One of the surfing wonders of the world, Playa Zicatela should be protected. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Of all the waves in the world, there are just a few that are considered “the best.” Pipeline. Teahupo’o. Cloudbreak. And of course, Puerto Escondido. Place of Thorns tells the story of how the wave came to be part of every surfer’s bucket list.
Years and years ago, before it became the globally renowned wave that it is today, Puerto Escondido was just a tiny little coffee port. Now, it’s a busy tourist destination that still maintains the calm serenity it always has. It’s a strange dichotomy, that calmness against the power of the waves that break there, but that’s part of the charm.
For nearly 50 years or so, Playa Zicatela has drawn surfers looking to test their mettle in some of the biggest, heaviest beachbreak waves in the world.
Known as the “Mexican Pipeline,” Puerto has been the place where some of the best waves ever ridden have occurred. Take, for example, this wave ridden by Mark Healey.
Now Now Media put Place of Thorns, the film you see above, together. They enlisted Coco Nogales, Shane Dorian, Bianca Valenti, Greg Long, Matt Bromley, Nathan Florence, Quetzal Estrada, Jeff Divine, Craig Peterson and others to be part of it, and aside from entertaining the couch-surfing masses, the film hopes to bring awareness to the threats Puerto Escondido’s surf ecosystem is facing.
Save the Waves is backing a coalition formed by Costa Unida, among others, to demand that the Mexican government take some kind of action to ensure that the the surf in Puerto Escondido will be protected from all manner of threats.
“The surf ecosystem of Puerto Escondido is facing threats on all fronts that are impacting the wave itself as well as the health of the coastal environment,” Save the Waves wrote. “Colorada on the northern side of Puerto is currently being threatened by the continuous contamination of sewage due to improper wastewater infrastructure. Erosion is also a major concern which may be exacerbated by the potential expansion of the nearby port. On the other side of the port, Zicatela is threatened by harmful and rapid coastal development, sewage pollution, and the loss of the incredibly important sandbanks that form the waves due to erosion impacts.”
It’s far more than just protecting the world class waves that break at Playa Zicatela and Playa Colorada, though.
“The coastal ecosystems of Zicatela and Colorada have critically important terrestrial and marine biodiversity and host an abundance of wildlife and important habitat for nesting sea turtles,” Save the Waves continued. “Colorada is one of the last pristine beaches and mangrove coastal ecosystems around Puerto Escondido.”
Editor’s Note: If you feel so inclined, sign Save the Wave’s petition to protect Puerto Escondido here.
