The Gold Coast of Mexico

The 115 mile stretch of coastline south of Puerto Vallarta from Cabo Corrientes to Manzanillo is often referred to as the Gold Coast. It is the coast line that runs the length of the state of Jalisco and on into Colima. You can feel the temperatures of both air and water slowly beginning to rise as you move further south.


Ipala

A quick one night stop in the little bay of a small fishing village. We ran into some familiar faces as our friends on Aquarius were heading north the the Sea of Cortez for the summer

 


Chamela

While under sail to Chamela, Bruce caught a good size Jack Crevalle. Chamela itself is a nice size bay dotted with a few small islands at its entrance. We took advantage of a little beach on one island and had a great play day with Lawur. Lots of swimming, frisbee and a game of bacci ball. Our friends on s/v New Dawn caught up to us and brought our greatly anticipated "Puddle Jump" t-shirts, designed by Robert. We all donned the new gear and celebrated.


Careyes

A gem of a find. Beautiful homes and hotels painted in bright varieties of colors. Built high on the hillsides, their winding stair cases reach down to the water like the mangrove tree roots.

The town and hotel are named after the word carey which is the native word for the endangered species of sea turtle that lay their eggs along this coast. The more endangered species are Hawksbill and Leatherback's. We have been fortunate enough to see some Green turtles swimming along in the ocean.

 


Tenacatita

A good size bay offered a fairly comfortable anchorage considering the nice breeze that was blowing through there. It offers a self guided river jungle tour similar to the one we took in San Blas. This one was much shorter and no crocodiles were to be found but we had a great time zipping at full speed through the tunnels of mangroves. We did manage to sneak in a couple of hours of surfing for the boys too before we took off the next day.

 


Barra de Navidad

Barre is the word used to describe the sand bar on which this fine town is built. It can run fairly shallow but we had no trouble gliding in and anchoring in the lagoon. It was neat to see the old world alive such as small fishermen with their nets being cast in the shadow of all the shiny new growth.

Across the channel sits the town of Barra de Navidad and the beach on the ocean side. The boys and I had a great time of playing in the waves while Bruce got some of his own surfing in.

The Hotel Grand Bay and Marina were absolutely gorgeous from top to bottom but a bit steep for our budget. The pool, grounds and hotel accommodations were breathtaking.


Manzanillo

Named for what explorers originally thought was a new variety of apple trees but turned out to be a poisonous fruit. Those trees no longer exist. We never touched shore but instead rested and relaxed while we prepared for our next overnight trip down to Zihuatanejo.



VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERIES FOR THESE ADVENTURES

(click on the first photo in the slide show to view them larger )

Click each photo for each slide show

Gold Coast
Barre de Navidad
A private getaway in Careyes
The grounds of Grand Bay in Barre de Navidad