Photo: David
Johnson
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What can I say?, every time I go to Yelapa I have difficulty leaving. |
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NEW! The Internet arrives at the Cafe Bahia, get your e-mail with your coffee or wine, at the pier in town. Open every day, 'cept Thursdays, 8am - 6pm. 3-6pm Happy Hour. Homemade Icecream and Yelapa Maps. Here's a real nice Blog from an old time resident -Faye Augustine Raicilla Dreams |
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In the 60's it was 'discovered' by some stars of the music and movie industries. The likes of Bob Dylan, David Crosby ,Steven Stills, Graham Nash, Stevie Wonder, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Harry Hamlin and Xaviera Hollander (The Happy Hooker), have strolled it's beach. Piped water from the river was eventually put in by an American engineer who married the daughter of one of the main families there, forever after called "Pipeline Jim". This is also a place where you can find Raicilla, which comes down from stills in the mountains behind the village. The combination of this and other substances with the total lack of lighting, for the footpaths at night, can lead to some very unique experiences! The fact that the consumption of Raicilla anesthetizes the extremities was demonstrated on my person one night some years ago. Those many years ago the footpaths were composed of rocks and earth which, after several rainy seasons, left the rocks exposed above the packed earth. On the night in question, I was returning from a party, which had mucho Raicilla, to the palapa where I was staying with friends. I did real well,... I thought,... to negotiate the path with the aid of my trusty 'Yelapa Flashlight' (see below) and find the palapa and my hammock. When I awoke the next morning I found that my feet, sticking up at the end of the hammock, were covered in blood from hitting the rocks on my way home - though at the time I felt no pain at all. |
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The Yelapa flashlight is usually made from a Nido (powdered
milk) can, supplied with a wire handle often insulated (it was too
difficult to draw) and half a candle. This works much better than a battery flashlight which all seem to have too narrow a beam and are so strong that you loose you night vision. By the way Nido makes excellent reconstituted milk, you can even make yogurt with it. |
| Although some sturdy gringos stay there year round, many
more arrive at the end of the rainy season, quite often staying six months
till the rains start again. You might be surprised to find croquet field, at which the Hotel holds a tournament every year. Volley ball is popular with the locals, the local girls team is especially tough - I speak from experience. Every Saturday there is a dance at the 'Disco', this is actually a bar/restaurant called 'The Yacht Club' which many years ago it was. Disco night is to be seen, to be believed, clients who can't make it home will spend what's left of the night on the floor. |
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| As mentioned before, the paths in the village and across
the hill to the beach are just for feet and burros/horses. Though quite
a lot of bicycles now. The paths have been 'improved' by cementing which
does, at least, stop the degradation in the rainy season. It's still
quite a hike to some places, very healthy. To get from the village to
the beach will require (depending on the time of year) wading across
the river mouth where it cuts through the beach. Another very entertaining
project when returning from the hotel bar in the dark. |
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Every February there is a Valentines Fancy Dress Party at the Hotel Lagunita de Yelapa. Last year a couple of snowbird friends of mine Chris and his wife, persuaded me to join them and enter the 'group' category. Not having anytime for costume making we got three cooking pots from the kitchen and went as the 3 Potheads..... and won! We won again this year but I don't have the pictures till they come back in November. |
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| I first discovered Yelapa in 1984. I had gone with my friend Arturo to Puerto Vallarta. I had always wanted to go there since I had seen "Night of the Iguana". I love the idea of tropical locations. After we'd been in Puerto Vallarta a few days, we took a day trip down the coast to Yelapa. As soon as the boat came around into the little bay of Yelapa, I knew this was MY place! It was so strange, I felt in tune and at home. For me, it is a place where I no longer stop at the boundary of my body... you know... this is Paul, everything outside of Paul is other! In Yelapa, I lose that boundary and start spreading out into the jungle, the sky and the sea and KNOW all of it is me |  |
 One
time when I was there with Arturo, there was a married couple staying
too... stuffy (at first) professors from Boston. They actually dressed
for dinner!. The restaurant is just a big palapa... poles with a roof
thatched with palm leaves. After eating, they asked us to join them for
wine by candlelight (the power was off). We were having a very adult conversation when we heard a lot of shouting and barking. Suddenly, a bull came charging through the restaurant chased by a pack of dogs and a farmer. The lady professor touched her pearls and quietly said, "We don't see that sort of thing much in Boston." |
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 A
couple years ago, an English penpal visited me. He was a blue collar
type with a lovely sense of humor and very much a city man. When we went
down, it was just at the end of the rainy season... not QUITE the end.
We were the only tourists staying there. At night, all the natives disappeared
back to their homes in the jungle. A huge storm came in. Rain there is
like being under a waterfall... Well IT RAINED!! Matter of fact, it rained
so hard, the roof of our palapa caved in on us. We had to struggle through
that black jungle storm and find a dry palapa. Since I had been there
before, I knew where to look. In the morning, when the English man woke,
he had an odd expression on his face and said, "Do you know, there is
a rather large snake coming in the window?" It was a real live boa constrictor
from the jungle Well, we were both delighted! It was not full grown but
big enough to be impressive. (about 7 feet) I looked it up when I got
home ... it was what is called a Rosy Boa. It hung around for about an
hour and then wandered back into the jungle. We also had bats living
in the bathroom. Being from London, he loved it... very Indiana Jones!More at --Paul Hansen |
| Links Yelapa.Info A
good source of information on Yelapa. Water Taxi Schedule
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