Tenacatita is so tempting

Tenacatita, Jalisco                        March 3 - 10 2009

We had visited this beautiful collection of 3 bays a few days ago with new friends, Terry and Koosji. There were about 8 RV's of varying descriptions set up along the coral  beach just steps away from the crystal blue waters where people in the know come to sightsee underwater  for the day. Remy and I both looked at each other with wide grins  knowing our plans to head south from Melaque would have to be put on hold so we could return to Tenacatita and camp on the free beach.

 Despite the  handpainted  sign saying there was "NO VACANCY" we arrived 3 days later full of water, food and libations ready for at least a week of this place that looked so heavenly to us. We were happy to discover that the primo spot on one of two concrete pads (concrete is way easier than sand when traveling with children) had just been vacated and the French couple, Paula and Serge were happy to share some of
their space with us.

The first photo is of the sunrise from our campervan. I would wake early each morning to roll out  my yoga mat to greet the sun as it rose over the mountains across the bay. It was cool then so exercise was a pleasure. The second photo was taken several hours later. You can see a small palapa shack behind the van. That is where Chuy (- pronounced "Chewey") the "keeper of the coral" stays during the day . He is the slight fellow in the 3rd picture and his companion- Tequila. Tequila rides in a plastic crate behind Chuy as they blast through town where Chuy sleeps if he hasn't had too

 much tequila...... the drink. Chuy has taken it upon himself to protect the coral by blasting his red whistle at anyone he sees walking on it or disturbing the surrounding beauty in any way. I'll bet he weighs less than 90 lbs but he blows that whistle  with great authority- people move! Chuy has built and maintains three outhouses for the campers and he picks up garbage left by the snorkeling  daytrippers.  Even though camping is essentially free on this beach there is an unwritten expectation that Chuy will receive M$50/ day (about $5) from each camper for his services.

We became fast friends with this man 
thanks to Remy giving him a Calgary Police shoulder patch. Turns out the French guy, Serge, was a police officer with the Surete de Quebec and had a patch for Chuy as well. He pinned one to each shoulder and walked very proud around the beach, elbows bent, leaning into his walk, trying to make himself look muscular and powerful with his new bling.

Most of our friends and family know of Frank, our neighbor in Inglewood who just sort of looks out for everyone and we all help him out in whatever way he needs. Well, Chuy was our Mexican Frank and in fact we have met several Mexican Franks in our travels. We are so lucky!

In all the books I read about travel in Mexico and of all the dreaming we did about the great places we would see I never, ever imagined it would get as good as Tenacatita. The intimate snorkeling bay where we stayed was just steps away from another beach where we would retire to each night to watch the sunset over the Pacific. The third bay was about a 10 minute walk over the rocks to the long flat beach in town ringed with restaurants , palapas and hammocks. You can see a photo I posted  of Bowen and me walking on this flat beach in the blog from Melaque. Most days we would take long walks on this beach and watch the various wildlife in action. One day Liz and her new friend Michelle watched a small pod of whales at play for at least 1/2 hour. Manta rays jumping out of the water gave us quite a show as well.

-Liz

So Tenacatita was our second time being truly off the grid in Mexico. Even the town itself rolled up the sidewalks at sunset, mostly leaving only the residents of the beach to watch over things. Hollis discovered that the night time beach belongs to the ants, who carve amazing roadways across the detritus of the beach to gain access to their food sources. The hermit crabs come out as well to scavenge what the day time users of the beach have left behind. Hollis tried to make pets of three different hermit crabs, all of whom eventually managed to make their way to freedom.

The beach residents were a tight community. Mas, a retired school teacher from Edmonton, is the resident father figure who lights a fire every night and gives others lifts into town for groceries. He lent us a solar panel to recharge our auxiliary battery every day which allowed us to light our van, pump our water and let the boys watch movies while we were on the beach. He also kept the boys in marshmallows while we were there and even gave them a bag for the road when we left. A large percentage of the community was from Alberta, oddly enough, with representation from Grand Prairie, Edmonton, Calgary, Cochrane and Pincher Creek! One couple, Tina and Bill own a lot on 8 ave in Inglewood and are planning on building a house there. Apparently we had to come all the way to Mexico to meet them. They are van campers too!

The incredible amount of underwater life made snorkelers of us all. Bowen and Hollis perfected their diving technique and learned a lot about the rays and how they sting (no first hand experience, luckily, though others were not so lucky). We had just parked on the beach and Liz and Remy were setting up camp when Hollis made himself scarce. The next thing we heard was "I got one!" and there was Hollis standing at the beach with a fish on the end of his home made spear. We were torn between pride that he had managed to actually spear a fish and concern that the bay we were camped in was some sort of marine preserve (it certainly ought to be). A trophy photo was taken and then Hollis was quickly hustled off the beach with his prey. Some drunken Canadian know-it-all came over and told us that we were risking time in a Mexican jail for fishing in a preserve, which certainly tainted the experience for all of us. Remy made some discrete enquiries of Chuy and found out that the area has no official designation and that fishing is not illegal, though out of consideration to other underwater tourists it is somewhat discouraged. The fish was delicious, by the way.

Armed with that knowledge, Remy set out from the neighbouring beach with his own spear the next day. At a depth of about 12 ft he engaged a 2 ft long moray eel. Talk about feeling out of your element! The ferocity with which that creature fought was redoubtable! Remy has a whole new respect for the large eels and now knows why most fishermen tackle them with spear guns- some stand off capability is appreciated after you've had one at arms length. Liz performed some remarkable feat of alchemy and marinated the beast in a sauce of her own device before we grilled it. It was delicious, too.

Tenacatita is a gem, known only to a few people. The beach we camped on, however, is located between two pieces of privately owned land, the owner of which threatens occasionally to deny access. It is possible that this may be that last season that people will be able to camp on the beach. That would be a shame, as it would deny Chuy his livelihood and it appears that the Norteamericanos who return to the beach year after year take the best care of anyone (the usual Mexican attitudes toward the country side apply here as elsewhere- plastic and beer bottles everywhere, more work for Chuy). We feel privileged that we had the opportunity to partake of this Pacific paradise when we did. We made more friends while we were there and overcame a few challenges (snorkeling with big fish for the boys, showering outside for Remy). Surely a highlight in a trip that has already provided us with so many special memories already.

**Photos for Remy's part of the blog will be posted at the beginning of the next blog. We seem to be having troubles with the editing on this website.

-Remy