Puerto Escondido

These days, Puerto Escondido’s global nomads are a connected crowd – design buffs, wellbeing luminaries, writers and aesthetes. They’re drawn by the intangible allure of a region that feels both like microcosm of the wider world (the good bits) yet separate enough to be entirely disconnected. The surfers are still here in their droves – they’re the lifeblood of the town – but their ranks were swelled back in 2014 when Casa Wabi – an award-winning creative compound and art foundation by architect Tadao Ando and artist Bosco Sodi – became a magnet for digital nomads and art enthusiasts. Almost Brutalist by design – as is much of Oaxaca’s modernist architecture – Casa Wabi’s sustainability programme also served to highlight the very real need to protect and preserve this raw and fragile slice of coast. In tune with the shift towards conscious hospitality, this February saw the opening of hyper-contemporary Hotel Terrestre, the third project by Mexican architect Alberto Kalach and sister property to hipster hangouts Casona Sforza and Hotel Escondido that goes by the manifesto ‘100% connected to the earth, sun, and sea. 100% powered by solar energy and 100% local.’ Modern art and architecture would be nothing without the heritage crafts from which they were hewn, and Oaxaca’s native artisans are renowned throughout the country. Key skills in the Puerto region are Zapotec weaving – for the bright, multi-hued blankets that create the perfect foil for polished concrete interiors – and barro negro, a distinct type of off-black perforated pottery which has been implemented in large scale in some of Puerto’s smartest new homes.