Costalegre - Central Pacific Coast of Mexico

El Careyes Resort

2009-10-05T18:11:00.005-05:00

Below is the 'blurb' from their website since I really don't have too much to say about luxury resorts. It would be beyond my pocket book and an interruption from normal life. We did get an invitation from the reservations coordinator so thought we would take a look. Saw Playa Rosa next door and got a tour of one of the "castles" above Careyitos bay. One of many attractions alonge the Costalegre

Surrounded by a lavish sub-tropical rainforest nestled in a secluded cove on the Pacific Ocean, El Careyes Beach Resort exudes a spirit of tranquility and easy elegance.

Reminiscent of a quiet Mediterranean village, the resort remains true to the architecture of the Costa Careyes, boasting a bold palette of terracotta tones that blends harmoniously with the surrounding nature's azures and greens. Passing through the stone archway entrance and on to the signature free form pool with commanding breathtaking views of the Pacific, one can truly experience the feeling of having arrived in a place like no other.

Careyes Entrance

Careyes Pools and Rooms

Playa Rosa nextdoor

El Careyes Web Page

My Web Page on Careyes and more story

The old Hotel Tecuan

2009-04-10T16:48:00.005-05:00

Another Mexican dream resort that never made it. It lasted about 10 years and when the owner died (General Garcia Barragan), his family lost interest until it was finally abandoned in the late 1990's. The Costalegre is lined with dream projects, some of which are very large scale. Some damaged by earthquakes, some ran out of money and many no one remembers. You wonder where all that throw away money comes from but I assume it's part of the imbalance between rich and poor in Mexico.

Anyway ... interesting to visit although it looks nothing like the fotos. The beach is beautiful and very isolated. Good for fishing and beachcombing

I always watch movies made in Mexico just to get glimpses of what was there years ago, but the other night I watched this god-awful 1997 horror flick “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” that was filmed at Tecuan. My advise is don't bother

Ariel view

On the main patio

Ariel view of hotel, lagoon, landing strip and future housing development

The pool area

Walking Tour of El Tuito

2008-11-03T07:46:00.001-06:00

El Tuito, Costalegre, Jalisco Mexico

El Tuito

2008-07-06T16:50:00.010-05:00

Located south of Puerto Vallarta lies the municipality of Cabo Corrientes, marking the southernmost point of Banderas Bay. El Tuito, its capital, is a small town (population less than 4,000) located approximately 1,085 meters above sea level. Its name derives from the ancient Náhuatla language spoken by the Aztecs and means “little beautiful valley.” As you drive into town, you will be immediately taken by the uniformity of its buildings, painted with a mixture of local clays that gives their walls a unique orange tinge. Cottage industries abound, from organic coffee and artisan cheese to raicilla, the local moonshine, not available legally until very recently.

Just barely considered part of the Costalegre, this inland town near Tomatlan lies along Highway 200. It's easy to miss and one that I have missed until our trip to Tehuamixtle out on the coast. I will definately make time for a few hours in El Tuito on my next Vallarta trip.

Buildings around the plaza

Buildings around the plaza

Activities on the Plaza

A building on the plaza

El Tuito, Jalisco, Costalegre, Mexico

Majahuas to Tehuamixtle

2008-06-09T11:45:00.009-05:00

A very long day trip from Melaque - Costalegre, Jalisco, Mexico

We had never been out to the coast in this area - mainly because the beaches are a long way from the highway. Had no idea of road conditions of distances between towns. We started with Majahuas and worked our way north.

The Majahuas turn off is the first road just north of the bridge north of Tomatlan. The fisherman's Coop "Roca Negra" is there that manages the Majahuas Biological Station and turtle sanctuary. A little inland is a new Aquaculture facility raising shrimp, pargo and puffer fish. This facility is government funded in conjunction with the Spanish government. Scientists from both countries are working there.

To continue north from Majahuas we had to return to the highway and take the La Gloria exit about 5 miles further north. La Gloria also has a Sea Turtle Research Station but we continued north to La Cruz de Loreto and up the coast from there. Very easy to feel lost on the criss-cross roads just north of La Gloria as they follow irrigation ditches and farm fields.

