VUELVO AT YAPLAPA (RETURN TO YALAPA)

An old friend of mine was spending a week here in Vallarta and I told him that a trip to Yalapa was a "must".  It is a tiny little village with no roads or cars.  The only way to reach it is by boat, so it has remained pretty primitive and very much like Vallarta was fifty years ago (before Huston and the Burtons arrived),  It had been over two years since I had visited myself, so it you have been following me for several years, you may remember my last blog.

As I mentioned before, the boat trip is half the fun of going there.  The reason I know it was more than two years ago is because at the time you had to wade out to the water taxi.  The pier had not yet been rebuilt.  Just before the pier is a little stand where they sell tickets.   The new pier is one of the landmarks of Vallarta that the city did a good job on.  The "sail" theme is also repeated along the Malecon.  At night it is illuminated with a series of colored lights.  The street leading to the pier has now been made into a pedestrian mall.  Unfortunately the city did not do a good job on landscaping the street, but maybe in time it will improve.

 A round trip is 280 pesos (or about  $20.00).  This time we were able to leave from the pier but getting in and out of the boat is still treacherous.   For reasons only explained by (It's Mexico !) everyone is handed a life jacket on the way over, but not on the way back. (in fact the boat did not even contain any lifesaver vests).   Unfortunately this time we saw no whales or dolphins.  There had been a recent tropical storm so maybe that is why they were not there.  We passed "Los Arcos" or three large rocks with tunnels through them.  At low tide the boats will go through the tunnel, but no this time.

Depending on who is board, the water taxi sometimes makes stops at Boca de Tomatlan and Las Animas.  Yalapa is on a little bay with ancient piers at each end.  This time we were dropped off at the South pier which made the hike to the waterfall easier.  Sometimes they simply beach the water taxi on the sand and you have to wade off the boat.  Again there is no explanation for why: it just is.  We started with the short climb up to the waterfall.  The paths (they are not really streets) are now concrete and cobblestones (much better than the dirt and mud of former days).  It is a pretty water fall, although nothing spectacular.  There is another larger fall further up the mountain, but I have been told it is over an hour climb and not well marked (nothing is here).

After the falls we circled the town giving us great views of the bay.  Like almost all towns along the coast, it was founded at the mouth of a river (which usually opens into a small bay).  Due to almost constant sand bars, a small lake has formed.  When pressure builds up the lake and water will break through the sand bar forcing you to wade across the stream.  I have been there went it was almost waist deep and very treacherous.  Today  it was less than knee deep.  There are also lots of iguanas in Yalapa.  This one is a pet that a guy carries around on his shoulder.  If he sees you taking a picture, he will demand 100 pesos, so I took this photo when he wasn't looking.

There really is no "town", just a few shops and many restaurants.  All of them have tables and chairs set onto the sand.  We had a nice lunch watching the waves and kids playing in the water.  If one where so inclined, there are stables behind the restaurants where you can rent a horse (or maybe a donkey)  Other than that, there is nothing to do in Yalapa, just to chill out and enjoy the view.   It would be a great place to smoke weed (but then, I already have too many vices).   The ride back seemed a little faster, but it did travel close to the shore.  The waves crashing on rocks creates a tableau of deep blue, aqua and white.  On both trips we were on the wrong side of the boat to get a good picture, but I did the best I could (not being a good photographer, or an writer for that matter).  It is a trip I would advise anyone visiting here to take.



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