Photo Gallery: Tenacatita: hidden jewel

The trouble with writing about a hidden gem of a place is that once the information is out the place will still be a gem but it will no longer be hidden.

The little village of Tenacatita is such a little known treasure. Soft white sand on a two mile beach, mild waves, laid-back atmosphere and friendly people make a combination hard to beat. This is not the big bay part of Tenacatita Bay that houses the expensive resort hotels of Los Angeles Locos, Blue Bay and Punta Serena but its small neighbor around the point.

Tenacatita is about 40 km north of Melaque-Barra de Navidad which is about 40 km north of Manzanillo on Mexico’s west central coast. The village itself is not even on some maps. The closest the bus goes to it is on highway 200, 9 km from the beach. Cars can be rented in Manzanillo or Barra de Navidad or taxis from either place or the Manzanillo airport.

Traveling north from Manzanillo one passes the turn-offs for Melaque, Barra de Navidad, La Manzanilla and Los Angeles Locos before reaching the turnoff to Tenacatita. The small road passes through La Rosa and La Rebalcita on its way to the beach. Get any supplies you need ahead of time. La Rebalcita , 2 km from Tenacatita ,has a few shops but there is only one tiny shop in Tenacatita.

Rocky headlands stick up on one end of the beach and on the other end a promontory holds a mirador (viewpoint). Just over the promontory is an isthmus with a small sheltered beach semi-enclosed by two rocky arms. Snorkeling is excellent here with plentiful fish and rays. On the other side of the isthmus is a sandy beach facing the open ocean.

Eight or ten palapa restaurants line the main part of the beach. They vary in size but all provide similar tasty seafood dishes: shrimp and fish fixed in half a dozen different ways; garlic, breaded, in salsa, with mango-pineapple sauce, fish stuffed with shrimp or vegies, etc. etc. The restaurants open in mid-morning and begin closing in late afternoon when clientele declines. Times are flexible depending on the number of customers and when they run out of fish and shrimp.

Swimming is easy in Tenacatita as the waves are small and it gets deeper gradually. Little children run in and out of the water, teenagers chase each other and adults swim confidently in the deeper areas. The sand is soft and smooth and cream-colored.

Behind the restaurants is a lagoon with a waterway leading through the mangroves to another big bay where the resort Los Angeles Locos is located. Some big sailing vessels and huge motor launches were anchored in that bay in February. Boats go from the lagoon through the mangroves out to the big bay and back for a trip of about 1 1/2 hours. The boats hold up to ten people and cost 300 pesos per boat load split between whatever number of passengers there are. They will take just two people for 200 pesos.

On the way the mangroves sometimes meet overhead for a tunnel effect and cormorants, egrets, kingfishers, night herons and more are found along the way. Situated at the big bay end of the waterway is the beach house where the television program, McHale’s Navy, was filmed. This nature boat trip is booked through Fiesta Mexicana, one of the beach restaurants. Sport fishing trips can be arranged there also with a four hour trip for up to six people costing 1200 pesos.

Walking the beach from end to end needs to be done every day as does walking the one road to see if anything new has appeared. Along the road here are some small palapas where temporary renters have found a home.

There are three hotels in Tenacatita and a campground that also rents rooms. Largest of the hotels is Hotel Las Villitas. Big units have living-dining area, bedroom, bath and kitchen. The larger units rent for 850 pesos/night or 5600 pesos/week. These prices may vary depending on the day of the week, holidays etc. The hotel overlooks the beach and has a pool and tennis courts. tel: 315-355-5354 reaches their office in Barra de Navidad.

Hotel El Paraiso de Tenacatita is just across the road from the beach and has moderate sized rooms with two beds and bath. There is a swimming pool and a restaurant that is open from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. A room for two people costs 300 pesos/night. tel: 315-355-5915, 355-5920, cell 01-314-338-9913.

The newest hotel is under construction about a block off the beach near the lagoon. Rooms are small with one bed and bathroom. They cost 200 pesos/night with fan and 250 pesos/night with a.c. with discounts for a week or longer.

