These small cities are 30 miles southeast of
the downtown area of Manzanillo. There are fishing villages and there
are several good seafood restaurants in the area. I like this area
compared to the city of Manzanillo because it has more of a Mexican
flavor. It is off of the beaten path from most of the tourists and
Mexican families vacation here. Many of these families are from
Guadalajara. Cuyutlan like several of the small towns in this area has
very nice beaches. The beaches in this area are comparable to the
wonderful surf that is present in some Southern California beaches.
Along the beaches in this area, you will find many large umbrellas in
the sand. These can be rented sometimes by the hour, or for half a day,
or for a full day from local vendors who own the umbrellas. Often times
there are vendors walking the beaches selling cooked items. I never
tried their food for fear of getting sick. However there are some
excellent beach front seafood restaurants. There are several in which
the tables and chairs are sitting directly on the sand and you are
served your meal under a thatch roofed hut.
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In these restaurants I noticed many young children selling either small
chocolates or hammocks. The children selling chocolate would come and
plead with you to purchase some of their candy. Often times they would
come back again and again and only leave if you bought some of their
candy. If you didn't buy any they would leave and then sneak back a few
minutes later and deposit a handful of the candy on the corner of the
table. They would quickly walk away. This was done as a last ditch
effort to make you buy their chocolate. I guess any money that you left
would more then pay for this candy. |
One restaurant in Cuyutlan that comes recommended to me is the El
Bucanero - Visit their website at: www.bucanerohotel.com
They have a restaurant, a nice pool and all the amenities of a good
hotel.
There are many boogie boards, surf boards and other water related "funstuff"
for rent. The waves here and at the other unprotected beaches both north
and south of Manzanillo are quite larger then those in the bays of
Manzanillo. As a result, these beaches are very good for surfing.
While at Cuyutlan I did some boogie boarding. I was told by the
lifeguard that in all his years of working the beach he has only had to
swim and save 2 people from drowning. Most of the main beaches will be
marked with flags indicating whether the water is safe to swim in. Red
flags indicate the water is unsafe and white flags indicate the water is
safe. There are several other color flags indicating various degrees of
safeness. To be most safe go where most of the other people are
swimming. These flags are spaced fairly close together and I saw areas
where there was a safe zone directly next to an unsafe one.
Cuyutlan is famous for the "ola verde" (green roller) which
appears in April and May. This physically is a huge green wave that
continuously comes crashing into shore during these months. It is caused
by the phosphorescence given off by small ocean dwelling phytoplankton.
This is really neat to see at night when all is dark except this
"mysterious" green glow coming from the ocean. If you have the
chance to walk along the surf during this time of year at night you may
see an increase in phosphorescence near to where you are walking. As you
disturb these organisms they increase their light output.
I saw an interesting sight at one of the beaches in Paraiso. About five
children were burying their grandfather in the sand. They spent quite
some time digging a trench, and then they rolled him into it. Then they
covered him with sand until only his head was showing.
Cuyutlan is connected to Paraiso by a paved road. They are about 4 miles
apart. They are located approximately one half way between Colima and
Manzanillo. This means they are about 1 hour from Colima and also one
hour from Manzanillo.
One other neat thing about Cuyutlan and Paraiso is the coconut statues
being sold on the streets. The husks of the coconuts are used to carve
small faces. One in particular stands out in my mind. It is a carving of
a bearded wild eyed sailor. The small hairs in the husk are used as his
beard and there is a red bandana over the top part of the husk.
One thing I should mention here is the vast acreage of coconut palms. If
you have never inspected a coconut palm or a coconut close up, I
recommend stopping by the side of the road somewhere and looking at
them. I have never seen so many coconut palms in my life. This area puts
Palm Springs to shame. The drive between Cuyutlan and Paraiso to
Manzanillo goes through nothing but these palm trees.
Cuyutlan and Paraiso have several hotels located as close to the beach
as you can possibly be without being in the ocean. Some have steps that
drop you down from the pool into the surf. These hotels are much cheaper
then those in Manzanillo. This area is off the tourist path and
beachfront accommodations are often quite affordable.
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