In October 2003 I took a solo trip from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, and luckily found Chacala in between. I had a great time exploring little CHACALA Nayarit, Mexico. As a single female traveler, I found it to be a very friendly and safe little town, no fear, no danger, just good, friendly people.

Chacala is a beautiful little beach town, and very tranquil small pueblo, with a lovely beach good for swimming and body surfing, with lots of excellent and affordable fresh seafood, and plenty of good and very friendly people. (I had been looking and stopping along the coast from Mazatlan and had not seen a rival to its tranquil tiny beauty. Its bay is only about a mile across of gentle sloped sand leading down into warm waters, with gentle waves.)

Chacala is just a sweet little beach town, population is around 100 locals, it is located just west of Las Varas which is about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta (the busride is only 30 pesos or so on the local busses). You take a northbound bus up highway 200 to Las Varas, then catch the collectivo van ( just ask anyone in Las Varas, they know which corner the collectivo stops on) the collectivo is 10pesos for the 9km to Chacala.

Here are some pictures from my visit to CHACALA. Hope you have as good a time there as I did. -Kathleen ( a.k.a.Katalina)

If you want to take a real long HIKE up a dirt road for miles, you can go South, up to the next pueblo, Divisadero, there you can rent horses, I did not make it up there this time...but will next time with my sister. There we'll rent horses and go even further down dirt roads.

This so called "private" beach was just a small 20 minute walk towards the north on the main road-up before it drops down to the beach level, take it about 5 minutes to the big gate (ask anyone they all know, and disdain it). Behind the imposing gate is a secluded and calm beach north of Chacala, called by the locals, Chacalica. Unfortunately it is behind a large private property fence (owned by a Mexican Developer, I heard), but it is possible to enter the gate if you can successfully sweetalk the gate keepers into believeing that you are interested in "seeing the lots, or real estate" ( Yeah Right, at about a million U.S.D per beachfront lot, minus the casa...)

Or if you'd rather you can take the trail , I took the trail in and then took the gate out, the trail is just a bushwhack to the right of the big imposing gate, look for it before you reach the "B n B" at the end of the road , its just a slight imperceptible track down into the jungle, look out for the HUGE spiders! Once down on level ground you find the main private road and can access it and the beaches along it easily. There was no one there but construction workers in the background, and the law in Mexico states that beaches are public property. P.S. someone informed me they were able to access Chacalica by walking out past the Chacal marina to the point, and finding a trail just past the private property sign...

Savvy locals rent a BOAT to reach Chacalica. At the marina in Chacala just ask for Juan or his brother Frederico, they can have you over there in minutes and pick you up later. They can also take you SURFING over to a break at CALETAS- its only about 10 minutes by boat, and 3 hours bushwhacking by jungle on foot!

In the front room of the Posada Sarahi, Ophelia runs an impromptu local coffee house, where many of the locals stop by for coffee and socialization, or a bite to eat in the mornings. Ophelia is very helpfull and friendly, and her daughter, Ophelia-chica is quite adept at speaking english, and is learning to use computers too, she is a very intelligent young gal, and a future savvy businesswoman. She may someday even have an internet cafe in the coffee house, we'll see.... Until then you can use the two internet computers at the nearby new Biblioteque, and if you do, please make a decent donation, the community and library could use it for more computers, books, etc.

A Private Apartment: Also just up the road, half a block, from the Posada Sarahi, is the home of Conquita, who also has four private rooms and a private family apartment on her top floor, as part of the rentals of the 'Techos de Mexico' housing project. She is a very nice woman who is a delight to talk with, she is learning english and would appreciate practicing more..............She also has one of the very few telephones in town, she can be reached at #013-27-219-4012, and she can give messages to Ophelia, or Jaun & Frederico too.

