IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT ACAPULCO HAS, IT'S A VARIETY OF BEACHES. And you never know what's going to wash up on them either. Besides the 'city' beaches, to the East are Revolcadero and La Barra with desolate expanses of shallow rolling waves. Protected snorkeling and rocky coves fringe Roqueta Island as well as the jagged coast to the West ....But here, we will start with a few of the better known, beginning with the infamous and one and only Condesa.........Royalty and locals alike enter through Beto's Safari Restaurant on the Costera and proceed directly to gay Condesa beach. you have just descended 72 steps through a cool tropical staircase onto a balmy beach lined with rows of informal thatch-covered seating areas. These are the palapas. Stake out or be assigned one to return to daily during you vacation stay. This is where the most peripatetic take root, be that as it may with waves often washing whole housekeepings out to sea. [Depende on the 'season' and/or the 'presence' that you might wish to create, fresh flowers, decorations, etc. can be and are often arranged.] The undertow here can be as dead serious as the cruising and drownings are exacerbated with the prevailing levels of alcohol. But affirmatively, there is often moderate-to-good bodysurfing; and water toys from old fashioned inner-tubes to jet-skis and parasailing are available. There are no lifeguards but regard the cautionary flags displayed by local businessmen and sometimes even the adjacent hotel. this all might sound a little ominous if not overwhelming, but this is where that last inch of real estate plays serious catch and seek with the parching Pacific. Likewise, this is the spot where hot boys and men young and old ply an identical thirst quenching contest. Palapa real estate goes for three or four dollars and includes four shaded chairs, a table, and a level of 'Mexican [in]security' for the day. That's your per diem palapa 'rent'. Furthermore it sort of becomes an address while you are in town. Run a tab with your waiter. For excellent service, drinks and food, generosity the first and last days is inexplicably repaid from visit to visit. And incredibly they take plastic. it's all sort of a process. but this is where you meet other natives and tourists like yourself....whose aspect often rivals the natives. This is by no means a strictly gay venue as Mexican families likewise knowingly set up camp and enjoy the peek-a-boo spectacle of the exiguous costumes..... part of the game is played with beachboys offering massage al fresco or asking first your name, then a cigarette, drink please, for a meal, your IRAs, etc. lots don't stop before ......the operation for my mother, a tire for the car, the fire, and an imaginary wish list more fertile than a wet dream...... Again remember it is the beach, and really not the place for your jewels, although this advice is usually unobserved, and all sorts of bangles and spangles change hands frequently unaware, and too often without a modicum of acquiescence. But besides the palapa business, "the rocks" and a sandy spit of beach to the left are 'de rigueur'. This jumble of large granite boulders provides private sunning and trysting spots, but you will need the agility of a billy goat to maneuver deep into the maze, AND because of the hotel perched above, the misconceived privacy has a way of turning into limelight!
pie de la cuesta…………….Robinson crusoe sightings are not to be dismissed on this long stretch of wide beach west and north of town. While buses make the trip in about an hour and you might have to stand up, taxi or private jeep is the preferred way of getting here....currently the road is under major repair and can delay matters, but if you have the time and can stand a unique beach experience......head to pie de la cuesta, the sunset beach. This is one of the beaches where the open Pacific crashes onto the shore in thundering and towering wave formation. The beach is actually a palm tree dotted sandbar that separates a long fresh water lagoon from the open ocean. [sounding interesting, no?] Another community has wound down the clock out here where little more than the sunsets mark time.
