The jungle/beach hike and the ghost resort

By Aaron
There is a very nice ex-pat named April who has lived here in La Cruz since 1985.  We heard her on the morning cruiser’s net offering to take people on various guided hikes for very reasonable rates, so we gave her a call and set one up along with the crews of Hello World, Panache, and Ventured.  Our hike would take us over 4 miles through the jungle and beaches along the coast, from Boca de Tomatlan to Quimixto.  These small towns are connected by the trail only, and you can either walk, ride a horse, or ride in a water taxi to get to them. 
The start of our hike from the river at Boca de Tomatlan.
Start of the trail…
The bridges steadily decreased in quality from this point on
One person on the bridge at a time seems like a good rule of thumb
Making our way down to a little cove
Didn’t even have to ask them to smile for this shot – this is just what you look like when it’s 80 degrees in January
Arrival at the cove
We also had to hike along the beach in several spots.  Darn.
Jason had some lifesaving advice for me on crossing the next bridge
The trail went on and on along empty beaches…
Be careful which trees you lean against to take a break.  The term “Montezuma’s revenge” comes from this tree.  It’s poisonous and apparently some native Mexicans tried to kill several Spaniards with it but only succeeded in giving them diarrhea for several weeks.  
Onward we marched
Soon we came upon an unusual place… an abandoned resort.  Our guide told us that the owner was coming ashore in a panga full of guests when the panga got overturned by a wave.  The owner unfortunately broke his back in the accident and swore to never visit the resort again.  And he never has. 
Approaching the ghost resort…
The resort can still boast fantastic views
Zack, taking an imaginary soak in the hot tub.  With a bunch of imaginary hot chicks. 
There’s not much left of the resort, but the headboards and end tables are still holding up well
Nicole checking out the ruins
Sadly, not even the hotel bar has survived the elements
And it’s mostly just coconuts meandering the hotel grounds these days
Our guide says that the property is for sale and she has some contacts – she can get you a really good deal!  Anyway, after some time exploring the ghost resort we moved on down the beach, shooting a few postcard pictures along the way.



We eventually came upon another resort.  We saw a few staff, but no guests enjoying the tropical atmosphere.
The non-abandoned resorts looked much nicer
If we were staying here this is where you would find us
We eventually reached the village of Las Animas and stopped at a palapa for lunch.
After lunch we continued on through the jungle.  The movie Predator was filmed here!
A random bar along the trail, this was the Charly Bar and Grill
The hike was to end at a waterfall.  For 150 pesos you can take a horse up to the falls but we walked.
A few more bridges to cross…
It’s hard to tell from the picture, but that last 1/4 mile was pretty steep – I’ll be taking the horse next time.
Nicole is in pretty good shape though and didn’t mind the incline
The end of our hike…  Fortunately we didn’t have to walk all the way back – we took a water taxi back to Boca de Tomatlan.
Many thanks to April for a great hike and for providing us with such a wealth of information that we wouldn’t have had otherwise!