Travelers hankering for an afternoon or a few tranquil days on the beach can have it at Roca Blanca (White Rock), tucked on the shoreline about six miles (10 km) east of Río Grande or 22 miles (36 km) west of Puerto Escondido. Here, a few rustic palapa restaurants front a long curving beach of yellow-white sand, washed by gentle rollers.

Islet Roca Blanca perches picturesquely offshore, softening the Pacific swells. On the west side, a lagoon, backed by a scenic jungle of rocky outcroppings, provides shelter for kiddie play and often some impromptu palapas that await restoration by new occupants.

If you want to stay, but arrive unequipped for camping, check out the adjacent cabañas. Here, about $10 gets you a petite round thatched wooden house with a bed for two, with showers and toilets in an adjacent concrete building. There are also a lot for parking self-contained RVs and a lagoon-side beach good for setting up a tent, and kayaking or rubber-boating either in the ocean or the lagoon.

Be prepared with bug repellent, especially around sunset. For more information, check with the owner, Andres López Solano (tel. 954/582-6328), in Río Grande.