Chacala Life

WEEKLY GUIDED TOURS FROM CHACALA

2011-02-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

HIKING GROUP AT CALETA
For the last month there has been a free hike, open for all, once a week. Usually Lance leads the hikes at 9 am on Wednesday morning. Notices of the destination, duration, and things to bring are posted on boards around town. The usual destinations are Las Cuevas which is a two hour hike south to a pristine sandy cove that is about 200 meters in length, and Caleta to the north an hour hike to a rocky beach. The weekly hikes will continue into March and will begin again next December.

CALETA TRAIL GETS SIGNS TO POINT THE WAY

2010-12-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful Christmas morning as we climbed the hill to the north west of Maralta. (high-sea) Maralta is the lake you see a little before coming to Chacala. There is a road which runs through Rancho Maralta before entering the jungle climbing over two ridges and then descending to La Caleta. (Four wheel drive is advised, close all gates to keep the cattle where they belong and ask permission to pass through the rancho if you see anyone there) Ellie, Susan and I had come to put up trail signs for the trail that begins at the corral on the north east corner of Chacala and ends at Caleta, a small rock strewn cove with palapas, camping, and a left hand break at Caleta point where surfers come in search of some thrills. The hike takes about an hour each way with a moderate ascent along a rocky trail that the ganado (cattle) use to get to the occasional area of grass in the jungle) Keep your eyes peeled for the occasional cow paddy lying in wait to mess with your shoes. Around half the people who have tried to make this hike have been lost and had to return. (Some have been stuck in the jungle when night had overcome them before they could make their way back to Chacala) Juan has been care taking Caleta for years…so if you take the hike consider bringing him some goodies since he and his four friendly dogs rarely get out to get provisions. The signs were placed at the most obvious places where hikers loose their way…However, it still won’t take much effort to lose your way and return without the sublime Caleta experience.

Lance

2010-12-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

The Chacala Story
Is now in Print
Chacala, not only rich with perfect sand beaches and tropical abundance ... it
is also rich with legends, amazing tales and human history dating as far back as
23 centuries! All of this has been compiled into a small full color booklet in
both English and Spanish and is now on sale.

Priced at only 50 pesos we hope that you will pick up your copy which is
available at a number of local outlets around town including Chac Mool, Las
Brises, Casa Pacifica, Gordon and more. It's interesting and entertaining with
lots of pictures. Not only will you want a copy for yourself but for your
friends as well so they can see what Chacala is all about. We have tried keep
the price as low as possible in order to make the booklet available to as many
people as possible. Any profits from this booklet will be given to local
projects. For quantity orders a discount is available. Please contact Gordon
in Mexico at 327 219 4079
from the U.S… 248 562 2338 or 313 429 4765
Email: gpreston27@yahoo.com
Copies will become available in the U.S. and Canada. If you have an interest

please email Gordon.

Trying out a new look

2010-11-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

We just changed the template color to blue from black. How do you like the new look?

FRIENDS from San Diego

2010-11-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

Carol Isman, and freinds Dustin, Joy, Jessica, David and David, enjoying a meal on the beach at Las Brisas.

Carol is a member of the 'NICE GUYS', a San Diego charity, for folks in need, whose motto is 'Hand Up' 'Not hand out'. She recently bought at a 'charity auction' a week's stay for 6 at Casa Mañana, courtesy of owners, Mike and Kathy.

What a great idea for two great causes ----- Chacala and the Nice Guys

2010 - 11 WINTER SEASON

2010-11-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

KARLA’S FRIDAY NIGHT POTLUCK

BK’S BIRTHDAY

B.K. turned 77 last week so KARLA announced that the season opener of
her Friday night"POT-LUCK BASH" at CHACALA RENTAL CABALLITO DEL MAR would
celebrate the old geezer's birthday.

Over thirty residents and visitors, a large crowd for this early in the season trod the four
flights of steps up to her roof top terrazzo.

One of the first to arrive was the towns oldest Gringo GORDON, carrying a
platter of cream cheese and crackers and that wonderful concoction of "Salsa
de Mango Granada y Chile Chipotle" from Costco.

DEBBIE of Tom and Debbie was a hit with her meat balls

TOBI home-made pizza

SUSANA deviled eggs

Potato Salad by Heather a visitor from Vancouver

BETT sin Bob now working in Iraq , brought a kings ransom of shrimp with a
delicious sauce (looking forward to one of their roof top parties)

ARTURO and EMILIA brought vino from their CHAC MOOL CAFE

cameo appearance by TANDY

HAL and STEPH’s nuts, dip and chips

PAUL and NIDIA’s cheese ball with crackers

PAUL AND MARCY shared delicious cookies

TRINI with her handsome date, GUSTAVO, her son

KARINA prepared one of her delicious cheesecakes for the birthday boy

FUN WAS HAD BY ALL

Uncontrolled Beach Privatization

2010-02-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

The following article appeared in the weekly Mexican news magazine Proceso and is submitted to our English readers interested in current events in Chacala.

Proceso, Jan. 24, 2010 by Pedro Zamora Briseno

The projected tourist development in Compostela, Nayarit enjoys the support of state Governor Ney Gonzalez and the state police. Community representatives who have been evicted by force from their properties on the ocean complain that they have been threatened and even tortured to make them abandon their living quarters and small businesses from which they barely make a living . The former director of "Fideicomiso Bahia de Banderas (FIBBA)", Pedro Alvarez Hormache, says that all the destruction has been paid for and regrets any "excessive" police force.

Compostela, Nayarit. In the middle of the euphoria caused by tourism and its rewards Governor Ney Gonzalez Sanchez has headed up an accelerated process of privatization of the main beaches of this county that up until now have remained in practically virgin condition. Less than 3 years ago, an intense international marketing campaign was launched with the tourist slogan "Nayarit Riviera" in order to attract investors. At the same time the Nayarit state government started handing over large parcels of property to individual particular buyers and to the National Fund for Tourism (Fonatur) for the construction of luxury tourist centers.

