Home >> Index >> About



The Pacific Coast of Mexico, was started in December 1994 as The Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico by Tom Penick and expanded to include Jalisco and Colima in 1997. See 10-year Anniversary Message. It is a collection of information about these areas obtained from a variety of sources and depends heavily on input from readers. The web page continues to grow and now consists of about 1400 HTML pages and 5400 images. The original URL was www.eden.com/~tomzap and as of July 27, 2000, the URL became www.tomzap.com. Optimized for NETSCAPE browsers. This travel web site differs from most in that I try to present a complete picture of the area which includes both the good and the bad. So in addition to the "brochure level" information that you can find here and in most travel publications, you will find reports of crime activity, rebel activities, and dangerous surf. Additionally in the Visitors' Comments sections you will hear of some unpleasant experiences of travelers. Actually, the areas are quite safe and anyone who visits can expect to have a great time. The candid information that you will find here is provided to help make sure that you do.
The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

The Maps

There are a number of large (scrolling required) maps of the area. By using a limited number of solid colors, the file size has been kept to a minimum so that these download quickly considering their large dimensions and detail. Other maps are in PDF format, making them ideal for printing. Available maps are: More maps will come but you'll have to be patient; it takes time.

If you are interested in purchasing maps, three sources on the web are omnimap.com, tamassee.com, and www.mexicomaps.com.

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Miscellaneous

Graphics and Photos

Mixtec Graphics   Some of the graphics are Mixtec designs that come from the architecture and from surviving codices of the Mixtec indians.

Photographs   There are about 5000 photographs displayed on tomzap.com and I continue to add more. Many of the photographs I took myself, but I also depend on others to send them in, and I've gotten a lot of those. If you've got something that you see lacking here, please let me hear from you. tom@tomzap.com. I am trying not to overload the pages with graphics because there are a lot of pages and I want them to display quickly. But when I do include photos, I tend to use a higher resolution and lower loss compression than most web sites so the file sizes are large. For this reason, most photos are on separate pages from the majority of the text so that they can be avoided if preferred. Also, some large files such as Visitors' Comments archives have the file size given so you can decide whether you want to embark on such a large download. I haven't forgotten about readers using dialup connections.

Aerial Photos   In 2008, I began flying a small plane into Mexico and taking thousands of aerial photos of the beaches and enroute. You can read about the Huatulco, Puerto Escondido 2009, Puerto Escondido 2014, and Manzanillo flights. There a links to enroute photos or go directly to Huatulco enroute, Puerto Escondido 2009 enroute, Puerto Escondido 2014 enroute, Manzanillo enroute, Oaxaca beach photos, Jalisco beach photos, or Colima beach photos. There are more than 1000 high-resolution aerial photos online spread across numerous pages; just follow the links or use the Search Function at the top of this page to find a particular spot.

Color Coding   Background colors are done with .jpg tiling mostly. I have made some effort to color code the pages to particular areas, matching the color of the page of a particular town to other pages that describe aspects of that town.

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

The Seawater Surface Temperatures

Seawater temperatures may be found on the climate/weather pages in the form of a color-coded map. This is the surface temperature at sea. Water temperature at the shore can be lower due to currents bringing up cooler water from below. Scuba divers will find somewhat lower temperatures at depth as well. A light wetsuit is recommended for divers in Oaxaca in the winter and spring months. Divers in Jalisco and Colima may need more temperature protection during late winter and early spring. Swimmers may find the water too cold in late winter and early spring despite quite warm air temperatures.

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

With Help from Friends

A number of people have contributed articles, photos, and comments to these pages. All are appreciated. Special thanks go to: Alvin & Arlene Starkman for numerous articles on Oaxaca; Stan Gotlieb, for many more articles on Oaxaca; Wayne Adams, who provided photos of Puerto Escondido and maps; Richard Malmed, for photos, comments, and an interesting article on his unique experience at the Pochutla prison; Christian Lyman, for his article Surfing at Puerto Escondido, and surfing photos; Murray and Chris Redd, for surfing photos; Southern Living magazine, for permission to reprint the article on Huatulco Lost in Paradise; Travel Holiday magazine for permission to reprint the article Hotel Binniguenda Santa Cruz, Mexico; Tom Bachmaier for his article A trip to the Mountains; my good friend John Williams for answering a lot of questions and his many articles; Anna Johansson de Cano for answering more questions and providing information about the Piña Palmera rehabilitation center; Herb & Carla Felsted for permission to reprint the articles Of Turtles and Things, Puerto Escondido the Hidden Port and Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, from the Mexican Meanderings newsletter; James Kitts for the article Ecotourism and Coffee in the Shade; Giorgio Sandonà for his article on Fishing in Huatulco, Carlos Ramos for answering questions and the article Descripción de los Fondos Marinos en Bahías de Huatulco, Garnet Beach and Sheila Clark for information about Foreigners Living in Mexico, and Gina, the information goddess, for help with maps and answering all sorts of questions.
If you would like to contribute your travel tips, suggestions, anecdotes, an article, etc. relevant to these pages, please email your correspondence to me, Tom Penick: tom@tomzap.com. If you have questions, I will try to answer them, but practically everything I know is already here. You may find the Visitors' Comments section to be more helpful.

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Advertising

Catering to advertisers is not the focus of tomzap.com, but it is possible to advertise here with certain risks and limitations and many do. Advertisers, like everyone else, are subject to review in the Visitors' Comments. See more information.

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

GPS Data

GPS data is being added to these pages to assist travelers equipped with these devices. Accuracy should be to about 300'. [example]   Readers are encouraged to submit coordinates for any of their favorite locations, especially the hard to find ones.

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Disclaimer

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Home, Home on the Web

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Costa Rica Corner

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

It's a Party

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Reviews

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Electrical Engineer

Top of page | The Maps | Graphics and Photos | Seawater Temperatures | Friends | Advertising | GPS Data
Disclaimer | Home on the Web | Costa Rica Corner | Tomzap Party | Reviews | Electrical Engineer | Other Web Sites

Other Web Sites

I am involved in Tomzap, the rock and roll band, that has web sites at www.tomzaptheband.com, www.reverbnation.com/tomzap, and www.myspace.com/578850009. Other web sites that I have been involved in are www.teicontrols.com, a former employer where they build control panels for water and wastewater treatment, the WWII Glider Pilots page which is about the book my father-in-law wrote about his experiences piloting combat gliders, the Lajitas section of this web site about the Texas border town resort, and the Rama Llama Ranch, where your next llama is waiting. You can also find my notes for various classes such as Physics, Calculus, Differential Equations, Circuit Theory, etc., at www.tomzap.com/notes. You can see my niece's web page about gardening in Austin, Texas, at www.penick.net/digging.


This page has been visited times since December 9, 2006.

| Top of page | Main index | Search | What's new |
The Pacific Coast of Mexico www.tomzap.com Tom Penick:  tom@tomzap.com