When we saw the listing on Airbnb, we knew we would be in for a treat!
Just how much of one really surprised us.
We had our Airbnb host send a driver to take us from San Agustinillo to Puerto Angel – a small traditional fishing village with one good beachfront restaurant, an OXXO, a few great fruit and veggie stands, a nice little town beach, another one nearby, and not much more.
It was the perfect little escape from the hectic previous seven weeks of travel. Here, we weren’t required to do much. Just hang out, write a bit, read, and cook (on Glenn’s part) and run around with hardly any clothes on.
Even though Puerto Angel is only twenty-five miles from San Agustinillo, the road winds and crawls over a hill so the drive took close to an hour for us to pass through town and climb a bit more to the entrance of paradise.
The rickety gate wasn’t going to keep anyone out who wanted to get in, but we weren’t that concerned. Puerto Angel is a town where everyone knows what everyone else is doing.
From the car parking, we walked down the steps to the top floor of the main house and entered an open-air bedroom complete with a four postered bed covered with a mosquito net we never needed, a rod to hang some clothes on, and two comfy chairs overlooking the cliff and ocean below. Granted there was a back wall with the door in it, but other than that we were free to the elements.
A metal door opened to a steep staircase to the lower floor. Glenn found a great kitchen to cook in. That was a nice change from all the restaurants we had been eating in. And those lovely fruits and veggie stalls provide a cornucopia of lusciousness for us to choose from. If visiting Puerto Angel and planning on staying in an Airbnb with a kitchen (something we would suggest here) bring along your favorite spices. Salt, pepper, and paprika were what we could find in the small shops. But if you need Grey Poupon, there are huge jars of it.
Also in the kitchen area was a table and four chairs and a comfortable futon. But open up the doors and there it was, another porch, with two more comfy chairs to sink into, a little wooden “table” to place coffees on in the morning, and wine in the afternoon.
An iguana couple sunned themselves in the morning on a big flat rock below.
There was a view across the small bay. From this spot, we saw some whale spouts. Our house manager saw a big one breaching one morning. He ran up to us excited beyond belief so we knew it had been a special sighting.
We went out whale, dolphin, and turtle watching. Although we missed seeing any whales, we did find turtles and had pods of dolphins playing alongside the boat, skipping in and out of our wake; we could hear them laughing with glee if we listened hard enough. Now that was a treat!
Back at the house, and playing Swiss Family Robinson even more, we had to follow a path to the side. This led to our “bathroom” an open-air compost toilet and outdoor shower. Granted, there was a bamboo wall around most of it, but from both we could look out over the ocean, hiding slightly from the condos, which were far enough from us to not see our “goods.”
As if all that wasn’t enough for our happy-happy-joy-joy – there was another cabana with a comfortable double bed. Although this had surrounding bamboo walls, there were large screened windows on three sides for that breezy feeling and a spectacular view of the ocean once again. Add another sitting area on the cliff and you have more nirvana.
Then, to top it off, climb down the steps to the tide pools below, but be aware that the surf comes up rapidly at dusk and don’t get caught.
Our five days playing Swiss Family Robinson in this fabulous house on the cliff were too short. And we wanted to come back next year for a month in mid-January but alas, the Airbnb has been sold and we found out the new owners have blocked off those weeks.
Don’t despair, it will still be an Airbnb. If you would like to experience this magical place for yourself, check availability here at the new listing.
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