Since 1995, the governor's office through FIBBA has seen that investors acquired beachfront properties expropriated from the ejidos of the region. The ejidos were paid between 130 and 140 pesos per square meter which once the land is developed will be worth as much as 3,000 pesos per square meter.

Back in November 1970, by decree of national President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, eight ejidos from Bahia de Banderas and Compostela suffered the expropriation of 4,136 hectars of coastal lands for the purpose of development.

In the beginning, FIBBA was interested in focusing the attention of investors on Bahia de Banderas, and particularly Pto. Vallarta. However, recently they have focused tourist development on the Nayarit coast of the county of Compostela.

Last December 18th, in giving his fourth governor's report, Ney Gonzalez boasted that during 2009 Nayarit was in first place in the country in tourism investment, constituting 37% of the amount spent in the country, followed by Sinaloa, Baja California, Jalisco, and Tamalipas.

What he did not report is that his government has supported the investors with police force in the evictions of those people situated on the lands earmarked for development in the county of Compostela, where homes and small businesses have been burned and bulldozed by heavy equipment, in addition to approving the takeover of public roads and the blocking of access to the ocean.

Repression and Torture

Those inhabitants who have put up resistance to the evictions and the closings of roads have suffered threats, persecution, jailing, and even torture at the hands of the police, according to statements gathered by Proceso in the communities affected.

The most serious case was in the town El Monteon, where in May of last year, anti-riot police and elements of the Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (state police) attacked and overcame dozens of protestors with tear gas that tried to reach the Canalan beach.

In this case, businessmen R. M. Santa Cruz M. and J. C. Bremen V. acquired 25 hectars of land from the local ejido landowners including the original road to the sea. In exchange, they opened an alternate access through a swampy area.

S. Montes Virgen, a witness to the repression (a video of which can be found on the website YouTube), remembers that in the operation 12 men and 4 women were arrested and charged with, among other things, agression against the police.

Mr. Montes, a brother of one of the victims, exposed that when they would not confess or name the leader of the group, the arrestees were tortured by agents of the state police. In the weeks following, they were released on bail but a date has not yet been set by the court.

In this pueblo, where the land sales to investors took place through the ejido of La Penita de Jaltemba, a group of ejido representatives, including Flavio Gomez Covarrubias, condemns the operation as having been illegally done. He claims it violates the law 557/2007, regulation ejido land sales processes. According to his complaint, he charges that some directing members misappropriated the sale to their own benefit.

This reporter recently took a tour of the beaches of Chacala, Boca del Naranjo, Canalan, Punta Raza, Las Cuevitas, and El Playon, all located in the county of Compostela. I confirmed that the majority of the entrances to the beaches are currently guarded by elements of the state police and private security companies who control access by tourists and locals.

Hundreds of meters before you arrive at Boca del Naranjo, you come to part of the lands sold to Fonatur for the construction of the tourist center El Capomo. There is a barricade there where elements of the state police stop all traffic. They interrogate whoever tries to enter and register their name, place of origin, and reason for the visit. On the seashore, one of the police patrols on an ATV.

On the beach's federal zone, there still remain in the sand traces of the palapas of the small restaurants that were evicted last year. Not all have received compensation.

Ma.R.Camacho Pena, a resident of La Lima de Abajo, was the last one to leave. She exposed that, in response to her resistance to leaving the business that supported her family, her palapa was burned while some Canadian tourists were eating there.

There is a gate that is partly closed and under guard of the state police at the access to the beach of Las Cuevitas. The police mission is to take note of every vehicle that enters. A large sign warns that this is private property and, among many other conditions, access to the beach is restricted to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"They robbed us," says Juan Franco, representative of an ejido. FIBBA paid his ejido for the 304 hectars of their land in El Capomo that the state expropriated. This works out to 110,000 pesos per hectar, hardly 11 pesos per square meter.

Nevertheless, consistent with the signed receipts from the ejido, each one of the 303 ejido landowners received about 190,000 pesos.

Juan Franco agrees that each one of these payments was discounted somewhat to pay for about 25 hectars for the displaced campesinos whose land was expropriated in the zone of Las Cuevitas. But since there's no accounting for this money, they take the position the 25 hectars still belongs to the ejido.

Detective story paradise

In an improvised camp with palapas, two state police agents permanently guard the entrance to El Playon and block the passage of vehicles with large boulders.

Here one finds the polygon El Playon de Llano where, according to a registered document obtained by this reporter, FIBBA plans to build a beach club with an investment of 50 million pesos.

J. Torres Landa, president of the tennants' association of El Playon, also accuses FIBBA of harmful damage in the neighborhood of Paraiso Escondido caused by the demolition of hydraulic and sanitary infrastructure.

Until now, in various judicial proceedings, FIBBA has attempted to minimize what has occurred and, despite the fact the property is registered in its name, denies putting up any fences, putting guards in place, or conducting any demolition work.

Nevertheless, Torres Landa has secured a notary who would testify that Christian Cardona, the appropriate person in charge of the state police, has said that he was given orders by FIBBA.

In the intersection of Tonino, one early morning in December 2007, police dressed in black entered the house where Cesar O.Valle Robles lived with his wife and two little daughters. His house was ejido property inherited from his father. His brother Alejandro says that the agents had the family leave the house while they removed all the furnishings and took them to a public service truck. Thereupon, heavy equipment workers demolished the house.

The next day, Cesar, Alejandro, a nephew, and a brother in law, together with an attorney, went to see where the house had been. Elements of the state police arrested them and brought them to Tepic. They were freed 12 hours later through the intervention of Senator F.J. Castellon Fonseca.

