Tenacatita

The Jungle Ride

We departed La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in the evening. Our late departure was not an accident. We had a date with Cabo Corrientes and its reputation for strong winds and currents demanded respect. Thankfully we had moderate swells of less than 6' and only an hour or two of cross seas. Once we were safely around the cape in the wee hours of the morning, we set our course for Tenacatita.

Tenacatita is a small beachfront settlement on the Costalegre (coast of Jalisco) located about 27 miles northwest of Barra de Navidad. Tenacatita is a wonderful change from the "big city" of Puerto Vallarta. Arriving in the early afternoon, we anchored in a shallow bay, well protectected from the prevailing Northwest winds that blow so steadily here.

Playing on the beach

We lowered the dinghy into the bay and headed up the river for our "Jungle Tour". The jungle tour (as it is called by cruisers) is a dinghy ride up the river and into a lagoon behind the beach at Tenacatita. The river is narrow and filled with mangroves. In places the mangrove trees grow over the top of the river turning it into a tunnel of lush green vegetation.

Alexander and the Sand Pyramid

We grabbed lunch at one of the beachfront restaurants. Alexander and Nicholas immediately rushed onto the beach to build sand castles. I must say, out of all of the beaches we have been to in Mexico this had the best sand for building castles. Alexander demonstrated this by building a sand pyramid, then picking it up and carrying it around! Nicholas built a "wet sand" tower that was almost a meter high before we called him over lunch!

We stayed in Tenacatita for two days enjoying the quiet (we were the only yacht) and the natural beauty surrounding us.