La Manzanilla Mexico 2023
La Manzanilla de la Mar is a small town on the Pacific mainland coast about a 3-hour drive south of Puerta Vallarta. Many say that it has changed a lot in the last 10 years, but it still has a quaint small-town feel, no high-rise condos or resorts, and just enough tourism so that you are able to find a few amenities and nice-to-have’s not native to normal Mexican life. We discovered this town quite by accident while looking for a warm place to spend 1-2 weeks last winter. The sister of a friend had a home here with some small casitas and we rented one. What started as a short trip, eventually extended to 2 ½ months! We just kept eating fresh local avocados and changing our flights for a later date (remember, no change fees during COVID!)
We had planned to sail the boat down this season and had hoped to be anchored in the bay just off of the amazing 2 ½-mile beach connecting La Manz at one end with Boca de Iguanas at the far end. But boat project delays pushed us back into December and then there weren’t any good weather windows to take us down the coast, so we decided to fly down this winter and then sail down the following fall.
The beach is fantastic… the main attraction. Two and a half miles of flat gorgeous sand with a gentle slope into the bay. Unlike the more tourist-oriented locations of the world, there are no jet skis and only on rare occasion are there any big water toys being pulled about by speedboats.
This beach is one of many in Mexico where turtles come to lay their eggs and last year we were lucky enough to witness baby turtles (those a little late heading into the ocean) making their way down the beach to the water. Some were disoriented by ruts and tire tracks in the sand and heading in the wrong direction, others just tired and getting warm even in the early morning sun. We thought they needed a bit of assistance and started ushering them in the right direction. We began picking some up with sand underneath them and transporting them to the wet sand, then cheering them on as they livened up and made their way into the gentle surf. We wished them well and hoped that they had a long and prosperous life, perhaps returning to this very stretch of beach eventually to lay their own eggs and start the cycle anew with the next generations.
Oh, and there are whales! Whales breed and birth in the Sea of Cortez, but apparently, they then bring their young further south and teach them baby whale basics. It is beautiful to see them breach and then gently submerge, tail gracefully following last. Savvy Sailing Girl was delighted to see heaps of pelicans and also booby birds! There were even some blue footies from further north! There were a host of other birds as well… egrets, gulls, and even vultures (affectionately referred to as the “cleanup committee).
The tourists that have found this lovely little winter spot are mostly from BC in Canada… perhaps word-of-mouth brought more and more here over time along with the same folks returning year after year. There seemed to be way fewer American tourists. Mexicans from inland, especially Guadalajara, also come here to enjoy the beach and town. Christmas and the week preceding Easter are a full-on riot of activity, with tents pitched all along the beach and people enjoying campfires, loud music and watching children play in the sand.
But all the fun and action is not just beachfront. The little town of La Manz has more than a handful of really good restaurants and a fun outdoor market on Fridays on the square (El Jardin). We took a fun cooking class at Lora Loka restaurant with friends also visiting in La Manz and had a blast preparing, and then consuming, Mexican delights!
Every Friday morning, we would buy two bags of freshly roasted (still hot!) peanuts at the market from Juana and have those along with what I have nicknamed “Mexican Ecstasy”, actually the most amazingly delicious little coconut macaroons (officially called “Cocadas”) you could imagine… never had a better macaroon EVER! They are made in the next town over and come in a clear plastic bag with no label, no ingredients, nothing but the tasty little tidbit treats themselves. Not necessarily the breakfast of champions… but somehow it worked for us while we were here. I would never think about eating stuff like that for breakfast elsewhere.
Much of the market is souvenirs, but for the most part very nice quality and the folks are lovely. We bought 2, then another 3, then another 2 woven handmade shopping bags from Claudio. They are both beautiful and handy. He comes from inland somewhere east of Acapulco to La Manz for at least 4 months each winter to sell these bags and hammocks, so he can support his family back home. Even though we have definitely said no more bags, he still waves and smiles and stops for a short chat (and tries to sell us at least one or two more bags good naturedly) whenever we see him. There are also some real artisans offering some spectacular jewelry… not just the standard made-in-Mexico silver hoop earrings, charms, and chains and such. Then, there’s the local vanilla… it’s not like your vanilla extract from home/store. This stuff is amazing and smells like heaven. Savvy Sailing Girl has been adding some to her coffee and tea and it is quite divine!
There is a beautiful mangrove just inside the beach area and there are crocodiles… a LOT of huge crocs, as well as gorgeous birds of all sorts. When we first saw the mangrove area where the crocs hang out, it was all fenced in and we looked in at them, feeling quite safe outside. Then we walked along the fence and at some point, there was a big hole in the fence… could they actually get out? Hmmm. Then we walked a bit further and there was no fence at all, gasp!!! Yes, they could definitely get out! They usually stay in their designated areas, but as we later learned, during the wet season when there are storms and flash flooding, the crocs occasionally get washed out of the mangrove and directly into the bay. Not that one would go swimming during a hurricane or flooding, but you may want to look both ways before crossing the street and stay out of the water!
As mentioned, the folks who come here to vacation for a few weeks or months, seem to come back year after year. There is a whole community of folks and there are all sorts of lovely things to do like exercise/yoga classes, meditations, and music/jam sessions. There’s a volunteer-run used book store and thrift shop benefiting local charities. There are also a few small galleries and shops, but one of the more fun shopping adventures (at least for Savvy Sailing Girl – Queen of Consignment) is thrift shopping Mexican style, which involves outdoor tables set up under tents in which one can find an assortment of clothing items from overages (probably shipped down from the US and Canada), to local Mexican brands that are almost exclusively manufactured in China, to actual resale clothing from who knows where! But there are really good deals to be had if one has the time and patience to sift, and knows one’s sizes and brands.
When we return next season and are staying on the boat, anchored out in the bay, we’ll spend more time snorkeling in Tenacatita, just around the corner, and paddling around the bay. But for last year and this, a respite from winter, even on land, in this lovely little town was a wonderful destination!
