What People Are Saying About Gina

My husband and I have been coming to Puerto Escondido since 1994. If it is possible to have a love affair with a town We are smitten. We also fell for Gina. She surely is one of the best attractions there. Her kindness and attention to our endless questions, not just about Puerto but the whole Mexican culture, have added to our feeling that this is our second home. Nothing seems to be too much trouble for her. The town has magic and it’s name is Gina. Come on down!

Rosemary James
Chicago, IL

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We have been coming to Puerto every winter since 2000 and always look forward to our time with Gina. She never disappoints us with her great knowledge, helpfulness and wonderful sense of humor. This year she took a group of us to meet architect and author Felix Carrillo Robles and hear about the history and legacy of the Mixtec people in the area. He had a fascinating story to tell of his people. After that, we visited Tututepec, the capital of the Mixtec kingdom and had a guided tour of their new museum to see the numerous Mixtec artifacts found in the region. What an enlightening experience! It was a terrific day and we can’t wait to see what Gina comes up with next. She is a real gem. Thanks for everthing, Gina!

Sharie Hamer

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Gina knows how to make visitors to Puerto Escondido feel welcome and comfortable!  She goes out of her way to help tourists with information and with setting up tours and activities.  While we were visiting there in January 2012, Gina helped us learn which day was the best to assist with the turtle release.  We thought we would use a taxi service, but then Gina called our hotel to let us know that she could include us with another group and for a less expensive price.  We were so amazed that she even remembered us and which hotel we were using.  Of course, we took advantage of her offer.  Gina’s enthusiasm for Puerto Escondido is infectious and her knowledge is endless.  We enjoyed talking with her even when we did not need information.

Kathy Icenogle

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Gina,
Your help today was SOOOO much appreciated. Your making our reservation at Hotel Casa Cue was just awesome – getting the room you usually reserve assures us of relative peace and quiet and a wonderful location (and at a discount, to boot!!!).

Plus your referring us to Felipe at Viajes Dimar was great.  He got us booked on Aerotucan to Oaxaca and on Via Aerobus to Mexico City. He has even offered to try and sell our original Puerto to Mexico City Via Aerobus tickets for March 11 as they allow name and date changes, just not route changes.  If he can, it means he gets a commission from us, and we get some money back.

Jeanne Bailey

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Gina is a superior asset to the Republic of Mexico! She not only answers dozens of questions daily about where to eat/where to stay/how to get a bus or plane all in several languages- but, will aid in obtaining information about other Oaxacan locales outside of Puerto Escondido .Gina always points out the positive facets of Mexico and the joy of being in the state of Oaxaca.!

Be sure to visit her at her “office” on the adoquin for up to date information. She is a GEM; and Puerto Escondido and Oaxaca are very lucky to have her working on their behalf!

ARDETH DALY DONALDSON
Denver, Colorado USA

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Gina is a treasure. I’ve traveled widely and never had such excellent service in an information booth. I’m hoping the “new” (now a year old) Oaxacan government will recognize her outstanding work and once again give her a decent salary. It’s shameful that she has to live by donations.

Muriel Binning

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I first met Gina in 2005 when I was a faculty member on a student trip to Oaxaca. Since then I have led several groups to Oaxaca and I always return to Puerto Escondido whenever possible because of Gina’s help arranging tours, her knowledgeable advice for tourism, and her cheerful disposition. I especially recommend her walking tour of Puerto. Her English is flawless and the tour is informative, revealing much about the city and area that one would never learn on their own in a short time. Puerto Escondido is a beautiful place to visit. If you go, Gina Machorro is the person to see if you want to make the most of your time there.

Charles Cottle, Professor Emeritus University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

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I have had the privilege and pleasure of knowing Gina for many years – since the turn of the century!- and want to emphasise that she is not only an endless source of useful information and advice about Puerto, but, that in addition to her own apartment, she is the best person to arrange your accommodation no matter what it is you are looking for – from budget cabanas and rooms to furnished houses with sea views. Those of us who know this to be true keep returning to Puerto Escondido year after year. Sometimes we try other Latin American destinations but nobody else has a Gina and there is nowhere quite like Puerto – so accessible, so affordable, so beautiful and the focal point of a region that is a joy to explore by public transport and on foot.
Richard Paris
Travel Writer (UK and South African media)
former Editor of Business in Africa magazine, Johannesburg Star and Sunday Star and contributor to the Fodor Modern Guides and Schweppes Leisure Library

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Gina is undoubtedly the most internationally well known person in Puerto Escondido.  Gina knows everyone in town and most regular visitors by their first name.