Las Penitas is the next landmark north but is only a small lighthouse and a few seldom used palapas. It's a pretty beach. The next thing north of note is Villa del Mar with a few vacation accomodations and two stores before we reached Tehuamixtle.

Tehuamixtle is very cute at the bottom of a valley on a beautiful little bay. We ate at one of the two not inexpensive beach restaurants. The land to expand the town is minimal due to the steep terrain but the realtors have it all sectioned off and forsale. A one time experience that I won't do again but I'm sure it will fit into other gringos dreams. The road out to El Tuito and the highway is very rough and takes over an hour

Majahuas

Las Penitas

Villas del Mar

Tehuamixtle

Majahuas to Tehuamixtle web page

Agua Caliente

2008-05-13T15:32:00.007-05:00

We went up the coast yesterday looking for the SPA I've heard advertised and we did and didn't find it. Agua Caliente is located just beyond the Tenacatita turnoff along Highway 200. Infact if you use the back road out of the town you towards the coast you will come out on the Tenacatita road. We went East under the bridge to the public area, found the hot springs and noticed a tent and a few people up the river. I thought they were camping so didn't bother with a foto - but it turns out that was the SPA. It was confirmed when I found another travel-log website with pictures.

The public area would work just as well (and save you $60) but you need a shovel to dig out a hole you can sit or lie in. Some spots are hot enough to burn and there is a strong sulphur smell.

Link to the SPA website (notice no fotos but some Info)
Puresa Spa

The river with hot springs along the bank

Looking up the river towards the Spa

Some of the discoloration from the sulfur waters

Agua Caliente, Costalegre, Jalisco

Update on Calechosa Bay

2008-05-01T14:28:00.009-05:00

I was just over there today to see if the surf was up and it was. It had been over a year since my last visit and I hadn't seen Roy's house or the new development called Calechosa Bay. This beach is also known as Ranchito and is located behind the small community of the same name.

It looks like the road is slightly improved but will need 4-5 bridges to access the area in the summer during the rains unless you have a large 4WD vehicle. So far 3 structures are started, two houses and the "model home / sales office". All have a very long way to go. The picture also shows what the hillside looks like from Febuary thru June with no rain for many months. A dry jungle is pretty much the ecology we live in here.

I did include a picture of the beach which is beautiful but not for swimming, really only surfers use it and it's difficult for them to enter and exit the water. Many jump off the rocks on the far right to avoid the shoreline.

Costalegre Jalisco Mexico

Ecotourism for Villa Purification

2008-04-27T08:12:00.005-05:00

Villa PURIFICACION, Jalisco
There arrives an excellent option for ecotourism

Drafting of the South
buzon-AT-periodicoelsur.com
Monday February 4, 2008

Villar PURIFICACION, Jalisco (BI) .- With an investment of one million 737 thousand pesos, funded by the National Commission for Development of Indigenous Peoples for the infrastructure of 10 huts, two canteens, a suspension bridge, walkways and signs indicating where services will be offered accommodation, meals, boat ride, guided tours and horseback riding. The State Governor, Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, opened this area near the dam Jocotlán, municipal delegation Purification Villa, a new ecotourism project, which will certainly attract thousands to this point and will generate significant income and make a large regional impact.

"We come here to verify what was done, we believe it is possible to improve the area, without assaulting culture, without assaulting the environment, without assaulting the customs of the people, but to help their own people to be the beneficiary of what can be done here, "said state Representative, in the presence of at least 20 people in indigenous communities of Villa Purification and personalities of the three levels of government and the three branches of government.

In addition, they announced that the most important thing now is involving the Government in conjunction with them in promoting the visit of people who want to have different experiences, unmatched, to live with the culture of the natives, as well as of landscapes and diverse activities to develop the place.

He took advantage to tell that the State Government is working on projects for such areas and communities, ranging from training for aquaculture, construction of a wharf at the dam, in addition to roads, education and more infrastructure: "In all this we will be working in the coming times, always with a view to better conditions for you and for their families," he concluded.

