At Last, Mismaloya!

Bienvenido, loyal reader. Some time ago Bruce and Mary set out on the Mismaloya/Boca bus for Mismaloya but missed the stop and ended up in Boca de Tomatlan which was not a bad thing, as Boca is a pretty cool, laid back fishing village with a nice beach. That day we pitched our sombrilla, umbrella and lazed the afternoon away. But we still have been wanting to check out Mismaloya so we hop the bus once again and this time we do not miss the stop.

We have debarked the bus and here we are at the crossroads. The village of Mismaloya is ahead of us and the beach is across the highway, behind us. We see, underneath the Mr. Tequila sign, that El Eden Waterfall is 2.5m up the road. It’s not that hot today. I think we’re up to it.

We take a peek into Mr. Tequila’s courtyard. The sign says they offer “tequila tours”. For a small village there is a big hospitality scene here.

We’re walking down main street.

Up the hill is probably the fanciest hotel we have seen here. I bet you could see the ocean from the top suite.At the edge of town is the Vallarta Zoo.

We’ve left Mismaloya behind and we’re starting to gain altitude.

We’ve been walking for awhile and Mary’s ankle is getting sore (Zumba injury) so when we see a break in the jungle we head toward the sound of Ria Mismaloya and find this little haven. I leave Mary to rest while I go up the road a little further, hoping for a sign, a road-sign that is.

Oh come on!! We’ve been walking for 40 minutes and we’ve only come 1/2 a mile?! I don’t think so. A Predator tour truck (1 ton flatbed with seating under a canopy) comes by and I flag him down. Yup, the driver says, it’s a ways yet. Say kids, remember that Predator tour we did ten years ago?

Before I give up on any trek, I like to round one last bend to see what’s there and this time I see a parking lot with a single vehicle parked in front of an abandoned building.  So, I cross the lot…

And find this trail along the river. I go get Mary and we investigate.

We come upon what appears to be an abandoned restaurant complex.

That must have been one cool beer sipping patio.

I’m about to cross this bridge, only to discover that…

We are not alone!

A little wary, I continue on towards the waterfall and come upon the owners of the party supplies…

And heck, these boys just wanna have fun!

We decide to let the boys have their privacy so we head back to our spot where we…

Cool our heels and…

Have our first beers of the day, Cheers!

After our riverside respite we head back into town and come across The Maple Leaf. I betcha that is one happy Canuck, eh?

We’re just about back to the highway when we see this photo op.

We’ve crossed the highway and we’re at the fork. Behind Mary is the common man’s path to the beach, to the right is Barcelo Resort.

We are walking this street with vendors on the left and the Barcelo Resort wall on the right when we approach this group returning from the beach. The man in white hollers, “You the guy that does that blog?” I answer in the affirmative. “You’re doing a great job, keep it up”, he says as he walks by. Thank you good sir, and thanks for reading!

We don’t usually allow ourselves to be swayed by hawkers, but Alejandro promised us a table under an umbrella at his restaurant on the beach, and having never been here, and without our usual beach gear, we said, “Deal”. BTW that is Ria Mismaloya trickling into the sea. But I bet she roars during the rainy season.

We are safely ensconced at our table at Restaurante Ramada Doña Elena and Alejandro has wisely counseled us to order a cubetazo, bucket of four beers. This includes free chips and a very tasty salsa cruda for 100P instead of ordering our beers two at a time for 50P and no chips.

As is my custom, once we’re situated, I take a dip. I find the sea bottom to be fine sand (no ickiness factor) with a rather quick drop off. The surf is deceivingly powerful, going over my head and lifting my feet off the bottom and then safely depositing me at about chest high, over and over. It’s fun!

Here is our view south down the beach.

And our view north, that complex is Barcelo.

And this is one of the granite islands that constitute Los Arcos National Marine Park. We are thoroughly enchanted with this beautiful tropical beach.  Our respective blood pressures are approaching zero so we figure we better settle up and hit the road while we still can.

We spot this Cantina on the way back to the highway and decide to investigate for our next visit. We find that litros are 45p and the medias, regular 12oz beers, are 20p,  and…they serve botanas! We’ll be back!

We’re back to the highway waiting for a bus to round the bend.

After about a ten minute wait, a Mismaloya/Boca bus arrives for the half hour ride back into PV. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable day, we do have to get out more!

Thanks for visiting, gentle reader. Bruce and Mary invite any readers with Mismaloya insights to please share. And of course comentarios on any subject are always most welcome. Hasta proxima domingo!