Eight years ago we went on one of Gina’s walking tours after visiting Puerto Escondido many times. She helped us to understand the town, its rich history, the region and its people. So when we returned this year the first thing we did was again join Gina on her walking tour. What we didn’t anticipate was how much her walking tour had evolved.

On her tour, Gina visits the indigenous people of yesterday and today how they lived and survive. She took us to a local restaurant serving authentic, traditional cuisine of the area before the Spaniards arrived. Gina explained what we were eating and the rich nutritional value of these foods. We visited a woman who makes the tamales and mole (Yes!) who is the daughter of one of Puerto Escondido’s founders. We also visited a woman dispensing herbs and medicinal plants at La Divina Providencia where local remedies are still dispensed. Our final stop was the Mercado where we were introduced to a variety of new tastes such as fresh tamarind and tortillas with cinnamon and coconut (who knew?). Gina’s wide ranging knowledge covered history, religion, culture, gastronomy and we got a tasty breakfast! We thought we were going for a refresher tour but Gina has taken it to a whole new level.  We now call her: “Miss Puerto Escondido”

Elizabeth Anne VanderPutten

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Eight years ago we went on one of Gina’s walking tours after visiting Puerto Escondido many times. She helped us to understand the town, its rich history, the region and its people. So when we returned this year the first thing we did was again join Gina on her walking tour. What we didn’t anticipate was how much her walking tour had evolved.

On her tour, Gina visits the indigenous people of yesterday and today how they lived and survive. She took us to a local restaurant serving authentic, traditional cuisine of the area before the Spaniards arrived. Gina explained what we were eating and the rich nutritional value of these foods. We visited a woman who makes the tamales and mole (Yes!) who is the daughter of one of Puerto Escondido’s founders. We also visited a woman dispensing herbs and medicinal plants at La Divina Providencia where local remedies are still dispensed. Our final stop was the Mercado where we were introduced to a variety of new tastes such as fresh tamarind and tortillas with cinnamon and coconut (who knew?). Gina’s wide ranging knowledge covered history, religion, culture, gastronomy and we got a tasty breakfast! We thought we were going for a refresher tour but Gina has taken it to a whole new level.

Pat Heim & Serge Lashutka
Pacific Palisades, CA

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I just returned from a month in Mexico and I cannot sing the praises of Gina, the Information Goddess, highly enough. As many of you know, Gina dispenses information at the tourist department’s Information Booth just outside the west end of the barrier on the Adoquin. For those of you who don’t already know, Gina is one of Puerto’s greatest assets and anyone travelling to Puerto needs to make her acquaintance.

Gina not only speaks English but I heard her converse easily with Italian and German tourists as well. Regardless of what you need to know, Gina seems to have the answer. How do I get a bus to Puerto Angel? Where is there a laundromat? What’s the best cypercafe? How much does property cost in Puerto? Where are the best beaches for swimming? Who do I talk to if I want to buy a gorilla? (OK, just kidding about the gorilla but you get the point.)

She provides a terrific walking tour that gives the tourist who may never ordinarily make it off the beaches a look at the Puerto of those who live there. She is a walking book of information about the way of life in Puerto, its small shops, history, and its people. Departing from the Information Booth, the tour through the upper part of town provides insights that one might not ordinarily discover on their own. I highly recommend it.

If you are looking for a place to stay or even a place to buy in Puerto, again Gina is a terrific resource. She seems to know everyone and everything that is going on in Puerto. She is available to go with you to look at property and her bilingual skills are invaluable. I can’t imagine how I would have been able to purchase a house in Puerto had it not been for all of Gina’s assistance.

In addition to being a wonderful resource, she is also a very nice person. You want to just hang out with her. Please do stop and see her at the Information Booth when you are in Puerto and be sure to tell her that Karen says “hi.”

Karen

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Being from Australia, we were very unsure how to go about organising a wedding in a place as far away as Mexico! Gina came highly recommended and right from the beginning she was so helpful and made planning the wedding smooth and easy. Gina organised the most fantastic Mariachi band that everyone raved about, beautiful tropical flowers, a photographer, pinatas and all the paperwork and considerable running around to arrange for the judge to marry us. She also translated the ceremony into English for us and our guests on the day as well!! We had the most amazing day and highly recommend Gina to anyone dreaming of a tropical wedding in Puerto Escondido.

Thank you Gina for a day we will never forget xx

Brad & Leanne Aitken Sydney, Australia