SPANISH Instruction: Another really helpfull person to know, is Trini the local spanish language instructor, she is bilingual, speaks both spanish & excellent english, and offers classes for solos, groups, families, or children. She can be found in Chacala just ask, or at her email is: trinimoya2 (at) hotmail.com

Jaun & Frederico, are nice local Pescadaro/fishermen, they are brothers, they can take you in their boat, or potentially chauffer you places in their truck, as Jaun did for me. He offered to chauffer me down the coast to the south for a reasonable amount, we went along the beach roads, which allowed me to explore many of the little pueblo beach towns I would not have been able to see had I been on a bus.

PUERTO VALLARTA'S OLD TOWN a.k.a. the "Zona Romantica" is the best part of P.V. in my opinion, there you can find the best tacos, regular people doing regular things, and local cantina's where the mariachi bands go when they are finished playing for gringos and they just want to sing to each other. If you arrive into the P.V. airport the cheap way into town is to step outside (hit the atm machine in airport first, and get some small change for the busy), get past the taxi drivers who want $25usd, locate the big busy road, go stand by it ask anyone around where the bus stops to go to the Centro, and keep your eyes peeled for a bus that is labled Centro, its written on the windshield. For under a dollar usd(you must have pesos) you will be whisked into the centro, ask anyone once on board where the river Cuale is and once you cross over it, you are in 'old town' get off anywhere. Its so small that you can walk anywhere in it easily. This last visit I returned to have excellent tacos at CISNERO's Fish Tacos stand near the youth hostel (on Jacarandas between Lazaro Cardenas and V. Carranza, try the sauteed shrimp brochette tacos, they are excellent, also if you are into hot foods they have a hot pepper chile relleno stuffed with seafood, if you are afraid of salmonella just ask for it all "sin mayonaisse" and don't worry, they also have excellent seafood soup. You can find delicious breakfasts and lunches at TUNCO's a very friendly and clean family stand, with huge birria sopas, and other excellent treats its on Madero near the corner of Constitution. There is another fish taco place near the fish market that I like, on the north side of the street Aquiles Serdan just below Constitution. Late into the evenings you can buy some fresh Tamales and a cup of Atole from the lady at the corner of Constitution and Madero, on your way home from the bars, also everyone goes to the taco stands at the corner of Insurgentes and L.Cardenas late into the bar closing evenings, if you are still afraid of street eats just order a quesadilla with frijoles and onions(if you are really worried avoid the cheese too, or just make sure its very well done, as cheese is transported in water in mexico so if the water has germs the cheese might too, or just eat pasturized cheese.*See astericked info below for a whole section on Tourista, Moctezuma's Revenge, etc). In the daytime if you like ceviche tostadas and seafood cocktails Marisco's de Guerra on Madero below Vallarta is a great place. If you are out on the Playa de los Muertos and want a good fresh fish taco there is a ship shaped stand on the boardwalk, just a bit north of the "Blue Chairs" area which is impossible to miss, also if you order anything there, then you can use their beach front chairs and umbrellas and hang out drinking their cheap beers and swimming all afternoon. One of my favorite 'gringo' bars is the old Tapa's 180 bar, which has moved and is now called 180 because its at 180 Basillo Badillo, the blonde gal has rented a nice casa with a SWIM POOL so you can hang out and have negro modelo's, margaritas, live music and open mic nights, and swim all night. There are countless mexican cantinas in the area, full of local mexicans and are perfect for the late night mariachi rendezvous, just peek into one and if it looks interesting don't be afraid to order a beer (ask the price first) and hang out awhile, if they don't want you there they will charge you an astronomical price for your drink and you will get the idea, five bucks for a margarita is outrageous and is usually only charged at places on the malecon for gringos who don't know any better, or who are happy at HOOTERS etc. There are countless bars with live music around Constitution or Insurgentes too. A few good places to stay in the old town; Hotel Eloise is a very nice mexican run hotel on Lazaro Cardenas across from the plaza near Olas Altas, its almost ocean front and rooms are up around $50 more or less per night and very very nice. More affordable and perfectly servicable rooms, $20-ish or less, can be found at the hotels on Madero further from the ocean, but its all within walking distance, and the further east you go the less