For its part, also presiding over the inauguration, the Director General of the National Commission for Development of Indigenous Peoples, Mr Luis Hector Alvarez, welcomed the implementation of this project ecotourism, given that native peoples have historically had the brunt historic growth of our country.

Villa Purification is located in the southwest of Jalisco, near the coast, the indigenous community occupies 36 thousand hectares recognized and 20 thousand hectares more are in the process of restitution. Jocotlán lies within the area surrounded by jungle forest streams.

Sur de Jalisco Article

Paseo del 15 de Agosto 2007, La Huerta Jalisco

2008-04-17T19:37:00.000-05:00

Costalegre, Jalisco, Mexico

Investors Receive Alert About Mexican Firms

2008-04-16T06:30:00.001-05:00

Cassandra Kyle - The StarPhoenix

A Mexican-based company under investigation by the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission (SFSC) has contacted its Canadian investors with an admission it did not register to do business in Canada, according to the commission.

Correspondence from Sierra Madre MX, S.A. de C.V., to its 1,400 investors - the majority of whom are Canadian - says the company did not intend to conduct business in Canada and may have inadvertently, and with no malicious intent, made some mistakes, according to SFSC data. The document goes on to offer further investment opportunities with its "new company" Sierra Madre Holdings MX, the commission said in a news release.

"This is the same company operated by the same people, and is one of many name changes that this company and this group has done over the past number of years," stated Ed Rodonets, head of the SFSC enforcement branch.

Once estimated to number about 150, the SFSC now believes several hundred Saskatchewan residents have invested in the company, which is suspected of selling illegal shares.

A cease trade order was extended this week against Sierra Madre MX, S.A. de C.V., its representatives and its partner companies. Named in the order are Brian J. Wolf Zacarias, senior officer and major owner of Sierra Madre, Roger Ayuso, president of Landbankers International, Alan Hemingway, CEO of Sierra Madre and sales representatives Jason Rogers, Dave Urrutia and Ed and Kim Moore, all of whom are based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

In an earlier interview, Rodonets said the operators of Landbankers International, Sierra Madre and L&B Landbanking Trust are one and the same.

In December 2007, a cease trade order was extended against Landbankers International MX, S.A. de C.V. and its representative Kelly Friesen of Warman. In January, a cease trade order was placed against Sonja McAdam of Christopher Lake, a representative of Landbankers International. In March, cease trade orders were placed against Sierra Madre and its representatives.

The orders direct the companies and their officers to cease trading in securities and exchange contracts and removes the right to use exemptions in Saskatchewan securities laws.

Saskatchewan residents who may have been contacted by Sierra Madre, its representatives or any related companies are asked to call Rodonets at 306-787-5936 to assist with the SFSC investigation.

ckyle(at)sp.canwest.com

Banderas News article

LandBankers International Website

Mexico’s real estate market is booming! With over one million Americans already living in Mexico and seventy nine million Baby Boomers that have reached a stage in their lives where they have the time, financial means and desire for a second home, Mexico’s real estate market is poised for exponential growth.

Costalegre property

Tierralegre - Costalegre Mexico

2008-04-01T17:17:00.000-05:00

I originally thought this was only a non-profit to protect the mangroves and wildlife on the Costalegre ... but it looks to be a business as well. They have to have some operating capital and anything they can do to slow the rape of this beautiful coastline is OK by me.

About Tierralegre
This expedition seamlessly combines conservation, culture and adventure along one of the planet´s most diverse, beautiful and wild coastlines Mexico´s Costalegre. It represents a unique opportunity to contribute to conservation for generations to come while reaping the adventure of a lifetime.

Tierralegre Website

Futbol Americano Patriots Cihuatlan

2008-02-15T12:03:00.000-06:00

Cuzalapa Organic Coffee Cooperative

2008-01-28T15:45:00.002-06:00

Cuzalapa is the site of a very old shade grown coffee plantation that grows organic Arabica beans. Cuzalapa is a little over an hour from Melaque off highway 80 to the south-east of La Huerta on the northern edge of the Manantlan Biosphere Reserve.