Alejandro Valle indicates that the land in question comprises 16 hectars and that FIBBA claims it's part of the expropriated land of the La Penita de Jaltremba ejido. He adds "My father died in 1973 and we don't know that they ever paid him anything, and they certainly didn't pay us."

Up until now, the only project that has been initiated in the area is the residential tourist development Punta Raza, located on the beach with the same name. It has an area of 293 hectars apropriated from the La Penita de Jaltemba ejido and with an investment of around 118 million dollars.

The Punta Raza project is promoted by the business group C&C Capital, whose principal members are Hector Cardenas and Carlos Brockmann. Flavio Gomez accuses Punta Raza of taking over around 2.5 kilometers of a road constructed by the ejido in the federal zone.

Last October the Instituto de Derecho Ambiental A.C. presented a complaint before the state delegation of the Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente (national environmental agency known as Profepa).

The irregularities do not stop. In Chacala, FIBBA sold a polygon of 38 hectars to the business Promotora Chacala S.A. de C.V., headed up by Guadalajara businessman Jose Alvaro Martinez de la Pena. As a result of this transaction, chainlink fences were put into place on a road that has been used since colonial times and an extension of the main street of the town leading to two of the oldest hotels in the community.

In July 2008, the chainlink fence was installed and evictions took place by means of paying diverse amounts of indemnification to about 20 inhabitants and owners of small restaurants situated in front of the beach. As soon as they left, the structures were demolished with heavy equipment.

Leobardo Munoz, a fisherman who has lived more than 30 years on part of this ground, is unique in that he's still living there. He managed to persuade a judge not to allow him, his wife, his 8 children (two of whom are married), and their respective chidren to be evicted. He's been offered money several times but he refuses to take it. He's been warned that if he doesn't take it, he'll be evicted anyway without indemnification.

Currently, two private security guards control the passage of people and cars into the zone.

Bilingual jobs

While the beaches of Compostela remain semi-deserted, under police control, and the coastal populations resent the damage to the local economies caused by these measures, the governor paints a different picture. He sees an idyllic panorama whereby state citizens will not have to go to the U.S. to earn a living but instead will be able to thrive on the Nayarit coast. "They just have to learn English," he says.

According to official statistics, 105 million pesos were spent in just the last year alone in the promotion of the Nayarit Riviera. In December, Ney Gonzalez declared: "We aren't on sale. We want investors who will respect the environment, who will build low density, and who will offer quality employment. That's the golden rule."

Nevertheless, the results of the promotion of tourist development up until now have not been so encouraging.

In November 2008, the environmental organization Greenpeace denounced Nayarit as "the victim of predatory tourism." Through a press release, it said:

"The tourist destinations of Bahia de Banderas, Rincon de Guayabitos and San Blas, in Nayarit, present serious problems of contamination, irregular growth, a lack of basic services, an invasion of arroyos through irregular settlements, alterations of the habitat for flora and fauna, the burning of solid waste in open dumps, contamination of bodies of water and closed accesses to the sea."

Laura del Valle y Limes, president of the Allianza para la Proteccion y Desarrollo de la Costa de Chila, says that the state government's strategy of developing the beaches of Compostela "has been done in the style of 'slash and burn.' We haven't seen an inclusive process; the people have not been taken into account. On the contrary, the people in general have been seriously run over "

She opines that the arrival of the new investors into the tourist sector is a "new conquest, yet another process of colonization, in that things are being done through threats and force."

"The venture capitalists are constructing their developments over lands that once belonged to the campesinos. They have to be included in the process and not just as waiters or servants earning minimum wage. They need to be respected as businesspeople who live here and who deserve their own space and position that they earn," says Laura del Valle.

For his part, Pedro Alvarez Hormaeche, director of FIBBA until December 16th of last year and now the magistrate of the Nayarit Supreme Tribunal of Justice approves the actions of FIBBA and the state government with regard to some of the beaches like Punta Raza, Boca del Naranjo, and Chacala. They participated in negotiations with the ejidos and the backers of the tourist industry for the purpose of securing evictions which would be legally binding for the benefit of investors.

He denies that there was any pressure, threats, or intimidation against the people whose lands near the federal zone of the beaches were confiscated, saying that they took part in "free and open negotiations, respectful and voluntary" and "the agreements were negotiated and people were paid."

With respect to the non-conformity of the amounts that have been paid for the expropriated lands, he says that 21 campesinos from the ejido of La Penita de Jaltemba went to court. The rest together with those from Las Varas and El Capomo have already received complete financial settlement.

"It's a shame," he said in a telephone interview, "that some who received money from FIBBA or the government, now argue that they have been deprived or violated in their individual guarantees or in judicial certainty, but we can't keep people from saying these things to try to win some extra benefit."

He accuses the ejido representative Flavio Gomez, of El Monteon, and a "very small group of ejido representatives" of introducing "anxiety into the zone, this constant voice of uncertainty even though we have shown countless times that this view is not correct."

"The resistance was illegitimate, but also the police action was bad. In my judgment I feel it was a mistake. But I am not the chief of police nor the procurator. I would not want to be the judge (of this). I would not want to judge anyone," he concluded.

(Thanks to Emilia Robinson and Garrett Olney for the translation)

IN LOVING MEMORY OF SOFIA

2009-03-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

SOFIA ABIGAIL GONZALES RIVAS

Sofia in 2008

We are so sad to tell you that last weekend, Sofia, one of our brightest stars in the scholarship program was killed in a terrible car accident. Sofia, just 18, was going to Tepic with a carload of people to have an ultrasound, having learned that she was two months pregnant. An overloaded sugar cane truck veered into their land and crushed 2 cars head on.

