10 Things to do in Chacala
04 December 2014 | Chacala
10 things to do in Chacala
1. Swim in the breakers off the idyllic sandy beach taking very careful note of the pattern between each wave in order not to get swamped by the surf.
2. Hike through the jungle up to the rim of the volcano and peer into the crater, now overgrown with lush vegetation. Part of the walk takes you past a luxury spa complex and along the dirt road leading to the sumptuous mansions perched precariously on the mountains overlooking the ocean. Further up, the path was lined with soursop or prickly custard apple trees with more orchards extending upwards over the mountain sides. The crater is impressive and merited a walk around the rim. The view from the summit over Chacala with all the boats at anchor in the bay was well worth the steep climb.
3. Take the community bus to Las Varas to top up with shopping and enjoy a meal out at Angelitas restaurant
4. Release baby turtles on the beach. We were delighted to find out that a turtle release was to take place while we were in Chacala and joined a large group of adults and children early one evening to experience this amazing event. Holding a tiny turtle before placing him on the sand in order for him to make his own way down to the water's edge and into the waves was a truly miraculous experience.
5. Practice your Spanish with the locals and find out all about this beautiful little town. We discovered how only 20 years ago there was nothing but a few beach palapas in Chacala and that the fishing was easy and plentiful. Mario, told us about his pie making business and how he and his wife have been selling the delicious cheesecake, strawberry and pineapple pies on the beach for 16 years. We remembered him from our last visit 2 years ago and enjoyed our purchases for lunch the next day. We made friends with Pepe, the self-appointed dinghy master who always greeted us warmly when he saw us coming ashore and helped us drag our dinghy up the beach. He never once abandoned his post and our little fleet never had to worry about losing a dinghy or kayak whilst under his watchful eye. In general cruisers were generous pitching a dock fee of around 20 pesos or a ballena of Pacifico. Pepe didn't mind more frugal donations, especially as his business was just getting established, however his did find the 3-4 pesos occasionally offers slightly disappointing. As well as practising our Spanish with Pepe, he also helped us keep our French up to scratch and when all else failed resorted to English. He told us how he had became an accomplished linguist on his round the world trip as well as being a writer and philosopher. Pepe was disappointed when we told him we were getting ready to leave Chacala and told us we were his most 'laid back' customers. He told us he would soon be leaving too. We will miss you Pepe!
6. Take a dinghy safari around the headland to the hidden beach accessible only by boat or an extremely arduous hike.
7. Relax under a beach palapa and enjoy sundowners with 2 for 1 Margueritas. This became one of our favourite occupations and an ideal opportunity to meet up with friends as well as make new ones. Our beach sundowners in Chacala also reminded us of absent friends with whome we had shared some great times last time we were in Chacala.
8. Shop for locally made souvenirs - no haggling! We found a wonderful family run store on the main thoroughfare, with an artisan working on the side of the cobbled street, beading and making woven bracelets. He told us about the way the Huichol, an indigenous group of indians living deep in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains, make the colourful works of art. We purchased a Huichol yarn picture made by his family. Each picture is different and tells a traditional Huichol story which is hand written on the reverse. Each picture takes around 2 days to make and we paid just 380 pesos around £20. We like to buy locally and prices are very reasonable especially in contrast to Puerto Vallarta where mark ups mean you can easily pay double. For this reason we tend not to haggle when making our purchases, happy in the knowledge that we are supporting a vanishing way of life.
9. Enjoy a game of beach bocce. This is a great way of making new friends whilst at the same time filling up an empty hour or so in no so busy afternoon.
10. Do nothing!