Day Trip

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Today we had the pleasure of taking a day trip into the small town of La Manzanilla (as opposed to the large town of Manzanillo) with our friends from Cabaret II.

The hardest part of the trip was getting into shore in Cabaret’s dinghy, “Ol’ Chum”. There is quite a surf on the beach in Tenacatita. As usual we had one person dunked – at least it wasn’t me. That meant a return trip to the boat for dry clothes. I waited on shore with the cab driver. Our first stop was at one end of the town – a lagoon close to the beach full of crocodiles. There is a fence if they choose to stay behind it! No small dogs or children please.

La Manzanilla is an old Mexican town, very rustic and dusty. It’s small but has some very pretty homes and interesting buildings right on the water. I fell in love with a Chihuahua tied to a refrigerator in a tienda (general store).

We ended up going to the most beautiful resort for lunch. Our friends were celebrating their anniversary so they we wanted someplace special and it was. There was about a five mile road into the resort, through pretty much jungle forest. The road was cobblestone and in excellent shape.

El Tamarindo Beach and Golf Resort is breath taking. The grounds are perfectly maintained and very tropical. The beach was perfect and we had a table right in the sand – shaded with a large umbrella, just past the infinity pool. There we drank pina coladas and ate fish tacos – the best meal I’ve had in Mexico. The setting was magnificent!

We could rent the Presidential Villa for two people for $4,500 US a night from January through April. It drops $900 a night for the rainy season. We didn’t make any reservations. Also all rates are subject to 17% Mexican taxes and a 10% service charge.

There will be no pictures posted of the beach or lunch patio, as pictures are not allowed.

Rhea