Sofia was the youngest of the three daughters of Chela and Leo, owners of Kokobongos Restaurant. She had been married to her childhood sweetheart, Oscar, for three years. Oscar was in the car, but uninjured. Sofia and Oscar were both attending High School at La Prepa Saturday Adult Education Program, and she worked in a local resort as well as the family restaurant.

Sofia was very bright and extremely motivated. She was taking English classes four mornings a week and participating in EBACH, the scholarship student's club. She was to graduate in 2010 and planned to go on to University and get a degree in psychology or law.

Alicia, another young woman from our village, the daugher of Gloria of the restaurant Tres Hermanas, was killed also, as well as her 3- year-old daughter. Gloria's mother, who was also in the car, died in the hospital several days later. Chacala has been devastated from these deaths, and we all have been in mourning since the accident.

It was heartbreaking to watch the three caskets being carried into the church on the day of the funeral mass. People overflowed into the church yard and the surrounding streets. When the funeral procession passed through Las Varas on the way to the cemetary, people were lined up on the streets there to join the procession. Both young women and the child were known and loved by so many.

This family has had more than its share of tragedy. Chela and Leo are pillars of strength. Carolina, Sofia's oldest sister, was home from University for the week, Karina and her husband, Orlando and their baby are here, as well as Mario and Hector, her younger brothers. Rosaries are being held at the family restaurant twice a day for nine days, as is the tradition here.

FUNDRAISING DINNER

Last Friday, a fundraising dinner was held at Casa Pacifica. Mary Jane Rintelman and Ben Laird, of Marina Chacala, have taken the reins of a new fundraising committee, and gathered about 30 people from Marina Chacala at the dinner to hear about Cambiando Vidas and our programs. They heard mostly, of course, about our need for donations and scholarships sponsors. Mariana told the group that we currently have 3 students who have lost their donors due to the economic conditions in North America, and we have 9 more on the waiting list. Some of them have been participating in EBACH and working in the community service program for over a year. The delicious Italian dinner was prepared by volunteers Serena and Richard Laskin, Karina Shecter, and Marcel, visitors to Chacala and supporters of Cambiando Vidas.

Amazingly, Chela and Leo, Sophia's parents, and Carolina, her sister, and Mario, her brother, arrived after dinner to speak to the group in Sophia's honor about the importance of the program to their family. Alonso and Gaby, other star students, also spoke about their experiences in the program.

The dinner was a huge success and we are hoping for many donations.

Alonso, past president of EBACH with Mario, Chela, and Carolina, family of Sophia

HOW YOU CAN HELP CAMBIANDO VIDAS AND THE SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS

The cost to sponsor a student is $720 a year. You can share a student for $360. Please see more details about this on our website at www.cambiandovidaschacala.com. We are grateful, of course, for donations of any size.

You can make a contribution by mailing a check to Cambiando Vidas, 245 Mt. Hermon Rd., PMB 312, Scotts Valley, Ca. 95066 OR by using PayPal on our web site, www.chacala.org. THANKS!

My experience in Chacala & the Petroglyphs of Altavista

2008-12-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I visited Chacala for the first time. With friends, I am basking in the warm sun and enjoying the soothing ocean before returning to Alaska and the cold days of December, January and February. --from Marilyn C.

We loved the town of Chacala. People are friendly; the scenery is beautiful; and of course, the ocean beaches are mesmerizing. And ooooh, the espresso cappuccino!

Cappuccino made with organic locally grown coffee at the new terrace cafe Chac Mool

Leaving from La Penita in the morning, we were in search of a fine day of exploration. Our group of four would rent kayaks and take a beachside lunch wherever our whim found us; however, our day’s goal was to locate and see the renowned, but elusive, petroglyphs.

Several people had “heard” of them; few ever had actually been there. Upon sketchy directions, we embarked from Chacala to the main highway.

If you should wish to go, here is the “word map.”

Upon leaving Chacala, and meeting highway 200, turn south. Travel 7.3 Km and take a left, toward Alta Vista. Go 1.6 Km and you will turn left again on a dirt track. This is the tricky spot, easy to miss. A helpful ranchman aided us. There really is no special landmark here. Another 0.8 Km will bring you to a place where you must leave your car parked -- unless you are 4WD equipped. From here on, it’s rough. Captial R on rough! Take the sharp right-hand road and proceed carefully, whether afoot or bouncing along in your 4WD. At times you’ll believe the road is going to vanish, but then it picks up again, always tending more or less to the right. Eventually, you will ford the stream. Shortly after that, you will arrive at a cul de sac. This is the Petroglyph trailhead. It is 1.6 Km from were you left your vehicle. A 15-peso donation to the gentleman at the gate will allow you to enter.

Corn Man at Altavista, 8 km from Chacala

Wear shoes capable of carrying you over rocky ground with poor footing. Sometimes you’ll be walking on river-worn rocks, observing the ‘glyphs to your left and right. Keep a sharp eye. They are many, but they are subtle. If you stay tuned, you’ll “feel” their sacred, ancient power – too sacred for photographs, it would seem, as my usually dependable camera malfunctioned just before this trek. Nevertheless, I shall take home vivid mental images and the satisfaction of having been in the presence of Huichol Indian mythic power.

Chacala Community Meeting with Nayarit Tourism Board

2008-12-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

A community meeting with the Nayarit Tourism board, concerning recent developments on the beach, was held at Mar de Jade on November 29^th at 10:00 am.

People interested in Chacala and its growth were invited, although prior notice was brief and many people did not know about the meeting. However, about 50 people did attend the meeting and everyone had a chance to speak. A promise was made that the next meeting will be widely publicized to all with lots of advance notice.