Tenacatita RV, Tent and Trailer Park is centrally located on the beach road. There are eighteen grassy sites with full hookups for RVs. Showers rooms and toilets are large and very clean. Camping spots are 100 pesos/night for tents, 175 pesos/night for RVs with discounts for a month or longer stays. There are also three large rooms for rent with two beds, bath and balconies overlooking the bay. They rent for 300 pesos/night for two people. The owners, Oscar and Emma Ortega, are friendly and speak good English. emmarortega@hotmail.com, cell 333-115-5406.

There is another campground with no facilities on the snorkeling beach, up and over the mirador promontory. There are three cement pads there and other room to park for 30 pesos/night.

With a variety of activities, restaurants and hotels, little Tenacatita sounds like a busy resort area. It is very much the opposite as on the weekdays there may be only a couple of dozen people on the beach. Weekends are somewhat busier and holidays would be much busier but still the one street curls up and goes to bed early, resting up for another satisfying day in this hidden gem of Tenacatita.

Photo Strip #198 – Images from this article

The post Tenacatita: hidden jewel appeared first on MexConnect.

Photo Gallery: Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila

Sitting in bathtub-warm water in the middle of the desert looking at the surrounding mountains under a deep blue sky is a delightful experience. We are in the Cuatro Ciénegas Nature Preserve just outside the town of Cuatro Ciénegas, northwest of Monclova in the state of Coahuila.

This Area of Protection of Flora and Fauna is so designated by the Mexican Federal Environmental Oversight Agency because it has unique plant and animal species. It comprises over 843 square miles and around 200 pozas, or ponds.

The desert setting gives a spacious feel and the ponds seem to welcome you like an old friend. There is a disconcerting feeling of being pampered in the midst of the stark surroundings.

Cuatro Ciénegas means “four marshes” and refers to the topography of this land in the Chihuahuan desert. The source for the marshes and pozas are thermal springs in the nearby Sierra San Marcos mountains.

In the town there is a tourist center in the municipal building on the central plaza. Tour guides in your own car may be arranged or regular tours of the area may be available if there are enough people. If you want to go onto the dirt tracks that cross the desert a guide is recommended The office headquarters for the nature preserve is just up the street from the plaza on Calle Zaragoza. It has minimal information for the casual tourist on the Preserve but does have scientific information on research in the area.

The visitors’ center for the preserve is 7 km. south of town on Highway 30, leading directly south from the main plaza. The helpful attendant at the center showed us unique hinged turtles ( terrapene coahuila) that are native to the area. The lower shell of the turtle is hinged about 1/3 of the way back so that after it has pulled itself into its shell it can close up completely.

Behind the center are several ponds and a self-guided nature walk. Information on small signposts along the path identifies the vegetation there. Lechugilla, creosote bush, saltbush, ocotillo and more can be seen. A hike about 1 km. long leads to a picnic area and another blue, blue pond. No swimming is allowed in this pond because of the fragility of the aquatic ecosystem.

You can swim at Poza La Becerra, a balneario 18 km. south of town on Highway 30, past the visitors’ center. La Becerra has extensive picnic grounds, camping area, changing rooms, showers and toilets. The pond is quite large and is roped off into sections for swimming.. The water is warm and the bottom is firm. The water is so clear that you can see the schools of little fish gathering around your feet.

Behind the La Becerra office there is a path that leads out through the dunes. A big jackrabbit jumped out from the bushes in front of us and hopped away on his important business. It may be possible to see coyotes, road runners and scorpions.

We didn’t have time to visit Rio Mezquites balneario which is 9 km. south of town, on 1.5 km. of unpaved trail off the same Highway 30. It, too, is reported to have nice camping and swimming.

Near Poza La Bacerra at marker 25 km and 4.5 km off the paved road is an area called Laos Arenales where the dunes of fine white gypsum sand are reported to be 6-10 meters high.

The Rio Mezquite, Nature Preserve’s Visitors’ Center, Poza La Becerra and Las Arenales sites are easy to find – on or just off Highway 30 which heads south directly from the main plaza in the center of the town of Cuatro Ciénegas.

