Chacala was our first real tropical port after sailing south from San Diego in November of 2014. That fall we sailed down the outside of the Baja and crossed the Tropic of Cancer in late November. We spent a few days in Cabo San Lucas, but Cabo felt more like a tourist trap than a tropical paradise.  So we left Cabo and sailed two and a half days to make landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast at Chacala.  What a sight it was!  Beautiful sand beach, gently breaking waves, thatched roof palapas and a nice vacation village.  Chacala feels just like the post card pictures sent from the tropics

Since that first visit in 2014, we’ve been back several times.  In 2015, we were in Chacala for Easter. Easter in Mexico is a two-week holiday consisting of Semana Santa (The Holy Week, beginning on Palm Sunday) and Pascua (Starting with Easter Sunday and ending the following Saturday). Semana Santa is the most important holiday in Mexican culture. Schools and often businesses in Mexico close during these two weeks and many Mexican families go on holiday during Semana Santa and Pascua. 

Chacala being a vacation destination for Mexicans is swamped during Easter. It was explained to us that the blue collar workers take Semana Santa off and the white collar workers take Pascua.  Either week, there were a lot of people, and there was lots of music from roaming musical groups making the entire scene festive and chaotic.  The Mexicans didn’t seem to mind at all.  Our take: Hey, it’s their country!

Our last visit to Chacala was in 2019 with our dear friends Mike and Judy on SV Honu.  Honu is the Polynesian word for turtle.  SV Honu is an Island Packet 38.  We set sail with Honu in January from La Paz and arrived in Chacala 12 days later after stops at Isla Isabella and Bahia Mantenchen. Chacala was Tranquillo. Like the Corona beer ad, we found a nice place to sit and adjust our latitude.

At the southern end of the beach sits Mar de Jade, a Wellness Resort & Yoga Retreat Center.  We walked, met Mike and Judy, had an adult beverage and thoroughly enjoyed the resort and the walk back.

Chacala Bay faces west into the setting sun, so the sunsets are frequently breathtaking. This picture was taken from the beach looking over the anchorage on December 11, 2017.

Have you been to Chacala?  Would you like to go? When?

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