Arrived in our Hotel which had hostel vibes with its huge terrace and common areas including table tennis and pool, we were speechless because of the view that we got from the terrace. In addition, the grandma worked in the Hotel for more than 15 years cooking for us. We got an amazing chicken breast with vegetables, tortillas, and salsa. Apart from the fact, that it was super tasty, the appearance of broccoli satisfied us at this moment a lot which was the right basis for our next beach day.
Broccoli in our tummy and after some rounds of table tennis and pool billiard on the rooftop terrace of Casa Mirador Salina Cruz we went to bed in our private 30sqm room with a private bathroom, separate terrace, and three (!) double beds. This gigantic room including the huge common areas and the incredible view was still only 32$ per night which shows the price level in Salina Cruz which is not touristy at all. In summer some surfers come along as we were told to surf in one of the many bays around, but in winter the city is basically only visited by a few tourists for a stopover between the pacific coast and Chiapas who do not want to take a 12h+ night bus. After a breakfast in the 'hotel', we got a cab and went for $150/6€ to Playa Azul which was even for the taxi driver hard to find and reach. No paved streets, no signs, 10min away from the highway over dirt roads and through woods. Arrived there we passed a few small buildings to step onto the beach. It felt like we were not even able to see the ocean, because the beach was so huge that it took a bit to reach the water. Fine sand, kilometers of empty beach, and only animals around. This was our first impression and was also the impression for the next hours. We met in 5h at the beach exactly 4 persons which were two locals walking up the beach and two. tourist tanning. It was an amazing atmosphere to have everything for ourselves. We walked to the western edge of this bay, passing the dunes to our right, where some sort of cliff and rock formations were building the end of the beach. On our walk we were able to see many bubble fish which were pushed off the water, some water snails called yellow-bellied sea snake which has a yellow-black body and a tail in Dalmatia colors, different bones and skeletons of fish as well as black vultures sitting on the beach waiting for some food. Also, at the end of the Playa within the rock formations, there was a tiny but high island or rock on which hundred(s) of pelicans were sitting. We enjoyed the time, stayed at the beach and around those rocks, and took hundreds of photos of this hidden gem.
On our way back we went into the dunes (Dunas de Playa Azul) which were directly at the beach and painted a beautiful nice picture of sand. Trying to slide down one of those dunes did not really work out, but it was still fun to jump in. Also, we found that at least a couple of locals came to the beach most likely after work to enjoy the water. To enjoy some other perspective of the beach and wait for our taxi we went into one of the few beach restaurants/bars which basically consisted of a couple of chairs under a palm or bamboo roof and a small cabin where they prepared the food and drinks.
The taxi driver dropped us in front of a restaurant up at the hill close to our accommodation which included a tiny store, where we got some snacks and drinks for later and chatted a bit with the small daughter of the restaurant owner. After another tasty diner in the hotel, the evening ended chilling same as the next to days.
Even though we tried to go to the beach the next day, unfortunately, the only thing we reached was the laughter of locals who were betting on how far we can get onto the beach. The reason was, that the wind was so strong, that the further you went onto the beach the more sand blasted onto your body either tickling you or hurting you. I do not even need to talk about opening your eyes. So we only saw Playa Brasil from some chairs of a bar and I enjoyed another Michelada. In the afternoon we walked through the outskirts of Salina Cruz to find a Pizzeria, that was recommended (La Pizzería d'Ricardo). The walk showed us once more, that we mostly see only the good and nice sides of the cities and towns were traveling through, missing out to see how most of the people really live. Metal shelters, no doors or windows, raw concrete, racked buildings are the usual pictures to be seen out there. Not only the private buildings are not maintained, but also the streets may be severely damaged and for sure not cleaned. Apart from realizing the living conditions of many Mexicans, it was also a bit sketchy in these neighborhoods, not knowing who lives there and if they fear robbing or harming you.
In the end, we reached the pizzeria healthy and with all our belongings and even met two people from our hotel there. After the diner, we quickly went back, because I wanted to see the Superbowl since I was at least able to see it at a proper evening time within a similar time zone and not trying to keep awake for hours in the night to be able to see the game. Since all the rooms were not only huge and equipped with multiple beds they also provided a flatscreen to view the game. Unfortunately on the next day, the wind continued so we used the full day for resting and recovering especially knowing that we had to take a night bus the next day. On our last day in Salina Cruz, we went together to a brunch place since our electricity in the hotel was off for ten minutes the day before because of the storm and the wifi was not working again. Afterwards, I made my way through the town, to the market (Mercado Ignacio Zaragoza), and to shop some shirts. This was a quite good idea since the price level in the city was way lower than in most of the other cities, which is why I bought a t-shirt for 99$/4€ and two bottom-up shirts for around 200$/9€ each. Also, I was positively surprised, that I did not even meet one other tourist in the whole city which also reflects in the way people approached me, looked at me, or talked to me. More people staring at me as a foreigner but also open-minded explaining me things or inviting me to bind fresh chorizos in the bright and clean market hall.
When I reached the small beach Playa Abierta at the Malecón in front of the city (most of the seaside of the city is a private harbor) I was again surprised to find exactly no person on the beach, even though everything was Perfect clean and kinda new. Apart from a city sign they also offered huge stairs to walk down to the beach but also to sit and enjoy the view. After I went close to the water and got called back by a police officer, I realized that the reason why nobody was there is beyond others because you're not allowed to swim in there because of strong currents. So I used the moment to sit on a small terrace of a restaurant nearby and enjoy some sun rays with a Corona until Samantha was finished with work and we both went to the nearby viewpoint Mirador Costa Brava.
From there you have an amazing view along the seaside of the city as well as into the next small and rocky bay to which we also climbed down.
After this active day, we went to probably one of the best restaurants in Salina Cruz called Santa Julia Restaurant which has also cheap or very reasonable prices and is hidden in a hotel, so don't stop searching for it, just walk in. My Salmon with walnut crust and Terriyaki sauce was amazing (even though I usually don't like fish) and for less than 10€ a top investment.
Our night bus to Tuxtla left at 1 am so we got 2h sleep before we had to leave. Learning of the night was again, plan enough buffer times when ordering taxis, uber, etc., especially in Mexico. The taxi we ordered the day before never showed up, a newly ordered taxi should have only taken 10min to arrive and wasn't there after more than 15 minutes, so we just went down the hill to the main road to wait for it and save some time for him to turn at the hill. After a random taxi showed up to drop people at the restaurant/shop nearby, we just took this one and made our bus on time. Lesson learned - off to Chiapas.
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