The coffee is grown under the shade of a large variety of other trees and the women of the Cooperative offer an hour long walking tour. They will tell you about the many plants, trees, herbs and even some of the human stories related to the area and their ancestors that lived there. Take some repellant for the tour.

The coffee crop is late this year due to colder temperatures but they did have a few kilos for us. It's a good idea to call first if your are going for coffee and not just to visit the area. Later in the year there will be plenty after the gringos leave and there is less of a market. The season can run from December through May/June. The women also sell clothing, honey, Jamica and preserves.

Coffee on the tree

Walking thru the shade

Drying coffee on the roof

Coming into Cuzapala

Web page with more fotos of Cuzapala

Costalegre, Jalisco Mexico

Villa Purificacion

2007-12-11T14:35:00.001-06:00

Villa Purificacion is just barely part of the Costalegre since it is about an hour inland off highway 80. It is in the municipio of La Huerta which is the same municipio as La Manzanilla on the coast. The town of La Huerta is in the same valley as Villa Purificacion a little to the south west.

This town was founded by the Spanish back in the mid 1500's but I've not found much more history on this pretty little town. The road in from highway 80 is flat, narrow and you'll probably run across lots of farm vehicles along the way including burros and carts. Lots of sugar cane, corn, fruit orchards and supposedly - cotton.

The town has a nice plaza with almost everything of importance on the edge of it. It has the appearance of a colonial town but has not been preserved as one so there are newer buildings mixed with old. The church is looking pretty tired on the outside but is in perfect shape inside. The one 'fancy' hotel, behind the church, looks good, has secure parking and is less than $20us

Villa Purificacion Plaza

Villa Purificacion government offices

Villa Purificacion street

More Villa Purificacion fotos

Calechosa Bay - We're being surrounded

2007-11-25T21:07:00.000-06:00

Yet another development on the Costalegre just outside of Melaque across the bay from Cuastecomate. This has been a very private community beach mostly visited by local surfers and known as Ranchito Beach. Growth and more growth all aimed at gringo bucks.

Here's the sales pitch ....

About Calechosa Bay
Calechosa Bay is a small, planned, sustainable community overlooking the ocean, six kilometers north of Melaque, Jalisco, Mexico. Facing south in a beautiful and secluded bay, it rises up from a rocky beach to a height of 70 meters, providing magnificent ocean views from all lots. Between the southern boundary of Calechosa and the ocean there is only a one-lane road and the Federal Zone (a strip of twenty meters from high tide). Phase One will offer six building lots of between seven and eleven thousand square feet. In Phase Two, about ten more lots will be offered. Phase Three will offer twelve condominiums on two remaining lots. There will be twenty-six lots in all, some of which are reserved for partners in the development.

Calechosa Bay Web Site

Experience Mex-ECO Tours on the Costalegre

2007-11-15T17:02:00.001-06:00

Each of the tours organised by or in conjunction with Experience Mex-ECO Tours supports its local community in one or more of the following ways:

• Economically

• Environmentally

• Educationally

This is made possible through working together with community representatives, discovering exactly what their needs are and combining their needs with the interests of our clients. In this way we aim to provide ‘something for everyone’.

Experience Mex-ECO Tours also works on local fundraising projects, such as ‘Ayuda a Los Niños’, which provides support for local children; and C.A.M., the only special needs school in the area. As well as this we receive longer stay volunteers from abroad to support local teaching and Sea Turtle conservation projects.

The aim of Experience Mex-ECO Tours is to leave a number of local groups with the ability to organise and maintain their own tour projects without outside help, allowing them to benefit from the growing number of tourists that are arriving to Mexico’s Pacific Coast each year.

Experience Mex-ECO Tours is managed by Zoologist, Ruth Hazlewood, and marine biologist Daniel Patman.

Both have extensive experience of life and travel in Mexico, as well as spending time working as part of the ongoing efforts towards sea turtle conservation on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

Each of the tours operated by or in conjunction with Experience Mex-ECO Tours will be led by a bilingual member of staff (English and Spanish), usually employed from within the local area. Our staff are all appropriately trained and have extensive knowledge of the locations in which they work.

