Lots to See But Nothing to Do at Paraiso Mirador

Santa Cruz de Mirador, Nayarit, 12-15 May 2009

We ran for the Pacific coast, anxious to be by the water again- anxious to be able to go into the water! We picked a place we had not been before, still eager to explore this country as thoroughly as we can while we can, and landed in Santa Cruz de Mirador, which is located just up the coast from Guayabitos. We ended up at the Paraiso Mirador, which is very aptly named! The beachfront resort is probably one of the most beautiful we have encountered in all of Mexico, for only 22 bucks a night to camp!

There is a hotel, bungalows, restaurant and two separate pool areas set in an incredible property overlooking the ocean. The beach itself is not particularly hospitable as it is quite rocky, which continues far out into the water. Remy discovered the hard way how difficult this makes launching and, more so, landing when trying to go snorkeling. There is a reason why the oyster divers, which abound in this area, work from boats. Needless to say, the beach was not a big attraction here.

The resort, however, was another matter. We had the run of the place to ourselves. Small groups would come for the day but we were the only campers. A small pool area about 15 meters from our van afforded two palapas and three small pools on two levels. The boys were in heaven, being able to dive from the upper to the lower pool, which looked out over the ocean. In the palapas were a colony of what we determined, after an internet search, were vampire bats. It was neat to watch the mothers nursing their pups during the day, but not so neat to see them flying in and out of the palapa at night. Especially after seeing video footage of them on the computer and how they feed off unsuspecting animals. It is not easy to relax in the wild in Mexico after dark!

Another larger pool located at the other end of the property by a hotel building was available to us as well. We could not get over how lucky we were to be here!

We explored on our bikes the nearby town of Santa Cruz. We set off after palapa school in the searing 40 degree heat to ride the highway into town. We discovered that there is nothing to do in this dusty little burg, which at lunch time includes eating! The heat appears to knock the motivation out of even the Mexicans. We returned home to find that the restaurant at the resort had exactly what we were needing anyway, which could be enjoyed under one of the palapas. And we could swim in the pool until the food arrived! We were crazy to have left, but now we know.

Remy improvised a small lobster trap out of a 2 liter pop bottle for the boys to try to trap some crayfish out of the creek that runs through the property, but they were unable to entice anything large enough to eat into it. Remy caught up on his hammock time, while Liz schemed how she could rescue Lupita the dog from Villa Corona. We caught up on our blogging and e-mail, and otherwise genuinely relaxed. It is bittersweet, as we are only too aware that our time in Mexico is drawing to a close, and opportunities like this are dwindling.

-Remy