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by Paul Beddows
St Patricio Melaque, Jalisco, Mexico is a well kept snowbird secret by the Canadians and Americans who have discovered this little piece of paradise, only five hours drive south of Puerto Vallarta, and 45 minutes north of the industrial port of Manzanillo.
Melaque is actually a conglomeration of 3 beach towns that have grown into each other, San Patricio, Villa Obregon and Melaque itself. Adjacent on the bay, is the charming fishing town of Barra Navidad. Barra is also known for its quaint streets, good restaurants and its one fancy expensive five star resort, the Grand Bay. The resort is on the other side of the harbour entrance, accessible by water taxi. Its isolation by water protects Barra somewhat, from the privileged snotty crowd. This town has character and heart.
The lack of flash & glitter is what makes this town so appealing to those looking to spend winter in quiet warmth, free of the party crowd. There used to be one expensive resort, the Casa Grande. It now lies in decaying ruins after an earthquake & Tsunami destroyed it in 1995. Indigenous peoples, who dispute the ownership of the land, now occupy its post-apocalyptic like ruins, preventing its redevelopment. It is almost as if the Gods decided that an all-inclusive resort was blasphemous in this town, and set out to destroy it.
Melaque is a great place for an RV, which is how I personally travel there each. There are several RV parks. Unfortunately, the one downtown has halved in size over the last year, and the ever-popular Laguna del Tule at the south end of town is often booked up two years in advance from November through February. Fortunately it is in the process of adding another 40 sites, many of which should be ready for the 2014 season. There is a large new French Canadian RV Park at the northwest end of town, which is locally referred to as the "French Quarter". This one caters largely to caravans from Quebec, but also welcomes individual travelers. A new sizable RV park, the Melaque Paradise, just opened this year at the Southeast corner of the town (5 blocks off the beach).
Melaque is blessed with a beautiful long curving beach. It is not unusual to see Humpback whales breaching just off shore in early spring. At the south end, near the Laguna del Tule it can be dangerous to swim at times, as breakers tend to break at the shoreline and it drops off rapidly. That does not stop young boys from skim boarding in the surf. In fact there is an annual skim boarding competition (Mexico's largest) in late February/early March. As you move further south along the beach towards Barra Navidad, it becomes rougher & you can actually surf for real.
The north end however, is sheltered, shallow & calm and suitable for young children. It is also the home of several beach restaurants. You can often see hundreds of pelicans perched on the small fishing boats anchored offshore. At the other end of town is a very large fresh water lagoon, Laguna del Tule, which is a paradise for bird watchers. Just be wary of the Caymans that also inhabit this lagoon. Locals claim there are over 100, some as large as 12 feet.
Once you experience Melaque, chances are it will become a 20-year love affair as it has for many Canadians and Americans.
How to get there:
If you are coming in an RV, you might want to avoid the nightmare of driving through Puerto Vallarta. You can take the toll highway (15 D) to just short of Guadalajara, following the signs to Tala, then south on the new 4 lane Hwy 601 to join Highway 80, then southwest to Melaque (not recommended for large rigs). Alternatively you can follow the same route via Tala and then North on Highway 80 to join toll Highway 54 D, south through Colima, on to Manzanillo, then north to Melaque. Both routes bypass Guadalajara & Manzanillo itself.
Paul Beddows is past President of NATCOA, the North American Truck Camper Association and helps organize RV Caravans to Mexico with Caravanas de Mexico. He is a frequent contributor to this magazine and has presented seminars on RV’ing in Mexico. He lives in Abbotsford, BC in summer and Mexico in winter. He is always willing to answer questions and may be reached at paul@natcoa.com. His websites are www.mexicorvforums.com and www.mexicotravelbuddies.com.