We look forward to meeting you and hope that you have the time to experience some of our tours and activities during your stay in the Costalegre.

Mex-ECO Tours Website

Who Controls Paradise?

2007-05-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

The New York Times
Published Sunday, May 20, 2007

Who Controls Paradise?

RON STODGHILL

Goffredo Marcaccini at his estate in
Jalisco, Mexico, where he lives with his
wife, Alix Goldsmith. They are opposed to a development project involving two of
Mexico’s most powerful families.

Adriana Zehbrauskas
for The New York Times

COSTA Alegre, Mexico

CRUISING along the swerving, mountainous roads of Mexico’s western coast, past trees and vines, blue lagoons and scattered wildflowers, Goffredo Marcaccini stops his Jeep and thrusts his head out the window. “Ahhh,” he croons, inhaling the morning air. “The smell of the earth! Nice, like the scent of a woman!”

His reverie is short-lived. Farther along, he encounters roadside debris, including a bright blue Pepsi can. “Modern man,” he says, wincing, “is the cancer of the earth. We are only here to destroy.”

Mr. Marcaccini is a self-described romantic, a naturalist who waxes poetic about mangroves, giant sea turtles and the beauty of parakeets. He is also an heir to the late British corporate raider James Goldsmith, who once lorded over this richly virginal expanse of nature as though it were his own empire.

Since Mr. Goldsmith’s death in 1997, Mr. Marcaccini and his wife, Alix, the daughter of Mr. Goldsmith, have managed the late patriarch’s most prized asset: Cuixmala, a 2,000-acre private estate with several villas on the Pacific that at various times housed Mr. Goldsmith’s three families, mistresses and high-powered visitors including Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

These days, though, there’s trouble brewing on Cuixmala, which is nestled inside the 32,473-acre Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve, a rolling expanse of federally protected coastal land.

In an effort to expand tourism beyond destinations like Cancún and Puerto Vallarta, Mexican officials recently authorized the development of two resorts in the area. The most controversial project, called Marina Careyes — also referred to as Careyitos — is backed by Roberto Hernández, the powerful Mexican banker and developer who sold his financial services firm to Citigroup six years ago for $12.5 billion. Mr. Hernández’s minority partners are Gian Franco Brignone and his son Giorgio, Italian real estate magnates who relocated to Mexico and built a series of sumptuous properties in the state of Jalisco that made it a magnet for the super-rich.

The result is a pitched battle over land rights between Mr. Goldsmith’s heirs and two of the country’s most powerful families — a clash that sheds light on the fault lines between traditional luxury resort developers who favor golf courses, swimming pools and spas, and a newer breed of conservationist-entrepreneurs who champion eco-resorts where guests hike and canoe for recreation. The standoff smacks of a blood feud with roots going back decades to early land squabbles involving the Goldsmiths and the Brignones.

The rest of a lengthy article I copied for safe keeping

Fishing El Tecuan

2007-04-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

My friend Ron from Seattle was down for a few weeks and we took Armando (a local carpenter) with us up to Tecuan for some rock fishing. It's a bit of a drive and probably better to do in the morning than late afternoon. The road in from the highway is not that good and driving it in the dark is a challenge. There is also less traffic on the highway headed north in the morning than in the evening going south.

If you catch any fish at this beach or not it's just a beautiful place to visit. There is nothing there but beach, the rocks and an abandoned hotel back from the beach. There is a river mouth on each end that only fill with water in the rainiy season (summer). The rest of the time they are small lagoons like much of the coast.

Yes we did catch nothing ....

Ron on the rocks with a line in

At the end of the rocks

Rocks awash

A tide pool looking south

Last minute try before dark

Country Horseback Riding on the Costalegre

2007-03-12T14:51:00.002-05:00

This tour is provided by Sea to Sierra based in Barra de Navidad

Some photos of the Plantation horseback riding tours Sea to Sierra with experienced horsemen Horacio and Ariel, two cousins from Aguacate, have been offering this season. The Plantation tour is a 2.5 hour ride for $500 pesos and everyone who's taken it has commented on how well trained the horses are and what a pleasurable experience it has been. We make sure you are comfortable too, adjusting the stirrups and making sure that we match you up with a horse that suits your abilities.

