They are being very disrespectful”, he said. I’ve been very worried about my health since none of the tourists are using face masks. Williams, a Texan who retired in Zipolite 10 years ago, January was hell in paradise. Mexico’s deputy health minister, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, spent New Year’s Eve in Zipolite and faced heavy criticism after a photo was leaked where he was seen gathering at the beach with several people with no face masks on.įor John M. We will not get infected again”, he said.ĭuring the last days of January, Oaxaca reached an all-time high record of infections with more than 22,000 cases in a single day, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (JHU CSSE).īut in Mexico rules are hard to follow, even for the same authorities in charge of making them. We came out good and to my point of view, it wouldn’t make sense to close now. “My wife got infected first, and then me, although only she tested.
The bad news? He and his wife got infected. The good news? Coronado’s hotel surpassed last year’s occupation, with more than 80 percent of the rooms sold during January. “I decided to stay open because the economy is an essential part of our lives and we can’t keep living with our business closed”, said Fernando Coronado, owner of Zipolite’s Hotel Noga. For most of them the flock of tourists over Zipolite during the holidays saved them from going broke, but at the same time they brought the possibility of a COVID breakout. “There is a testing spot at Zipolite, near the touristic area where you can go and get tested for something around 50 dollars”, she said.īusiness owners welcomed tourists with a bittersweet taste. I really was amazed at how relaxed the pandemic measures are down here”, she said.Īccording to Lane during her whole trip from Canada to Zipolite she encountered no restrictions other than the use of a face mask, although on her way back she had to test for COVID before boarding. “I was planning for Tulum, but read online that it’s now packed of tourists so I decided Zipolite, looking to get away from the city and enjoy a tranquil beach, not too crowded. Jane Cusak, 40, from Toronto, Canada, said she traveled with her dog expecting some restrictions on her arrival in Zipolite, but was surprised how relaxed it was. We are tired of being home, and because of COVID this is one of the few places we can travel to right now”, said Brian Mercado, a 32-year-old tourist from California. “We came to get away from all the coronavirus noise in the US.
Zipolite sits in the San Pedro Pochutla municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.Īround 20 flights arrive at Oaxaca Xoxocotlan International Airport every day, many loaded with tourists looking for the famous nudist beaches in Zipolite.Īlthough the annual nudist festival got canceled to comply with Mexico’s COVID restrictions, tourists still enjoyed the lovely beaches, open restaurants, and a booming nightlife, something not common in most part of the world today. I feel we really needed to go out,” said George Barrera, a 35-year-old Texan who traveled with his family to Zipolite during the last days of January. Lockdown affected us a lot, and specially my daughter because we live in a small apartment, with no possibilities of going out somewhere. Zipolite, on the Pacific coast, has along with Tulum and Cancun become one of the most popular tourist destinations even though Mexico has now the third highest COVID mortality rate in the world.ĭuring the first days of 2021, Zipolite welcomed thousands of foreign tourists looking to escape strict pandemic measures in their countries. and Canadian tourists flocked to Mexico’s nudist beach of Zipolite to leave something more than their dollars behind. There are also several laws banning any sort of lewd, crude or pornographic behavior in the nudist quarter.MEXICO- What to do when winter hits your country and COVID pandemic restrictions forces you to stay home? The right answer should be stay home, but thousands of U.S.Photo shots and filming are strictly limited to members of the family.That is the etiquette standard for evening dining in the quarter.) (I have, however, seen many people dressed there on a warm day. Total nudity is obligatory within the quarter and on the beach, when climatic conditions permit.Access to the quarter is reserved for naturists or those working there.Once you are in, you will have certain rules to follow. In fact, they have fairly stringent rules.
And no, you may absolutely not go there with your clothes on.