The town of Cuatro Ciénegas (pop. about 10,000) is a pleasant, tranquil spot. It is laid out in straight lines around the central plaza and is easy to navigate and small enough so that all points of interest are in easy walking distance from any of the hotels. The central plaza is typical of Mexican small towns being green and with a friendly feel. Government buildings and church are on the west side, shops on the north and south sides and three restaurants on the east side.

Besides the nature preserve, Cuatro Ciénegas’ claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Venustiano Carranza. One of Mexico’s many presidents, Carranza was born as one of fifteen children to wealthy landowner parents. He served as municipal president, state legislator and state governor under Porfirio Díaz. Later he joined with Francisco Madero to plan a rebellion against Díaz. He initiated the Plan of Guadalupe terminating the dictatorial rule of Victoriano Huerta. In 1917 he was elected president and was killed in 1920 fleeing another rebellion.

The house where Carranza was born is now a museum located on Calle Zaragoza near the plaza. The rooms of the house hold exhibits and pictures about his life. The great-grand daughter of Carranza’s sister is the director of the small museum and was delighted to show us around. We had the feeling that they get few visitors from the U.S. and they went out of the way to answer any questions we had.

The Casa de la Cultura, several blocks from the plaza may be worth a short visit if you have extra time. The building itself was Carranza’s own home but now has one room of early indigenous artifacts and another small office with some photos of the area. The rest of the building surrounds a courtyard and houses classrooms and workshops for art and cultural activities.

We stopped in the morning and the caretaker told us that there would be a sculpture exhibit there that evening. When we arrived at 6 p.m. chairs were set up in front of a podium and the program began with a short lecture on the history of sculpture. There was a greeting by the director giving special mention to foreign visitors! Then there was an original guitar and song composition about Cuatro Ciénegas followed by an impassioned poetry reading promoting the care of the environment and world peace.

At this point we were wondering about the exhibit but then the audience all moved to a large room in the back of the house where some dozen sculptures of Juan José Martínez were set up. Martínez is of local origin and has become quite well known throughout Mexico.

Again, we were made to feel most welcome. A number of different people said ‘bienvenidos’ as we enjoyed the buffet supper provided. The director of the Casa de la Cultura took our picture and obviously, here also, Americans may be an unusual occurrence.

All in all, Cuatro Ciénegas makes a worthwhile stop. We used it to break our journey from the northern U.S. and between the friendly town and the interesting nature preserve it was well worth it. Although we were conversing in Spanish with people, we assume that many have enough English to help visitors.

How to Get There

Cuatro Ciénegas is located approximately in the middle of the state of Coahuila on Highway 30, 80 km. northwest of Monclova. South of San Antonio you can cross the border at Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras and continue on Highway 57 until a marked turn-off 40 km. north of Monclova. From the south access is by way of Monclova/Saltillo or Torreón.

Where to Stay

There are four hotels in town and we checked out three of them. Hotel Ibarra where we stayed is one block off the plaza with only a small sign. The entrance is on a side street into a large parking area. The rooms are large and plain holding two double beds, a table and chairs, bathroom (with shower curtain and toilet seat – sometimes missing from cheap hotels) and cost 300 pesos in January 2004. Hotel Santa Fe is some 6-8 blocks east of town on the road coming in from Monclova and is also basic for 295 pesos. Hotel Plaza on Ave. Juárez is slightly more appealing for 450 pesos. We were told that hotel reservations are probably not necessary except for Semana Santa (Holy Week), when everyone in Mexico is traveling, and Feria de la Uva (Grape Festival) which is the last week of July and the first week of August.

There are three restaurants on the east side of the plaza and another connected to Hotel Ibarra. Basic Mexican fare is offered at all three.

Web Sites

• www.desertfishes.org – click on Cuatro Ciénegas
  This site has a map of the town and phone numbers for hotels and offices
• www.planeta.com

The post Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila appeared first on MexConnect.