Having the stirrups adjusted for the ride, it takes a bit of time because they are attached with a leather thong not a buckle but the comfort gained makes it worthwhile and we don't mind taking the time.

Ariel also checks the rest of the tack prior to setting out.

It's a good idea to bring along sunglasses, a camera and a hat. These people were from Kamloops and Calgary and they had cowboy hats which fit with the tour really well, but any sun hat will do.

Guides Ariel (in front) Horacio (behind him) setting out from the coral in Aguacate...

and the tour clients on their mounts following behind.

View along the route.

Starting in Aguacate we ride through the plantations, orchards, farms and wilderness behind the little farming and ranching communities of Aguacate and Jaluco. Horacio is completely fluent in English and will answer any questions you may have on the ride.

Riding through a narrow trail, Ariel weilds a mean machete on the brush.

View overlooking Aguacate and Jaluco from the top of the hill.

Riding along one of the farm roads.

Riding a trail that runs through palm, banana and mango orchards in Aguacate.

We now have another new horseback riding tour available that runs from Aguacate, along Arroyo Seco under the highway around the back of Laguna Navidad, then over to Playa de Cocos on Isla Navidad and back. This is a 5 to 6 hour tour at a cost of $950 pesos per person. While the Playa de Cocos ride is not technically difficult non-riders may find it a lot of time in the saddle and prefer to opt for the shorter plantation ride.

If anyone is interested in more information about either of these horseback riding tours drop by our store at Veracruz 204 in Barra de Navidad, we are right across from the newly remodeled Jardin (town square). We are now open from 9 am to 2:00 pm and from 5 pm to 7 pm Monday through Friday, 10 to 2 on Saturdays and 10 to noon on Sundays. Or give us a call at the Office: 355-5790 or the House: 355-8582, or my cell 044-315-100-0282. All three numbers have voice mail if you don't happen to reach us leave us a message.

Behind Cihuatlan Jalisco and the Marabasco river

2007-03-02T14:05:00.000-06:00

I've been up these roads, to the dam and even miles beyond where the road ends in the head of a valley. Each time the trip is different depending on the season (how green or brown) or condition of the dam. In the dry season they add about 10 feet of earth behind the cement dam to help divert more water to the irrigation canals on either side of the river. The south side of the river is Colima and to the north is Jalisco - both with lots of farming on the river delta.

There is a little town of Marabasco just south of the bridge with a No-Tell motel along the way. Turn left just before you reach town and you can follow the irrigation canals up to the dam. The area is popular for fishing and cooling off during family outings. Some kids told us about a well on the Colima side that they say dates back to the times when the indigenous peoples lived there - it's possible!

Majahuas, Perula, Chamela, Tecuan

2007-02-22T13:28:00.000-06:00

Majahuas - Full of natural beauty, this collection of beaches and lagoons is located 15 kilometers from Tomatlan. One of the most important tortuguero fields of the state of Jalisco operated by the Center of Coastal Ecology of the University of Guadalajara for the protection and conservation of the marine turtle.

Bahia de Chamela - Located 157 kilometers south of Puerto Vallarta, this bay boasts the greatest number of islets in Mexico. Here you can rent boats for either fishing or touring around one of the 11 nearby islands inhabited by hundreds of bird species. On the south end of the bay is the small community of Chamela. On the north end of the bay is Playa Perula which is a good sized town with many motels, RV parks and restaurants lining the long beach.

Chamela-Cuixmala Protected Area
Also in this region is one of the most important protected areas in Mexico. With its many distinct climate zones, it is home to a high concentration of animal, reptile and bird species found only in Mexico. A biological station there includes a museum at km 59 on the highway from Barra de Navidad; and with luck you may see armadillos, crocodiles, iguanas, deer, foxes and raccoons.