The Nayarit Tourism Board is composed of 40 members, teachers, engineers, a lawyer, people from Las Varas, Zacualpan , Tepic, and Compostella. The purpose of the board is to represent the Nayarit people and their rights to the federal government.

Summary of the meeting:

1. A history of land development since the 1970’s was presented. It seems the federal government’s power supersedes any municipalities. The issues of Ejido land, federal land, and Foreign and Mexican national investors have led to the creation of developments that do not respect the environment nor the rights of the local population. The Mexican government believes and promotes that all North Americans are looking for high rises, hotels, private beaches, golf courses, and lots of shopping. The government wants to make the Nayarit Riviera another Cancun! We of Chacala think differently. It was expressed that many North Americans are interested in nature trails, tranquil beaches, and interaction with the Mexican people. Foreign visitors and residents seek out the peace and tranquility of the Nayarit coast. There will always be the Puerta Vallartas of the world. There is only one Nayarit coast.

2. The different government speakers acknowledged that there is much corruption in the government but emphasized, with persistence and pressure by the people, change can be made. According to committee members, good will from the government can occur when pressure from the local people is applied. We must not let up on the pressure. It is a long road but necessary and necessary to follow the rules of protest. The committee acknowledged that many laws have already been broken by the developers who were identified as the Padillas’, one of the original developers of Chacalilla. One of the major laws broken was the closure of the beach road. Alas, the law says it is too late to rectify quickly.

3. The President of the Municipal Committee says regulations pertaining to development will be honored. He cited some of the regulations pertain to (1) access to beach (2) 15% of land will be given to community and (3)no to the marina.

CONCLUSION

Many locals at the meeting remain skeptical. They have pledged to continue the fight and ask that ALL interested, Foreigners and Mexicans, join them in this journey to protect Chacala and regularize growth. Citizens can demand transparency. The local, state and national protection agencies will set up a meeting with the county, state and federal government agencies. It is the goal of this meeting that all concerned will have the opportunity to convince the government agencies that it is not be in anyone’s best interest to build 1960 type resorts along the pristine Nayarit coast. Stay posted for more details.

IT IS NECESSARY TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT AND KEEP APPLYING PRESSURE ON OFFICIALS AT EVERY LEVEL.

Important Update - Cambiando Vidas

2008-11-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

In the next few weeks, part-time residents of Chacala will be arriving to spend the winter and, due to arrive around November 27th, is Mariana Day, President of Cambiando Vidas. Mariana is Chacala's number one fund raise - her efforts have afforded some of Chacala's brightest children the chance of a better future through Cambiando Vidas' Scholarship Program.

Less than 10 years ago Chacala was still a sleepy fishing village that came alive around Christmas/New Year, Easter and several Mexican holidays. In 1996, Dale Reinhardt a Rotarian from No. Carolina enlisted his club and Rotary International to build a library right here in the village.

(Kids on the steps to the Learning Center taking a break from their painting.)

Over the subsequent years, many volunteers have contributed their time, energy and cash to expand the library and bring educational opportunities to the children of Chacala. Most importantly among those are Chacala residents Ana Getzoff and Susana Escobido. To read about the whole history of how the Chacala library grew into the computerized Learning Center it is today, please go to www.chacala.org and click on "History of Rotary in Chacala".

Antonelly leading the monthly EBACH (Scholarship kids) meeting.

Cambiando Vidas (Changing Lives) is the nonprofit organization working in Chacala to give children educational opportunities through a Scholarship Program and providing support for the Learning Center which includes the Book Library, Computer Lab with high-speed Internet access, After-school Enrichment and Head Start programs, School Hot Lunch Program, and a Tool Lending Library.

This year Cambiando Vidas faces a difficult time financially. Due to the financial meltdown in the USA and elsewhere, fund-raising efforts have been seriously affected. Their donors are naturally concerned about their declining retirement funds, and some have dropped out of the program, leaving some students without sponsors. Each year Mariana has tried to expand the scholarship program but this year CV will not be able to take on any new students, as their first priority will be to find funds to support the students that are already in the program. Cutbacks in scholarship support may also be necessary in order to meet the budget.

We are especially challenged now as our first students graduate from high school—most the first in their family to do so—and go on to University. Each and every donation made is vital to their success. Because of our donors, the children are able to pursue their education as well as use and enjoy the Dale Reinhardt Learning Center every day. Together we are indeed changing lives, Cambiando Vidas - we hope you will visit us soon to witness the miracles created by your loving generosity.

CAMBIANDO VIDAS is a charitable organization with United States Internal Revenue Service 501 (c) 3 tax -exempt status. EIN 73-166898 You can make a donation thru our PayPal tab on our website or send a check to Cambiando Vidas, 245 Mt. Hermon Rd., PMB 312, Scotts Valley, Ca. 95066 www.chacala.org

It's all about teeth

2008-11-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

"Its like taking a free vacation" was the way Donna from Vancouver Island described her visit to Chacala last winter. She and husband John, regular vacationers to Mexico have discovered, like many others, that killing two birds for with one stone is not a bad idea.

Unrelated photo of a rodeo in a town near Chacala.

The cost of medicine in the U.S. has sky-rocketed in recent years and while most people would not be coming to Mexico for medical treatment, not yet anyway, getting your teeth fixed is another matter.

Hundreds if not thousands of visitors from both the U.S. and Canada are now taking advantage of the low cost dentistry available in Mexico.

Chacala does not have any dentists but Las Varas, six miles away, does. What Chacala has are lots of nice places to stay, some good restaurants and a beautiful beach.

According to the 2007 book on medical tourism, 'Patients Beyond Borders', dentures cost about $2,400 in the U.S. compared to about $1,500 in Mexico and crowns that cost $800 in the U.S. are about $375 in Mexico, and in Las Varas even less.

Picking a dentist is a personal, however we would be happy to share our experience with others on request.

