Power Sports
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Power sports, such as waterskiing, parasailing, and personal watercraft riding, are not widespread on Oaxaca beaches. In parasailing, a motorboat pulls while a parachute lifts you, like a soaring gull, high over the ocean. After 10 minutes, they deposit you (usually gently) back on the sand. Personal watercraft are like snowmobiles except they operate on water, where, with a little practice, even beginners can quickly learn to whiz over the waves.
Although the luxury hotels at Huatulco provide experienced crews and equipment for such activities, practice while sober and with caution. Moreover, you, as the paying patron, have a right to expect that your providers and crew are themselves both cautious and sober besides being well equipped.
Beach Buggies and ATVs
Some visitors enjoy racing along the beach and rolling over dunes with beach buggies and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles—motos in Mexico); balloon-tired, three- or four-wheeled motor scooters; and mini-jeeps. While certain resort rental agencies cater to the growing use of such vehicles, limits are in order. Of all the proliferating high-horsepower beach pastimes, these are the most intrusive. Noise, exhaust and gasoline pollution, injuries to operators and bystanders, and scattering of wildlife and destruction of their habitats have led (and I hope will continue to lead) to the restriction of beach buggies and ATVs on beaches and in forest habitats.
© Bruce Whipperman from Moon Oaxaca, 5th edition
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