El Tecuan
The turnoff to El Tecuan is several miles north of the Tenacatita turnoff from Highway 200. The road takes you through the hills toward the coast, passing through mango orchards over cattle guards and often through herds of cows.

There is a deserted resort (Hotel El Tecuan) perched on a hilltop overlooking the flats and the open-ocean beach at El Tecuan. The strand is solitary and surfing can sometimes be good here. There are no restaurant or other facilities along this stretch of sand so bring what you need.

The skeletal remains of a hotel developed by General Garcia Barragan, Mexico's Secretary of Defense in the 50's, sit on a parcel of land overlooking the ocean. The property was given to him by Mexican ex-President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz for his service to the country. The general built the hotel, swimming pool, tennis court and even a private landing strip but died before he could complete the plans. The hotel was leased out by family for several years but fell into disrepair and has since been looted, raided and stripped of anything of value.

Tenacatita

2007-02-22T13:22:00.000-06:00

Playa Tenacatita, named for the bay on which it is lies. Tenacatita is a lovely and usually calm beach about 30 kilometers north of San Patricio Melaque and 95 kilometers north of Manzanillo. Many seafood palapas line the shore.

Playa Mora, the snorkeling beach, is accessible by a steep, short, uphill dirt road running north from Playa Tenacatita past the palapas. This small beach is filled with RV and tent campers in the winter months.

Playa La Boca north of Tenacatita is not as popular because of its rough surf and steep beach. Its isolation and strong surf, make Playa La Boca great for beachcombing, walking and surf-fishing. Playa La Boca sometimes acts as an overflow area for campers who can't get into Playa Mora.

Along the road into Tenacatita you pass through the two small villages of El Rebalsito and La Rosa.

La Manzanilla

2007-02-22T13:15:00.000-06:00

La Manzanilla (gets its name from a tree which grew in the area called Manzanillo, the apple like fruits are Manzanillas [possibly derived from Manzana]). It's less than a kilometer (½ mi) in from the highway to the beach at La Manzanilla, on the southern edge of large Bahía de Tenacatita, 78 kilometers north of Manzanillo. Hotels and restaurants line the main street of the town. Rocks dot the gray-gold sands and edge both ends of the wide beach. The bay is calm.

Next to the village is a Mexican Federal Ecological Zone (a high tide mangrove lagoon), home to Egrets, Heron, King Fishers, Ibises, Anhingas, and Caimans (part of the crocodilian genus) plus several miles of shrouded waterways accessible with a local boat guide or on your own in a kayak.

Boca de Iguanas is just a few kilometers NW up the beach past the mangroves. Boca offers a nice beach, two trailer parks and a small store with adjoining restaurant.

Cuastecomate

2007-02-22T13:05:00.000-06:00

Cuastecomate beach is accessible from Barra de Navidad or Melaque by leaving Highway 200 at Melaque's last exit on the west as you reach the highway 80 junction (near the military base).

A paved road winds over the hillside to the beach on Cuastecomate Bay, where the small village is. Palapa seafood restaurants line the beach.

The waters of the bay are generally calm, making for good, safe swimming even for children, kayaking and a good snorkeling spot out along the rocks.

Besides the restaurants on the beach and houses, there is not much but one large hotel (Hotel Royale Costa Sur- under repair) and a few B&B's

Melaque

2007-02-22T13:01:00.001-06:00

Melaque is a busy community located 4+ kilometers northwest of Barra de Navidad on Bahia de Navidad in the state of Jalisco. This area is actually comprised of three beachfront villages; San Patricio, Villa Obregon and Melaque - all generally referred to as “Melaque”. The small village of Melaque has been a vacation retreat for Mexicans for generations. San Patricio is a kilometer strip in the middle of the three villages that contains a colorful town square and lots of retail shops. Villa Obregon, to the east, is much more residential. The three 'municipios' form the largest community along the coast between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo.

Playa Melaque is the main beach in the area, and it is good for swimming, boogie boarding and skim boarding. The waves are more gentle on the protected west end. There is reasonably good snorkeling on the west end of town along the new Malecon. Lots of hotels and palapa restaurants line the beach.