A visit to Chacalilla: Paradise Behind the Gate

2008-11-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago a visit to Chacalilla would involve walking around the point past the lighthouse, or entering through the old gate, the original entrance now closed, was located at the west end of Chacala's main street, or you could trek through the jungle. Or you could go by boat, you still can.

One of the cobbled roads put in by the development

Back then it was mostly all jungle; inhabitants were gone and only one family remained soon to be gone. There were no cobbled roads that now connect all parts of the peninsular, only a primitive road that connected the gate to the beach and the lighthouse, and several footpaths. One path connected the lighthouse to the beach and another originated at the beach, meandered past the now filled in lagoon and came out at a place, close to where the main entrance to Chacalilla is now located.

Ten years later a trip to Chacalilla is a trip worth taking. No its not open to the public at large, it is, after all a gated community, but if you get a chance to visit, do. See its pristine beach, it lovely homes, some with views of the Pacific Ocean and the Chacala Bay. Its tennis courts and other recreational facilities are first class, everything is well done.

Chacalilla, was it good for the people of Chacala? Most have never been allowed past the gate, and the beach off limit except by boat. Promises made by the developer have not been kept.

In a future blog we will publish a list of those un fulfilled promises.

It is true that just a few Chacala residents are employed in Chacalilla as housekeepers, cooks and gardeners, Some residents do support the town, but others avoid the town entirely, some would get lost in down town Chacala.

Now there's a new develoment in Chacala's future... Will things it be any different, will the town and its people be part of this new plan. or just shut out again. On the outside looking in.

Chacala Informa: Start the Press!

2008-10-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we sent to the printer the final layout and copy of the first edition of the Chacala Informa.

The Informa is just that: a new regular newsletter printed in Spanish and later on in English as well, with news items of interest for the people of the town of Chacala and to promote for visitors.
Some of the Informa Contributors with the first edition. Thank you to all who were involved.

The first edition is fully sponsored by Chacala businesses and produced by a small group of local residents, all volunteers. It will interesting to see how the project develops, given that there are some on the team who envisage a glossy, up market version which may suit the way the town is heading. The Informa is still a team effort, however, and we welcome ideas from all kinds of sources.

Some if not all of its content can be read in English on the Chacalalife blog. If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, or the blog, or you have any comments, send them to chacalalife@hotmail.com

Get informed!

The New Development Uncovered: The Municipal President Reveals Project Planned for the Palm Grove Area

2008-10-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Due to the enormous outcry and opposition that the sale, relocation and fencing has generated as well as the closure of the Historic Camino Real, the Municipal President, Hector Lopez Santiago, conducted a community meeting in Chacala on October 16th of this year to inform the residents and answer questions from the community. The following is a summary of what he said.
The Palm Grove Area 'El Palmar', as it currently stands

In spite of the worldwide financial crisis, the Riviera Nayarit project is still on course and includes the entire Pacific coast of Nayarit. With reference to the town of Chacala, the Municipal President held talks with the group of investors: two US citizens and one Mexican citizen from Guadalajara. They presented a pre-project including the construction of 3 hotels with 80 rooms each, a golf course, a residential area and a marina. According to the investors, the town of Chacala will be the beneficiary of a new sewer system, road improvements, employment opportunities as well as a water treatment plant.

As high season nears, the town demanded that a parking area be built for buses and cars, as well as public bathrooms, a recreation area as well as over the long term, green areas, and an area for athletics, etc.

View from the Road between Chacala and the Highway

It is worth mentioning that two days after the Municipal President’s visit, construction began for a parking area on land that is designated as a reserve under the municipal land that belongs to the town of Chacala. Construction also began on a new road that will provide additional public access to the town from the paved road.

Lastly, the Municipal president mentioned that the priority of the Governor of Nayarit will be progress for tourism that supports the people of Nayarit with complete adherence to the ecological regulations with minimal impact to the ecosystems, local traditions, customs and rights of the town and its people. As we again face this type of project, we hope that this time promises to the town are kept.
Diggers working on new parking lot on Municipal land, funded, we believe by the new developers.

Town Priorities: a Fancy Plaza or a working Clinic?

2008-10-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

At a recent meeting, it was revealed by a local builder that he was attempting to raise funds to be used to build a plaza at a location by the beach. Around 25 people attended the meeting. Most thought the idea had some merit, not at the suggested location but at another also by the beach. The plaza needs to be where it belongs, next to the Church said someone, others agreed. The meeting ended on a positive note. But some are now having second thoughts.

Here's one:

'The idea of building a plaza on the beach may sound like a good idea, but in truth Chacala has far greater needs. Here are just a few. First on my list, would be to complete our new CLINIC, located on the badly-in-need-of-repair road to Chacalilla. The clinic, built with funds supplied by Rotary International, needs a sidewalk, a small garden with stepping stones, benches for people to sit on and public lighting. A request has been made to a U.S Rotary Club for furniture.

Chacala's Medical Clinic: Soon to be opened

Our town has been a leader in the recycling of plastic thanks to our children of EBACH, who in their spare time collect tons of plastic, which is then stored at our recycling center for pick up. We intend to expand our recycling efforts to include glass, paper and cardboard but we need to build a roof over the center to keep things dry.

Of course, we need a place to hang out, that is attractive to tourists and locals alike, but all projects do not necessarily come from good intentions, money should not be wasted. We can't build a plaza in a strategic place that will
become a public bar, when we still have unfinished projects like garbage and health.'

Signed Viky Robelo.

Correction to 'Lifeguards in Action'

2008-10-23T21:21:00.001-07:00

Please note.
We wish to correct an error in the previous story.It seems that Edwardo WAS
able to get the life-saving torpedo from the storage box.This according to Karla the Las Brisas Restaurant manager.

