Cuyutlán
 In December 2005 I had the pleasure of passing an idyllic week in Cuyutlán México. Cuyutlán is a relatively unkonwn gem on the west coast of México's Colima State. It is quiet, beautiful, tropical, friendly and very relaxing. Bring a book, a friend and a deck of cards and be prepared to relax as the delightful pace and friendliness of tropical México quietly seeps into your soul.
Cuyutlán is a small town one might easily call it a village. There is a pretty jardin (plaza) with a few little grocery stores on the south side. In the same block there is a good restaurant as well as an upstairs ciber (internet access place). Here you can access your web based email for $1-2 USD per hour. The keyboards are Spanish keyboards and can be a little confounding especially when you want to enter the @ symbol. The friendly owner speaks excellent English and will be happy to help you.
 As in most Mexican towns the church is the center of the town's spiritual and social life. In most Mexican towns the church is on the jardin (plaza). In Cuyutlán the church is a few blocks towards the ocean from the south side of the plaza. Opposite the church you will find two very good little taquerias and a loncheria or Mexican sandwich place. After a delectable cubana, quesadilla or tostada accompanied by a cool mineral water or or aqua fresca at La Michoacana sample one or more of the many delicious flavors of ice cream. Try cajeta or coconut ice cream for an authentic tropical treat.
Visit the Tortugario and see baby sea turtle hatchlings. Sea turtle eggs are considered to be a delicacy by many Mexicans. They are also a low cost source of food for local residents. The Mexican government aggressively protects the sea turtle habitat and confiscates thousands of poached eggs every year. These are brought to Cuyutlán to be incubated and birthed. When the baby turtles hatch they are released back to the sea.
This is a wonderful and very unique experience. There are more than 8 species of sea turtles world wide. All species including those not native to Mexico's west coast are actively raised here and released to the sea. Each species has a man made breeding pool of its own where adults can be seen swimming and at times mating. There is one pool reserved exclusively for the little turtle hatchlings. These cute little critters are no larger than the palm of your hand. When they are old enough to fend for themselves in the wild the Tortugario staff ecologists release the turtles to the sea. This takes place in the autumn and quite late in the day. The late afternoon early evening release time protects the baby turtles from their natural predators including birds, fish, dogs, and other mammals including humans! A visit to the Tortugario is a very special experience, highly recommended.
The Tortugario about 15 minutes south of town and opens at 9:00 am mas o menos, more or less. It's best to get there at 9:00 am as it gets very busy later in the morning. There are bilingual guides that will guide you around the hatchery and explain their work and the life of the sea turtle. If you are lucky your guide will "hear" a turtle hatching from its egg beneath the sand and dig down to get the egg so you can see the birthing of a baby sea turtle. Our 2006 group had this very experience and it was truly special. I will organize an excursion to the tortugario for interested group members.
Visit the Museo de Sal and learn about the cottage industries that harvest sea salt from the lagoon. Sea salt harvesting has been going on for over 400 years in this region. Rent a guide and a panga (open motor boat) and explore the largely wild Laguna de Cuyutlán a huge 20 mile long salt water lake near town. It's best to find a few other people to go with you and share the costs. In the Laguna de Cuyutlán you will find great early morning bird watching and if you are lucky you may even see an alligator.
If you will go bird watching plan on leaving your hotel around 6:00 am in the morning. Bird watching is best at sunrise and an hour or so after. By 9:00 am most of the birds are either sleeping or elsewhere. Be sure to pack two liters or more of water and a light snack like a banana, orange or pastry. Be sure to purchase these items the night before your excursion. You can buy these items at the little grocery stores opposite the south side of the jardin (plaza). Bring sun screen, insect repellant, a sun hat and sun protective clothing. Most of all don't forget to bring your binoculars!
At The Beach
 Cuyutlán sits alongside the open Pacific Ocean. The beach is long and gentle and the sand slopes gently out into the sea with no drop off. This makes for a very safe and pleasant swimming environment. On most days there is one or more competent life guards on patrol for added safety. Cuyutlán's beach has been a favorite destination for Mexican families from Colima, south west Jalisco and Guadalajara for over 100 years.
