Next to the town
is a high-tide Mangrove Lagoon that harbors Egrets, Heron, King Fishers,
Ibises, and American crocodiles, plus shrouded waterways accessible with a
local boat guide. The town shares a flat beach which stretches for over three
miles, a small surf, fine brown sand, and many mom & pop sand-floor palapa
restaurants offering the catch of the day, cold cervesa, and front row
seating to view the activities on the beach.
 |
| The Beach |
Highway MX 200 is very
good; but, curvy, so averaging around 40-45 mph for the trip was the best we
could do. After we traveled through
several small towns south of Puerto Vallarta and climbed upwards over a winding
road past El Tuito to near the village of Playa de Quemaro where the road
finally straightens out for the next 60 miles.
A 20 mile part of this stretch is still under construction with the
macadam pavement having been scrapped with a blade then covered with small
gravel to hide the holes – the result a jarring ride at 25 MPH that created a dust
cloud that must have rivaled the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma & Kansas during the
mid-1930´3. There was a 5 mile stretch
of completed pavement at each end of this construction zone that gave us a
“clue” as to what the finished product will-can-someday become.
When we arrived the
rental agent said they´d need a few more moments to finish cleaning the unit,
so…we decided to go and find the cooking school location for the next day’s 11 AM
class that we´d signed up to take, then go to Yolanda’s on the beach for some
guacamole and cervesa. Finally
returning we filed inside to be rewarded with a magnificent view of the
beautiful Tenacatita Bay. Not only was
the view as wonderful as memory serves, the rooms were immaculate, cool, and I
was able to commandeer a spot for a short nap before getting ready for the
evening’s festivities at Café de Flores.
You could ask “Why do we
make this trip to a small, obscure, dusty, village. Several years ago my brother-in-law, Dr.
Charlie Sacamano and his wife, my sister, Shirley became involved with the
development of landscaping for El Tamarindo (currently
closed), a beach & golf resort encompassing approximately 2,040 acres
of nature preserve. The resort’s private beach and tranquil bay is unparalleled
for water activities, while the lush forest environment made outdoor
exploration a natural focus. Eventually
Charlie became involved with the everyday maintenance and continuing growth of
the property and they invited Dolores and me to visit. At the time the Company was remodeling an
older ranchero on the property as their resident so they arranged for us to
stay at a condominium in La Manzanilla.
With both families being “foodies”, as well as adventuresome, we
discovered a quickly expanding restaurant scene in not only La Manzanilla, but
also in the neighboring area of Melaque/Obregón-Barra de Navidad.
Our focus on the current
restaurant scene in La Manzanilla included:
·
Figaros (renamed from
Coco´s) – Italian
·
Café de Flores –
Eclectic Gourmet
·
Jolanda´s –
Asian/European
·
Martins – Mexican,
International
·
Palapa Joes –
Hamburgers, Mexican, Open Mic Entertainment
·
Tacos Capu “Chop Chop” –
Manzanilla Original Street Taco Stand (with beach service)
I won´t review each
restaurant; however, we did manage to visit most during this visit while photographing
of few of the 300 plus population of “American crocodiles” at the Federally
protected “high-tide Mangrove Lagoon”, browsing the Palapa Bars in Barra de
Navidad, and attending a cooking school in La Manzanilla.
Heather had a
fascination with the Mexican Federal Ecological Zone comprised of approximately
2.45 acres (507.01 ha.) which features over 300 American crocodiles (caimans),
many of which have reached a length of 15 ft. and 750 pounds. One named Poncho is said to be over 20
feet. No “petting” allowed!
 |
| Overview of Lagoon |
 |
| Poncho and Buddies |
On a previous trip to La
Manzanilla Dolores heard about “Eileen’s Cooking Classes on the Costalegre” and
had called the owner, Eileen. She wasn´t
scheduled for a class during that visit; however, we determined to attend one
of her classes on the next trip. Nicky
and Heather were also excited with the idea so we had scheduled the class on-line
ahead of our trip.
 |
| Eileen of La Manzanilla |
·
Vegetable Pakoras with Cilatnro Tomato Chutney
·
Sag Paneer (Spinach wtih Fresh Cheese and Tomatoes)
·
Exotic Bengali Shrimp Curry
·
Cardamom Shortbread
Each class lasts about 2
½ hours and is “hands on”, as the students learn to prepare dishes under
Eileen’s tutelage. We formed in teams of 2 and worked together creating the
meal and then adjourned to the cool front terrace of her casa to enjoy a
luscious luncheon complete with a Jamaica beverage. This was an experience we will definitely repeat on future visits.
 |
| Class Ready to Eat |
Our favorite restaurant in
Melaque is Maya, owned by two Canadian Chefs.
On this trip we found that they had moved from the beach front to a
location 1 ½ blocks away. This new
location has a beautiful inner courtyard and their new food focus is
Tapas. It’s a wonderful new approach and
we were fortunate to visit them on this trip since they were ending the season
and returning to their restaurant in Canada at the end of the week.
 |
| Maya - Courtyard Right |
 |
| Ready to Chow-Down |
On the third day we headed
back to Puerto Vallarta, stopping in El Tuito for a brief break, relaxing with
good friends over refreshments and tasty snacks, before continuing on to our
condo in “Old Town” arriving safe and satisfied…with only one more
chore…unpack!