Lifeguards in Action - Eduardo's lunchtime rescue

2008-10-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

Monday is usually a slow day in Chacala. Eduardo, the senior lifeguard, was off duty. The newly formed lifeguard program hasn’t been able to raise enough funds to pay for a guard seven days a week, but Eduardo was visiting Las Brisas anyway.

Around four o’clock in the afternoon, a cry for help came from the north end of the beach, Eduardo sprung into action, dishes flying everywhere, and without any life saving torpedo, (locked up in storage) he swam out to save the lives of an American/Mexican couple, who were camping on the beach. Assisting in the lifesaving was Adam, a cook from Las Brisas.

Turns out that earlier in the day, about noon, Eduardo pulled from the sea three girls ranging in age from 12 to 18. Their father tried but was unable to swim and watched as Eduardo brought them ashore.

Its ironic that the day we posted our story on the blog regarding the lifeguard program that these events happened.

Along with this story is the picture of Eduardo, center, with the lucky couple. Wanda Valandra of Rapid City S. Dakota and husband Emilio Jimenez Davila of Guadalajara.

More than 50 people have been rescued from drowning at Chacala this summer. Several however have been lost.

Chacala is normally a safe beach for swimmers, but the recent storms and climate change have had a negative effect on the ocean.

Lifeguards - Here to Stay?

2008-10-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

The annual loss of life due to drowning at the beach has resulted in the formation of a new organization: The Chacala Beach Lifeguard program.

Organizers have opened a bank account in Las Varas and are in the process of collecting donations to be used solely for lifeguards salaries.

You may have seen these lifeguards operating from a raised platform directly in front of Acela's Restaurant.

Day-to-day operations of providing lifeguards for the beach have been conducted solely by Karla of the Las Brisas Restaurant. She has arranged the schedule, has fed the guards along with other restaurants and has collected from most of the bay restaurants to meet payroll. She has even advanced her own money to keep the program going.

The fundraisers hope to be more involved with Karla in the entire lifeguard program; after all, she does have a business to run.

We have thankfully received private donations, from $5 to $50 USD, from local people and even from Chacalilla and La Penita. All local businesses are being encouraged to give monthly donations to keep and improve the current system. Donors are being presented with a certificate of their participation for posting in their places of business. Look out for these in the local shops, restaurants and other business that you patronise.

Donations of any size will be accepted and can be given straight to Concha from Casa Concha who is the treasurer of the organization. We are also planning to set up donation boxes at several locations including Las Brisas. For any further information, please feel free to contact the following addresses:

Gordon Preston: gpreston27@yahoo.com
Concha Velasquez: guanahani_234@hotmail.com
Emilia & Arturo: chacmoolcafe@hotmail.com

We all want our beach to be safe so let's make sure everyone from local business people, residents and visitors all pull together to keep lifeguards on our beach.

Viva Chacala

Happy Cats & Dogs

2008-10-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU

Thank you to all of you that made Chacala’s First Free Spay & Neuter Clinic a success! We spayed and neutered about 60 cats & dogs helping to make Chacala a healthier and happier village for both the animals and the people.

A special THANK YOU to those people that made it happen……

PEACE (Protection•Educate•Animals•Culture•Environment) is a non profit organization that provides veterinarians and staff for Free Spay & Neuter Clinics in Mexico.
Molly, Anthony, Gaby, Zaidy, Humberto, & Lalo

VOLUNTEERS We were fortunate to have an awesome group of volunteers including some very experienced ladies from Lo de Marcos, La Penita and Guayabitos as well as some very dedicated people from Chacala.
Luis, Tobi, Vicki, Tandy, Gustavo, Leo’s Daughter
+ friend, Ana, Celia, Melanie, Sara, Jacque, & Isabel

DONATIONS Chacala restaurant owners and a local chef were very generous in their donations of food for the veterinarians and their assistants. In addition, business owners donated rooms for the PEACE Staff and supplies for the clinic.
Acela’s, Chico’s, Majahua, Mar 3, Mar de Jade,
Gordon, Casa Monarca, & Pepe/Koranay

ORGANIZERS Chacala locals worked together to bring PEACE to Chacala.

Jose Enrique, Luis, Viki, OM, & Tandy

THANK YOU ALL!!

The Beach IS Open!

2008-10-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here's what to expect when you visit Chacala this year:

You won't be able to drive into town past those ugly shacks that lined the side of the beach road, they are all gone. You will enter town from the paved road either past Koko Bongos restaurant or down the cobbled road past Concha's. Missing will be the motor-homes and camping under the palms, as this is the part of Chacala that has been fenced off for new development.

The rest of Chacala is unchanged, the people friendly as always. Accommodations are plentiful, restaurants are still serving fish, fish, more fish and shrimp,. A new deli style restaurant just opened that doesn't offer seafood, but serves items such as baguettes, quiche, great breakfasts and coffee that is to die for. Taking your laundry to Las Varas will soon be a thing of the past, with the opening of a new laundry-mat located close to the Church. There's even as interest in opening a hair salon for the ladies.

Chacala is open, alive and well. True the run down shanty houses on the beach are gone and el Delphin is no more, but other restaurants from Chico's to Mingo's are open for business. And yes you can still visit the entire beach from any of them, including both Mar de Jade and Majuaha.

There is plenty of good news, come see for yourself!

The Chacala Fence/ or "Don't Fence Us Out"

2008-10-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful, unspoiled beach, before the fence. Now the fence closes off the land from just beyond where the foreground palm tree divides the picture , all the way to the south end of the beach. (Photo by Ana Getzoff.)

