Yelapa - A different world

Yelapa old town waterfront

We got a little sidetracked in Puerto Vallarta with that last post so now that we are anchored off the beach in La Cruz it’s time to catch up on some notes from our trip to Yelapa.  We had experienced some difficulties with anchoring and getting ashore in Yelapa that I addressed in a previous post.  This posting today gets away from that inconsequential bit of bother and concentrates instead on the wonderful little town and surrounding countryside in the Yelapa area.  

By the way, we are sitting in a place called Octopus Garden (El Jardin del Pulpo) in La Cruz, a place recommended to us by Steve on the sailboat Landfall with his wife Tamiko and son Eli.

In 1851 the king of Spain deeded the property rights to this and other nearby areas to the local people forming the Indigenous Community of Chacala.  All properties are owned communally by the families living here.  There is no road into this area, only footpaths.  Almost everything imported into the area comes in by boat.  While there is an active tourist trade happening, the locals preserve their way of life and continue to be as self-sustaining as possible.

On one side of the bay is a nice beach with palapa restaurants. The lagoon is behind the beach.

Pie lady headed to the beach.  Buy a slice or the whole pie.

We napped after our night ride around Cabo Corrientes to find ourselves in the late morning shoe-horned bow and stern just off the beach in calm seas.  Popping our heads up out of the companionway we saw a small boat roar by just off our stern trailing a long line attached to a parachute with a white limbed gringo dangling below.  “Watch out for the mast! Don’t skewer yourself.”  He flew right over the top of us.  Then there was the banana boat, a long yellow float with six people astride it being hauled around the bay by a fast panga.  Tourists plied the waters on paddle boards, losing their balance and falling in.  The beach umbrellas were collecting patrons and the beer had started to flow.  It was a Friday, a holiday and the masses were arriving by water taxi from Puerto Vallarta to spend the day at an exotic beach location.

A mural on the side of a house featuring another pie lady.

We brought the dinghy around and went off to explore town.  There are two piers in Yelapa, one on the beach near the palapa restaurants for unloading tourists and one at the old town harbor.  We tied our dinghy to a pier at the old town and found ourselves immediately in an aging, quaint village.  Cobblestone walkways led through the town as houses and places of business crowded each other for the limited space between water and cliffs.  There are no roads, just paved paths winding in and around and sometimes through buildings.  We were enchanted. 

Every structure is built of concrete and stone.  All the paths are paved with the same and there are street lights here and there with electrical meters in front of buildings.  You can easily see where in 2001the electricity had been installed and connected via underground piping running alongside the paths.  Where the path turns steep, the pavement is notched to give feet, hooves, and tires some traction to make it up the grade.  There are plenty of little hostels and B&B style places to stay and quite a mix of eclectic places to eat.  Unlike other parts of Mexico we saw none of the high walls around properties but each place melted into the next, sharing terraces and walkways.  Pipes run alongside trails carrying water collected from up high in the valley.

Cascada

Tortuga patterned scarf for Connie.

We found our way up and up into a small valley with buildings on either side of the path. 


Flowers everywhere, tropical foliage, and a lively little stream led the way a short distance to the head of a canyon where the local waterfall cascades down.  Everyone we met was very friendly.  On the way up, Connie had looked at some fabric being sold out of a house.  On the way back down the owner had already packed up her wares but when she saw Connie she darted out with a purple shawl that had a pattern of turtles.  Some negotiation began and soon CB sported some new attire.  We visited the local tienda (store) then made our way back to the boat for dinner, cards, and sleep.

Typical path/walkway in town

Ford across the stream

The following day the weather remained calm, which is good, because the bay faces north and when the all-too-common northers come in the anchorage gets very rolly.  This day we decided to hike to the second set of waterfalls about three miles into the jungle.  We walked through town and found the cobblestone path paralleling the estuary and the river.  Eventually we left the houses behind and continued stream-side, fording it when necessary.  At times the path was unclear and we had to boulder hop and wade through the stream.  After a long hike we arrived at the pools just below a series of cascades. Time for a swim!  What a nice place.

By the time we got back to town we were out of water and footsore and the late afternoon was upon us.  At the pier our dinghy was no longer tied to the railing but was just in front of us out in the water being paddled by one of the locals who saw me and paddled it over to the little beach landing area.  The dinghy had found its way under the pier and as the tide came in, the engine cover was grinding on the concrete.  He saw this happening and took the initiative to rescue it and take it to the beach.  I thanked and tipped him and we made our way back to the boat.  As the sun was setting the water taxis were taking on their last loads of beach tourists headed back to PV and soon the bay became quiet.

Upper pools - refreshing swim

That evening we got all decked out for a night on the town returning to the pier and tied the dinghy in a more favorable position.  We had a pretty nice dinner at a local restaurant/resort and heard some music.  As we’ve found mostly here, the music caters to aging gringo baby boomers.  So the music was not exactly our cup of tea and we left after the first set.  Many of the local restaurants and palapa joints let you bring in your own wine or liquor if you purchase your food there.  We brought in our nice bottle of special wine but found they enforced a 150 peso corkage fee so we put away our 70 peso bottle of wine and made do with a single glass of wine.  They just want our money, now isn’t that the truth?  The place was run by expats. 

The town pier that ate our dinghy.

On the way back to the dinghy we passed the little local run restaurant and saw a few tables of folks there eating local foods and listening to the nearby river cascading downhill.  That’s where we should have gone for dinner.  Keep it local, keep it cheap, don’t go fancy and expect a treat.

Bringing supplies to the ferreteria (hardware store)

The following day the winds picked up and by supper time the boat was rocking about pretty violently.  After a rough night of it, on waking we got the boat stowed and prepared for departure. I’d noticed some water leaking down into the bilge and had been trying to figure out where it was coming from.  The flow was increasing day by day and now became a concern.  We figured it was coming from the starboard side scupper drain which empties out just below the waterline.  It was time to get into a marina and sort this out before it became a huge issue.  We decided to head for Marina Vallarta so if necessary we could use the Opequimar boat yard there if we had to haul it out right quick.  There is nothing like a hole in the hull to get you motivated to move quickly.

With a bow and stern anchor out we had to choose which one to bring up first.  As the stern anchor was just before the surf break and it was an offshore breeze, we chose to bring that one up first; that way if anything happened we could pull in on the bow anchor to pull ourselves away from the surf and undertow.  We had trouble backing up Traveler to the anchor because, as we all know, Traveler does not like to back up in a straight line but she prefers to back to starboard. 

Cooling pools.

With lots of grunting and pulling, using hand over hand and the cockpit winch we finally got the boat over the top of the anchor and then heaved it aboard.  The bow anchor had about 200 feet out by now so it took an eternity to bring that one in.  Having retrieved our anchoring tackle we motored the two hours to Puerto Vallarta, leaving an idyllic little haven and immersing ourselves in the terrors of the marina.

By the way, the scupper truly was breaking loose and once at the dock, we had to use a halyard to tilt the boat sideways, raising the hole above the water so I could patch the crack with 5200.  With the temporary fix in place we now must press on to Mazatlan where we had already planned to haul her out of the water for other repairs and maintenance.

As for Yelapa, we think it is a wonderful little town and we plan to visit again.  If the seas are calm, we’ll risk a couple of days anchored there.  Otherwise, a great way to see the place would be to take a water taxi from Puerto Vallarta and stay in a local posada and spend a week seeing the town, hiking the trails, and enjoying the beach.

Words to live by on the steps of the local school.  Note the first and most important step.