Chacala - a favourite thus far?

We had heard from several cruisers that Chacala had a swell that could make the anchorage quite uncomfortable. As such, we considered bypassing it for the next anchorage down the line, but something told us we wanted to see it. As we arrived we could see several palapa restaurants lining the beach and we could hear screams of laughter as people enjoyed the crashing waves and beach entertainment. The Pacific swell was coming directly into the bay, as predicted, so we elected to put out a stern anchor to hold our nose into the waves. What this means is that we put an anchor out from the front of the boat and then, using the dinghy, Stu rowed a second line and anchor out from the back of the boat. Once that was dropped down and set, we tightened up both anchor lines until we were held with the front of the boat 90 degrees to the direction of the waves. As such, the boat would rise up and down with each swell, but it wouldn’t rock back and forth - considerably more comfortable than the jerky side to side that happens if we’re side-on. What this also allowed us to do was tuck in a little closer to the beach and around a point that provided some protection.

After anchoring, Stu put one of the paddle boards into the water and he paddled himself and the girls into the beach to check it out. They appeared to have a blast, and it wasn’t until I saw the miserable faces on the girls as they returned to the boat that I figured out something was amis. I’d heard the waves crashing on the beach, but hadn’t put two and two together about what it was going to be like for Stu getting back off the beach with the girls and the paddle board! They ended up completely swamped and in the water on the first try. All was well, and a quick shower and putting on pajamas to eat dinner fixed everything. But, we learned from that attempt, and all other trips to the beach were done via the dinghy landing next to the Port Captain’s office (requiring a very short walk to the beach).

The mandatory ‘city name’ picture. In all seriousness, Mexico has placed these signs absolutely everywhere throughout the company. The pictures within the letters reflect things of relevance to the town they’re in. We have made an effort to take this photo everywhere we find them.

We had such a relaxed passage from Matanchen to Chacala I was able to get some baking done! First up were my Mom’s chocolate chip cookies - not much evokes her memory more for me than these! Secret ingredient? Rice Crispies!

Next up, some easy bread! Thank goodness for my dear friend, Christina, and all that baking we did during Covid together while they housed us!

The view from the boat to shore. If only a picture could capture the wonder that it is to sit at anchor in a rolling swell, listening to the sound of waves crashing on the beach and a local brass band playing tunes on the beach. Add to that the rising moon, and it was all pretty wonderful.

Stu took the girls in by paddle board to check out the beach. All good, but for a little mishap in the surf as they tried to get back off the beach.

We were delighted to find our new friends Wade and Jen from SV Brightnest in the anchorage, which allowed us to have a couple visits in the time we overlapped there. We watched them enjoy their sunset paddle board, and just as I was going to put my camera away, we saw Mapache coming from around the point, ready to drop anchor and grab a good night’s sleep.

Catching a glimpse of our friends on SV Brightnest in the setting sun.

Our buddies on SV Mapache arriving just before that big golden orb dipped below the horizon.

The next morning we took advantage of Sarah’s expiring data on her Google Fi card (data is a premium here, so no one wants to waste any!). Blog posts were written, work was done, research was made and back ups of our devices to the clouds secured. All fueled by cookies and bread I’d baked on the previous day’s passage. You can also see our skookum set up for powering all the devices, with an extension chord right to the outlets…all powered by the sun!

First things first before heading to shore to explore - time to take advantage of some cell service and catch up on various administrative work and otherwise.

The view from the other perspective. Also, we may have consumed our body weight in cookies in this particular work session.

We have let Ellie hang her fishing rod off the side of the boat for fun from time to time, but never expected her to catch anything! Check out the grin on her face.

After our work was done, it was time for a trip into ‘town’. Chacala can’t really be called a ‘town’, as it has a full-time population of only about 300 people. No paved roads, and entirely catering to visitors to the beach, it is a very relaxed place. We immediately fell in love with its ‘untouched’ vibe, despite its touristy flavour. Backed by lush hillsides, groves full of breadfruit and all the bouganvilla you can imagine, the location is very pretty as well.

Going for a walk through ‘town’ to find some fresh veggies and maybe a coffee! Note the street!

Some beautiful buildings along the way.

Found a place for coffee! View wasn’t half-bad either ;)

And juice!

Fresh veggies and fruit found too! (and some chippies)

The walk to and from the dinghy landing on the town’s new ‘malecon’ is so beautiful.

View from the other direction.

A little bakery has opened up just up from the dinghy landing, placed in an old foundry - totally gorgeous and the food was fantastic!

Always happy at a beach bar.

We had a couple of very relaxed beach days, where the girls happily played in the water or sand for hours on end. For the first time since leaving the Baja it felt a little reminiscent of our time there. We were able to test out our stern-anchoring skills, get some work and play done, and even found a ‘secret’ beach we’d heard rumours of, which we had for a whole afternoon to ourselves.

Next up? Beach time!

Not bad when you can buy these for $2 just up the beach from our towels!

And your kids can happily spend hours in the waves!

Or eating snacks on the beach.

Happy faces.

I think these kids basically spent 4 or 5 hours straight playing in the water.

When you’ve watched a lot of Moana, live on a boat, and basically have embraced islander life.

Beach babe with Skookum in the background.

Ice cream on the beach is always the best option.

Or Micheladas :)

The only thing almost as good as ice cream on the beach is time with their beloved Sarah on the beach.

Or their bud, Rob.

Quiet time in an anchorage is some of our favourite. This kid absolutely relishes it!

We had been told there was a great beach a short dinghy ride away, so we went to investigate and we weren’t disappointed!

Hours upon hours of swimming time!

Awesome beach time.

The best beach time.

And, of course, snacks!

Stu and I both said to ourselves, as we left, that if we had a place to pick to return to, this was one at the top of the list!