We really loved Yelapa. It looks like the South Pacific... total jungle with lots of coconut palms, but also rosewood, banyan, and all the other jungle trees. It was incredibly lush.
The bay is surrounded by jungle with some little cabins as part of a hotel and some private residences on the hillside. Most of the community is not visible from the bay.
There are two major palapas on the beach at the heart of the cove and a river running through the middle. That is what has made the cove so deep; it has always been a river mouth.
The anchorage was a bit dicey. Most of it is very deep and there is a narrow shelf on either side of the bay that was shallow enough to anchor on. There were lots of pangas already anchored there, but we pushed in and found a good spot. A panguero named Ricardo helped us set a stern anchor so that we would stay on the shelf. Then Ricardo gave us a ride ashore and introduced us to the restaurant (palapa) of his family. After a nice lunch we went to explore Yelapa.
The guidebooks mentioned a waterfall, so we wandered off to find it. The main river went inland through the trees, but ran slowly through flat country, so we knew the waterfall wasn't there. We decided to check out the main village that was up on the hillside. We followed signs to a very steep stairway that eventually put us on a road that ran along the hillside. As we followed it, we were surprised to see that there were a number of bars (!) with live music, all advertising with flyers on the walls. Considering that there aren't any roads into Yelapa and that everything must come by boat, we were surprised to find a large permanent settlement there with shops and bars catering to tourism. But I must emphasize that we are not talking Cabo San Lucas - no, this was primitive and truly quaint.
The few little shops along the road had folks who sat in them because that is what they did - they didn't know when they were going to get their next sale. We always go out of our way to greet people in Spanish and they answer back with evident friendliness.
We continued through the village until we saw an arrow pointing to "cascada". That is how we found the word for "waterfall". We followed the path upward through what has got to be one of the most charming little villages imaginable. Finally we arrived at the end of the path and the cascada.
Naturally, there was a bar there, so we could enjoy a cold beer while enjoying the waterfall. It is 157' high, in high jungle and here is a photo of Andi swimming under it. She liked it so well that I think that I might have worked off some demerits that day!
We can't say enough about Yelapa, but the anchorage made us nervous and so the next morning we took off around Cabo Corrientes, which is the Point Conception of Mexico. If you look at a map of Mexico, you will see a hard knuckle right in the middle - that's Corrientes. It has a nasty reputation, so we wanted to be around it before the afternoon winds came up. We made that, but after we got around the corner, the winds came up anyway and eventually reached 30 knots. But it was behind us, so we just took down the mainsail and roared along to Punta Ipala under just the jib.
Ipala is a snug little cove tucked in behind a point with excellent holding ground. There is a little town here called Tehuamixtle, which is Nahuatl for something or other. Andi read all about this place in her guide book and has been looking forward to it ever since SC. So we went ashore to explore and what we found will have to be the next chapter...because enchiladas are ready as is a large margarita made with our racilla. We found out that racilla is the word for "moonshine" tequila. OK, tomorrow we'll finish.
Thanks to those of you who wrote to say that you are enjoying the blog. That gives me encouragement that somebody out there is actually reading this. Hugs to all.
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