruz Chapel where people get married in front of the Ocean. A good part of Hotels and Resorts are on Santa Cruz Bay, others are spread out on Tagolunda Bay where you find the more upscale and All Inclusive resorts such as The Camino Real, Las Brisas, Gala and Barceló. Additionally you will have more hotels on Chanhue Bay which has a marina for yachts and 3 main beaches. Then Bahía Conejos is 4 km east of Tangolunda and has various residential complexes.
Huatulco is part of the State of Oaxaca and even been part of Mexico, has its own contribution to the History and traditions of the country. From the multiple migrant groups that populated Mexico, the State of Oaxaca counts the existence of 16 Ethnic groups reaching back 3000 years, each one with their own language, way of life an traditions. They settled in specific areas of the vast type of soil and climates that Oaxaca State has. You find them on the high lands where the two Big Sierra Mountain formations converge in the South of the Country, through the Valleys and close to the Big Rivers and coastal areas, on both east and west of the Country. The 2 dominant groups were the Mixtecas and the Zapotecas. The first covering the North East of the State and the Zapotecas the South West. They did meet and dispute leadership specially in the Valley of Oaxaca. The Mixtecas were conqueres and builders, leaving behind numerous and most still unexplored sites throughout the region. The Zapotecas were astronomers who knew the use of the zero and also builders who leveled a mountain top to build the major ceremonial center now called Monte Alban. They also built another major sacred city in the lower Valley by the name of Mitla. In the 14TH Century, they were both submitted by the Aztec Empire and coexisted in the Valley of Oaxaca.
The main economic activities were agriculture, fishing, hunting and mining. Gold and silver were molded into delicate ornamentations using a wax process. Majorly Mixtecas, but also under their influence, as well as their legacy of imprinted information on their “Codices”. Today legacy and tradition still produce beautiful objects, for decoration and for everyday use, which were elaborated from alabaster, turquoise, jadeite, marble, onyx and stone. Blessed with a tremendous variety of native clays, talented hands formed vases, figures, serviceable art objects, natural or with polychrome presentations, all which continue to be available through today’s artisans.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, is just south of Huatulco and is an area where Zapoteca domination enforced their rule and traditions before the Aztec and later Spaniard take over in the 16TH Century. Today we find in Huatulco the legacy and tradition of the Zapotecas, contrasting with the immersed comfort of different types of Hotels and Resorts pampering, both National and International tourists that visit this Natural Ecological Paradise with splendorous Bays, beaches, Natural settings and many things to do.
