Chacala

By Aaron

We made the overnight passage from Mazatlan to Chacala without incident.  Chacala is a small resort town with some palapas, restaurants, and a few little shops all shaded by palm trees.  It caters to Mexican tourists and is a super relaxing and fun place to stay.  If  you want to go somewhere with a lot of character that’s off the beaten path, this is it. 

We’ve always had trouble answering when people ask us what our favorite stop has been.  It’s still difficult, but Chacala is now at the top of the list.  This is the place that you dream up in your mind when you think about cruising Mexico.  It actually exists!

Paul and Pam on SV Tug Tub invited us over for drinks the same day we arrived.  They own a company that made these floating hot tubs… They’re insulated and float above the water and even have seats.  The water is heated by a propane heater to 104 degrees and the whole thing is cast off on a long line to float about the anchorage.  Apparently they didn’t get the memo about sacrificing some creature comforts when you’re out cruising.

Getting ready to float away with Keith and Olina from SV Anon.  We’ve seen some awesome sunsets in Mexico, but that evening it was fantastic.  Because we were watching it from a frigin hot tub. 

The next day Nicole did yoga on the beach with ladies from several boats while I enjoyed my coffee.  Then we headed to shore to make our way to the port captain’s office to check in.

Path from the dinghy landing

The road up from the port captain’s office

Downtown Chacala.  This is the most charming little town we’ve visited since we left Seattle.  It’s truly laid back and friendly. 

In Mexico you do a lot of paperwork.  In many places you need to check in with the port captain for arrival and departure.  First you have to find the port captain’s office.  Then, if the office is open and the port captain is there you can check in.  This involves filling out some forms, reviewing our boat papers (insurance, registration, etc) and then many copies are enthusiastically stamped and made official after 4 or 5 signatures. 

Nicole taking care of business

Check-in complete! 

After we checked in we went on a hike with Brian and Deidre of SV Cat 2 Fold.  The hill to the south is volcanic in origin and you can hike up to the rim for a view down into the caldera.

Nicole and Deidre from Cat 2 Fold

Brian of Cat 2 Fold.  At 6’7” he is the tallest cruiser in all of Mexico.

The catamaran contraption in the foreground is Cat 2 Fold.  It can fold in half so it will fit on a large trailer.  Bella Star is in the background (and has no folding capabilities)

On the way to the trail we passed a tree with a rope ladder.  We all gave it a shot climbing up.  It’s harder than it looks!  Nicole did the best climb.

On our way

There were lots of flowers

And these things were hanging all over the place

We got to the top after a fairly easy hike.  I was hoping for a lake of fiery lava inside the caldera but it was filled with mud and grass

Looking south down the coast

And north over the anchorage

Hiking in the heat made us quite thirsty.  We headed back into town for a drink.

There were lots of restaurants and palapas to choose from

In the end we stopped at a place that had coconut drinks.  The young bartender chops off the top of a coconut and then adds gin or rum to the juice inside. 

The coconuts grow wild, so they don’t have to pay for those.  No glasses to buy or wash.  It’s a cocktail with very low overhead and they pass the savings onto you.  Only 20 pesos each for these. ($1.44 US).  Not bad!  Also I like knowing my containers are environmentally friendly and biodegradable.  Everybody wins here.

Well, it was getting late and Cat 2 Fold was hosting a get together so back to the boats we went.

Cat 2 Fold bringing some ice back for the party

Chacala is truly a special place and we already miss it dearly