Mermejita, Beach in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Mermejita is a small beach village on Oaxaca's central coast, west of San Agustinillo and Mazunte. Its beach runs between Punta Cometa, the southernmost point of Oaxaca, and Punta Ventanilla, a rock with a window-like opening visible from miles away. Recent arrivals have built Robinson Crusoe-style houses from local materials.

Mermejita stayed entirely uninhabited until recently, when newcomers began raising Robinson Crusoe-style houses from local materials. The settlement grew out of the beach's isolation and its position between Punta Cometa and Punta Ventanilla, and it has gradually changed the character of this stretch of Oaxaca's coast.

Mermejita is one of only two places in Oaxaca where the rare leatherback turtle nests. The beach's isolation, with no settlement until recently, has kept its nesting sand free of building and traffic. Visitors who walk the shore at dawn may find turtle tracks left in the sand.

Mermejita lies west of San Agustinillo and Mazunte and east of Chacahua, with Punta Cometa closing its east end and Punta Ventanilla its west end. The beach is isolated, so bring what you need for the day. The sand is fine and the water light-colored; the eastern section near Torón Rock is rocky and uneven, so sturdy shoes help.

Punta Ventanilla, at the beach's west end, is a rock formation with a natural window that can be seen from several miles away. At Torón Rock, a promontory at the extreme east, dolphins, whales and orcas are watched swimming in the open ocean offshore.