touristic it is. The mercado is on Insurgentes north of the river, and if you shop there you will invariably find the highest prices, its better to shop up the backstreets of 'old town' where the prices are naturally low and not made according to the whims of the salespersons. There are so many good things in the 'old town' that one never needs to venture over to the north of the river Cuale, where gringos who are fresh off the cruiseships wander along a disneyland-esque malecon (the best thing about it was a set of beautiful surrealist sculptures by a mexican artist, I will have to look up his name, which were unfortunately swept away by hurrican Kenna last year, and no one knows if they will ever be replaced(-as of my '04 visit, they have been replaced), some problem with the insurance). If you walk along that gringo malecon side of the river you will get endlessly barraged and practically eaten alive by timeshare sales people. One last thing, if you want to rent some very fine horses, very well taken care of horses make an appointment with Fernando at Rancho Vallejo, he and his sons live just up the river Cuale, you can walk up there its a great walk along the river over narrow walking bridges or take the bus up to the Cuale Pariaso restaurant, he is just past the bridge near the restaurant Cuale Pariaso ask anyone they'll know where his house and horses are to make a res with him call the restaurant 222-4225. He and his sons take very good care of their horses, as a horsewoman I know. Other horsemen in town that I have seen, have tack that gouges into the chins and girths of horses causing open weeping wounds, etc. Fernando's equipment is excellent, and his horses are all taken care of humanely, he can take you up river trails and roads far up into the hills, over to another pueblo with a cantina too. Just look out for the gringos on those damned four wheel drive a.t.r.'s or whatever they are called. Those dust raising, air and noise polluting, invasions of gringos riding up into the hills, raising hell and running over innocent chickens who only want to cross the road. Progress? Well have fun if you go, and eat several fish tacos, and have a shot of Cabritto, the little goat, tequila for me!-Kathalina.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (*********Moctezuma's Revenge Info: I did a search on the lonely plantet's thorn tree bulletin for all of the words on sickness, but did not find one concise message adressing the topic of food related illness/Moctezuma's revenge from Mexico. Also with the recent scare on Hepatitus A from those green onions at Chi Chi's restaurants I wanted to see what you all had to say. You can get a yearly vaccine for hep A before you travel. Below what I wrote, I cut and pasted two items, one on trichinosis and how to avoid it, and one on a vaccine for Montezuma's revenge/e coli... I have traveled 8 low budget times to mexico (many different parts, see my latest trip at http://www.geocities.com/chacalaposadasarahi/) and have only been ill once. I have eaten at countless street stands, but look to see they are clean first....I have eaten all kinds of meat, cheese, and green onions bbq'd. The green onions bbq'd might hold water or other things(human excrement is sometimes used for plant food in mexico) deep down inside the layers, so I think having them well done/char broiled is a good idea. I have had cabeza tacos once when I was starving and there was no other choice, (cow brains) but was reassured by a friend who know about such things, that the 'madness of the cows' would not be soon upon me, because the mexicans do not feed their cows other ground up cows, like we do in the U.S. and they do in Great Brit. The prion from the Crueztfeld Jacob's disease can not be killed by heat, cows simply should not be fed their kin, they are vegetarians. I just spoke with a friend who just returned from Oaxaca (she goes there every year, and eats a lot with the locals), this trip she became deathly ill with amoebas/ which she believes she got from a chile relleno stuffed with a cooked pork mixture, at a small local restaurant. She had to spend an extra week there to gain enough strength to come home. We talked about food borne illnesses. She and I had both become sick after eating chile rellenos, I personally believe the temperature may not get high enough inside the chile, but she said the pork hers was stuffed with was pre-cooked. I tend to think that the insides of chiles harbour moisture, water drops from when they were washed, and that may have the germs in it, and that the inside does not get hot enough to kill them. Mine was stuffed with cheese and from the market place where I did not see it made before my eyes, but she told me she had been sick before from eating cheese. I have since had many more chile rellenos with cheese, or seafood inside and not been sick since (the smoked ahi chille rellenos at