Oaxaca is famous as the home of Puerto Escondido, one of the best beachbreaks in the world, where huge and spectacular barrels break with Hawaiian-style power on Playa Zicatela. The lack of any continental shelf and the offshore deep-water trench focuses the swell from both the Southern Hemisphere and frequent tropical storms that pass by this coast in summer time (April-Oct). These swells hit the sandbars in such a way that the waves jack-up in size, which can be emphasised by a backwash. Magazine photos of this place are misleading Ð the waves often close-out and the paddle-outs can be severe. Fortunately, Oaxaca (pronounced wah-hah-kah) is not only about huge death-defying barrels and there are a few user-friendly points, reefs and rivermouths for the average Joe.