Picture Perfect

Picturesque Chacala

A Pelican Visitor

Beautiful Beach and Coconut Palms at Chacala

We departed Nuevo Vallarta on February 14^th in Bandares Bay and anchored for the night behind Punta Mita on the north end of the bay. We planned to motor for 6 hours the following day to the small village and picturesque bay of Chacala. We arrived at Chacala in the early evening with the sun shining brightly on the beautiful beach and colorful houses and beach palapas; coconut palms lined the beach and orchards could be seen along the flanks of a collapsed volcano - a beautiful tropical setting one might dream about. This small cove was once home to the indigenous people of the Texcoxquin who lived here for thousands of years. The Spanish arrived in 1524 and later the Portuguese explorer Sebastian Rodriguez-Cermeno sailing from Manila, stopped here in 1596. The notable Jesuit Father Eusebius Francesco Kuhn and his party departed from Chacala on his expedition to Alta California in 1683. Chacala remained a small fishing village and coconut plantation for many years. In more recent times, Chacala has become a lovely retreat for vacationers looking for a place off the beaten path. During the 1980’s, Doctor Laura del Valle transformed the town into a distinctive destination. She built simple accommodations to house visiting American medical students volunteering at the local health clinic, which she had founded to serve the Mexican poor. Today the clinic serves as a Retreat & Wellness Center and still supports a variety of non-profit projects for local communities, including the neighboring impoverished farming town of Las Varas. Today, Chacala has a population of about 300 permanent residents and remains a picturesque stop. There are some challenges for boaters, however. The small cove is open to ocean swell so it’s one of those rolling anchorages, and access into town is by dinghy or kayak only so a wet landing is to be expected.