Cisnero's taco stand in old p.v. are excellent, and the fact that the fish is already smoked makes them pretty safe in my book.) I like the seafood ones that they stuff right in front of you, and fry on the spot, then you can also ask for it well done. I will not stop eating on the street, but I will consider things harder from now on, since my friend got so sick in Oaxaca. My sick friend told me that the CHEESE in Oaxaca and other parts of mexico is transported in water, and it permeates the cheese and can carry in germs...so its a good idea to eat pasteurized cheese. I have always eaten quesadillas at (visibly popular and visually clean) street stands, but she warned me that it was not a completely 'safe' choice of food. She also told me a bit about the meat, and how the animals are not stuffed with antibiotics as they are in the U.S., so they can be carrying things, I believe they carry things here too, despite the sea of antibiotics their systems swim in. She said trichinosis can be easily found in pork in mexico, I wonder do high cooking temps kill it, -I seem to recall a story my mom told about a pork roast that was undercooked which wiped out almost all of the neighbour's family when she was a child. I will look up trichinosis.(see below, I looked it up) If anyone else has any info or stories to help us all to avoid Moctezuma's revenge I would appreciate reading them. -Kathalina __________________________________________________________________________ http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_diseases/en/trich.htm "Anyone who eats undercooked meat of infected animals can develop trichinosis. Pork products are implicated more often than other meats. How is trichinosis spread? Animals such as pigs, dogs, cats, rats and many wild animals (including fox, wolf and polar bear) may harbor the parasite. When humans eat infected pork that has been improperly cooked, they become infected. Improperly cooked wild animal meat may also be responsible for infecting humans. Person-to-person spread does not occur. What are the symptoms of trichinosis? The symptoms usually start with fever, muscle soreness, pain and swelling around the eyes. Thirst, profuse sweating, chills, weakness and tiredness may develop. Chest pain may be experienced since the parasite may become imbedded in the diaphragm (the thin muscle separating the lungs from abdominal organs). How soon after infection do symptoms appear? The incubation period varies depending upon the number of parasites in the meat and the amount eaten. It can range from five to 45 days but is usually 10 to 14 days. Does past infection with trichinosis make a person immune? Partial immunity may develop from infection. What is the treatment for trichinosis? A drug called mebendazole is used in treatment. What can be the effect of not being treated for trichinosis? Failure to treat could be fatal. What can be done to prevent the spread of trichinosis? The best prevention is to make sure that pork products are properly cooked. The desirable temperature is at least 150 F. Storing infected meat in a freezer with a temperature no higher than -13o F for 10 days will also destroy the parasite. " _____________________________________________________ Montezuma's revenge CBS webpage saying they may have a vaccine: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/08/14/Consumers/diarrheapill_030814 Possible vaccine for Montezuma's revenge Last Updated Thu Aug 14 13:34:49 2003 LONDON-- Travellers may soon have a pill to take to protect them from diarrhea while in foreign countries. A British company, Microscience, is developing a vaccine to protect against E. colia, the bacterium which causes most cases of traveller's diarrhea. The vaccine would benefit people visiting Africa, India, Central and South America and Southeast Asia. More than half the people who travel to countries in those regions suffer at least one bout of diarrhea during their stay. Experts say it is unlikely to benefit people living in those countries because it protects against one of many pathogens that can cause diarrhea. The vaccine is currently in liquid form and takes just one dose to be effective. Scientists are working on a pill version. The first stage of clinical trials is underway. "We are evaluating the safety of the vaccine in healthy subjects now," said Dr. Steve Chatfield of Microscience. "Eventually, we will go to developing countries to test it there." He says the vaccine could be available in two years. "Diarrhea is the number one cause of ill-health among travellers in developing countries," said Carolyn Driver, chair of the British Travel Health Association. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That's all for now fellow travelers, from Kathleen (a.k.a. Katalina ...webpage built by Kathleen, in October 2003, if you want to drop me a note for any reason, I can be reached at arcadiax (at) iwon.com)