Adventure on the Coast South of Puerto Vallarta

For an after graduation vacation Krista and I decided to explore the coast south of Puerto Vallarta. We did it in style taking my 1990 Madza Miata with the top down the entire trip.

The drive through the mountains on Mex 200 was beautiful, the coastal area in this part of Jalisco is called Costalegre. Lots of small towns with many topes (speed bumps) slowed the speed down just enough to take in the sites of the towns and people.

The first day took us to to Bahia Tenacatita. The bay is absolutley stunning with out croppings of rocks in the ocean. It's mostly a Mexican vacation spot and was very quite during our one night stay. We did a small hike over the hill to view the sunset and deserted beaches. The guacamole/chips, dorado fish dinner and a Pacifico was perfect after being on the road for several hours.

Our second day was a shorter time on the road as we decided to stop in La Manzanilla, just down the road for some retail therapy. While looking in jewerly booths I looked out into the estury that runs through town and much to my surprise saw a slew of crocodiles watching us shop. I've never seen so many in one place. It was a bit errie and they make the strangest noises when defending their territory.

Tummies full and several pesos lighter we headed on down the road to Barra de Navidad, a real gringo stop. We stayed at Casa Senorina B & B located just across the street from the beach. After a nice afternoon swim we walked through town looking for a good spot for dinner.

Barra has a great malacon (boardwalk) for people watching and just sitting to listen to the ocean.

We decided to wine and dine at a beach front Italian/French restaurant. The sunset was spectacular and dinner fabulous. A wonderful end to a great day.

After morning breakfast, coffee at a local shop and a bit more shopping, we continued on to Comala, a three hour drive just north of the city of Colima, in the state to Colima. Comala is one of 50 (only 37 to date) designated Magical colonial cities in Mexico. The drive was beautiful. We passed salt fields and stands selling salt in bulk. During the drive we also passed the large beach city of Manzanillo, a popular tourist spot with an international airport.

When arriving in Colima a taxi driver offered to escort us to Comala and the Casa Alvarda B & B for 100 pesos. I snapped that bargain up in a heart beat. What a cute and intimate B&B. The owners, Jupiter and Mara, are great hosts with two little girls, a dog and Stinky the cat who happened to guard my car all night.

The B&B is just two streets from the main square. Most shops closed early so we settled in for the evening at a funky recycled art gallery and bistro. The food was so so but the owner and ambiance made the evening magical with a full moon adding to the mood. The gallery was packed this evening.

After a scrumptous morning breakfast of pastries, freshly squeezed orange juice, brewed local coffee and stuffed puffed pastry, Jupiter took us on a tour that included viewing the active volcano Volcan del Fuego (fire volcano), one of the top 13 most active volcanoes in the world. Since our time was limited this particular tour did not get us too close to the volcano. After picture taking and turning around the volcano decided to let off some steam.

Another stop on the tour was a small colony where a third generation mask maker lived, Gorgonio Candelario C., a Nahua Indian. His masks are worn in festivals throughout Mexico. Of course, Krista and I now each have a mask on our wall.

During our drive we passed this wall sculpted by a local artist.

It was finally time to start our journey back to La Penita. Our travels took us back to Barra de Navidad for the evening staying at the same B & B and ate at the same Italian/French restaurant. Don't want to change a good thing.

We finally arrived in LP late the next day, exhausted but very content as we had another great Mom/Daughter Adventure.

One of our best yet!!