When you arrive at the beach you will see several walkways made of brightly colored wood slats. The wooded paths lead down to the water's edge and protect your feet from the hot sand. By the water you will find plenty of old style canvass beach chairs under the shade of brightly colored umbrellas. The way it works here is you buy the rights to use 4 beach chairs for the day for $70 pesos or $7 US dollars (USD). It doesn't matter if you use one chair or 4 you pay $70 pesos.  If you want to return to your hotel room or do something else and then come back to the beach the chairs you rented before may be occupied. Just occupy another chair. The proprietor will remember that you have rented the rights to 4 chairs for the day. If you get to the beach later in the afternoon typically after 4:30 pm you will not have to pay for the chairs.
Each walkway, associated chairs and umbrellas are color coded and tended to by local proprietors who will make you one of the best shrimp cocktails you have ever had and bring you a steady flow of libations of your choice including margaritas made with fresh squeezed limes, cold Mexican beer or my favorite agua mineral con limon y sal (mineral water with salt and lime).
Order ostiones en concha (oysters on the half shell) or lightly breaded fillet of fresh fish or a delicious platillo de botannas de mariscos (seafood appetizer platter) brimming with camarones (shrimp), pulpo (octopus), aquacate (avocado), ostiones, galletas (crackers), picadillo and other delectable treats. If you are ordering for one person order a medio platillo (half platter) which will be more than enough. Wash all this down with cold mineral water or one of many available Mexican beers.
 My favorite routine is to get to the beach late morning and read or muse a bit and then at noon order a whole coconut. First I sip the cool refreshing coconut milk through a straw allowing this exquisite experience to stretch out over an hour or more. When done I ask the wait person to scoop out the carne de coco (coconut meat). If you do this the carne de coco will be brought back to you on a plate with sea salt, lime and hot chili flakes like you get in pizza places in the US or Canada . Squeeze a little lime on your coconut meat and sprinkle with sea salt and chili for a very refreshing tropical treat. As suggested in the photo on the right you can also have rum added to your coconut milk for a more robust refreshment.
Then after a lazy afternoon of reading a good book, a few dips in the ocean and happily staring off into the oceanic distance around 4:00 pm I order my favorite shrimp & octopus cocktail. There are two sizes mediano (medium) and grande (large). I have found that the mediano is more than enough for one person. The cost is 70 pesos or $7 USD. Seafood is expensive where ever you are!! Fish dishes are very reasonable in price and may be had many ways. If you like fresh ceviche. Ceviche is a classic Latin American coastal snack made of small pieces of fresh white fish mixed with chopped jalapeno's, tomato, cilantro and onion and marinated in lime juice. If you like ceviche you will be a happy camper. If you order pescado frito (fried fish) without indicating you want a fillete de pescado (filet of fish) you will get the whole deep fried fish including eye balls, fins and bones.
 This is a bring your own entertainment town and a perfect place to read that special book, go for long beach walks at sunrise, take wonderful photographs, paint & sketch or do whatever makes your heart sing. There are no clubs and no nightlife scene. this town folds up by 10:00 pm. Most hotels have a small bar. Wine is not readily available. Beer is everywhere and very good. Margaritas and delicious fresh Pina Coladas are available from the beach vendors. There is a small pharmacy, several very small grocery stores, a small store that specializes in fresh fruit. If you are up early enough and walk down to the plaza you will see the tamale señora walking around with a white 5 gallon bucket balanced on her head brimming with FRESH, sweet tamales. Purchase a few for a delightful breakfast or early lunch. There are great places to sit in the evening and visit with friends or play a game of cards. One of these places is the delightful open air restaurant of our hotel, the Hotel Morelos. You may also walk down to the beach and sit surf side in one of the canvas beach chairs and watch the moon rise or star gaze as the sound of gentle surf washes cool sands.
In conclusion let me say that normally I am not a baste and bake beach person. I like to be an active traveler and experience the people and culture I am with. I found my time in Cuyutlán to be refreshing, relaxing, active, culturally rich, ecologically rich, introspective, and to a certain extent life changing. It's amazing how much of your life you can sort out staring out into a deep azure sea with a shrimp cocktail and cool liquid refreshment close at hand.
The people of Cuyutlán are very friendly and open. This is a very safe and honest place as is all of Colima. It's hard not to relax here and after the much busier pace of life in the USA and Canada Cuyutlán is the perfect way to ease into your México travel experience.
|
