A Mexican resort town about 60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, Chacala is my idea of a perfect place to be. With a golden sand beach, a very small nice town, friendly people and warm sunshine, you can’t get much better than this. Although the anchorage is a bit on the rolly side it hasn’t been nearly as bad as some of the other anchorages we’ve stayed in.

Today was a lazy day. We went kayaking in the morning to a cove with what would be million plus, plus, plus dollar homes in the states and are likely not quite that much here although I’m sure they are still way out of our price range. Then we came back to the boat and read. After the sun beat on me for a bit and we had lunch I swam from the boat into shore (not as impressive as it sounds since the boat is anchored fairly close to shore). Kevin joined in and we sat on the beach watching some kids play in the waves then swam back to the boat were we read some more. Kevin took a nap, I read. Kevin got up, I read. Then we got ready to go to dinner with some friends.

Dinner at Isabel’s is in our guide books and is known for family style meals that are prepared by and at Isabel’s home. You sign up in advance on a clipboard which hangs from the fence in front of the patio dinner is served in. The sign painted on the house said dinner is served on Tuesday and Thursday. The menu on the clipboard said Chicken Mole would be served so we signed up on Monday for what we thought would be dinner tonight, Tuesday. We were disappointed to find out when we arrived at 6:00 pm that she only serves dinner on Thursday’s and no longer on Tuesday’s. Our friends had eaten there last year and said it was delicious, so much so that they had stayed an extra day to go with us. Big bummer. Not just missing out on the food but also the price which is only 60 pesos (or about $4.60) per person. Oh, well, maybe on our way back north we can time it right. We wound up eating at one of the beachside restaurants serving fresh fish and shrimp which was also good but almost twice the expense!

Our next stop is only 8 miles south Bahia de Jaltembra. No overnight passages, no getting up at dawn in order to get in by dusk. Should be pleasant!