GORDON PRESTON writes:
As most of you may have heard, a chain-link fence was erected by developers this summer that encloses half of the Chacala beach and also closes the original, historic and until recent years the only road into the pueblo. Residents of Chacala have apparently been unable to find out the intent of the developers or even who the developers are. To that end, a town meeting was held on 24 September 2008 in the church yard and interest was high. Officials from Compostela and the two elected officials of Chacala were present along with a large crowd of interested residents. Now as a long time resident of Chacala, I have a strong interest in the future of the town and did attend the meeting. However because I don’t speak Spanish, I didn’t understand much of what was said, I have asked several local residents to share their thoughts on what they heard at the meeting.

GORDON PRESTON has been a part-time resident of Chacala for 16 years, and a full-time resident for one year. He can be contacted at gpreston27@yahoo.com.

The new fence runs alongside Chico's restaurant, from the beach to the old road. (Photo by Viky Robelo)

Running south along the beach, the fence leaves one row of palm trees on the beach side. The others may be destroyed for building. (Photo by Viky Robelo.)

EMILIA ROBINSON writes this about the town meeting:

As a newcomer to the town I found the meeting pretty eye opening. I think most people were confused and disappointed when one of the officials from Compostela explained that they did not know' to whom the land had been sold and they had no further information for the audience. Apparently, they wanted us to do the talking, so the meeting was turned over to the audience. We heard from a good cross section of the town; restauranteurs, shopkeepers, fishermen, newcomers and Chacala residents of over 40 years. The main preoccupations of the group were that the new development be more lawful than Marina Chacala-that is that it should not block public access to the beach, it should give 15% of its land to the use of the town and it should not block off the historic road from the main road to the South side of the beach (near Mar de Jade) which unfortunately it already has.

To give a couple of examples, a businessman from Las Varas made an impressive and emotive speech about the importance of the right of the common man to have access to the beaches, which are part of, not only Mexican, but in fact world heritage. There were a minority of speakers who felt it was pointless getting worried or upset when we don't even know what the development will bring, and it may not even be so bad after all. From a personal perspective, it seems that more than anything, it was a it public airing of opinions, which may only serve as a publicity stunt to the government involved; they will be able to say "you had your chance to speak." The real shame was that they hardly even pretended to listen.

EMILIA ROBINSON and her husband, Arturo have opened a new restaurant in Chacala called “Chac Mool,” Vino deli cafe. (http://chacala-cafe.blogspot.com) Emilia can be contacted at chacmoolcafe@hotmail.com.

Facing north, you can see the partially completed fence dividing the palm grove from the beach. For awhile, the summer activity went on as usual on both sides of the fence. Now the fence runs south all the way to the end of the beach and cuts in blocking the old access road. (Photo by Viky Robelo.)

CONCHA comments on the town meeting:

Greetings to all. I have lived in this community for 30 years and I want to tell you that I am not opposed to developments, but only those that conform to the correct norms and that do not run over in their tracks a single resident.

My plea is that they leave access or windows to the sea and that in these areas there be services for our visitors and that in case of an accident an ambulance and paramedics may be able to enter.

As far as I’m concerned, I am opposed to the fact that a fence has been put up – I feel as if I’m in a zoo! (Translation by Emilia Robinson)

CONCHA is an active member of Chacala, and owner/operator of a four- unit “Techo de Mexico” guest house, “Casa Concha.” Concha can be contacted at Guanahani_234@hotmail.com.

Another view of the fence, facing north. (Photo by Viky Robelo.)

DR. LAURA DEL VALLE submits the following statement:

We, the inhabitants of the Port of Chacala and citizens of the municipality of Compostela, are resentful at the way Fideicomiso Bahia de Banderas have treated us and disrespected us by ignoring totally the needs and customs of the town in the alleged sale of the ‘poligano’ of 38 hectares of Chacala that comprises the greater part of the beach. Aside from this arbitrary closure of the beach of Chacala, access to the beaches of Las Cuevas, Chacalilla and El Naranjo have also been closed.

FACTS:
1. In August, in the style of an ambush and with no prior informative meeting with the town, a team of people began to wall off with chain link fence the greater part of the beach, thus blocking off the main entrance to the town to inhabitants of Chacala, of the region and to our visitors. As one Chacalan woman said, ‘I do not like the idea that fenced off the road that in the 50 years that I have lived here had never been closed.’ They managed this with the collaboration of the president of the Citizen Action Group, Eduardo Bustos, who told the town that the way was being closed in order to repair it; an event that was followed, to his surprise, by the erection of the chain link fence, ‘We feel fenced in like in a zoo’.

2. The approximately 100m2, traditional recreation area, known as ‘El Palmar’, was also walled off; an area that has been the access to the sea for all those of us who live in the Municipality of Compostela for many generations.

3. Besides this, people who used to have stalls at the entrance and families that have lived in front of the beach for many years have been removed and are being removed with pain and bad faith, being tricked by a so-called engineer that claims to be a representative of the buyer. He warned them that they could end up in jail if they did not get out and he promised a sum of money to some of them that has not been handed over. The inhabitants asked for relocation within Chacala itself, which was denied. The said person has shown no document to prove his judicial status as the owner or as representative. Nor has he made any kind of contract that commits him to paying the families once their houses have been destroyed.

CONSEQUENCES:
1. By blocking access to the entrance, to the parking lot and to the beach, vehicles and tourism buses are going right back out of town and we are ending up without customers in our restaurants, our hotels and shops. This sudden and unplanned action affects the daily bread of the majority.
2. The current state of affairs leaves those who live in the Municipality and those that visit us without a decent recreation area by the beach.
3. The displaced people, who make their living from fishing and from tourism, are being brought to live in great poverty since not only is it the intention to take away their houses but also their way of earning a living. With the small amount of money that they are offering (and in any case are not paying), the affected people are not even able to buy a lot in order to remain living in Chacala.

ACTIONS:
1. The intervention of the Judicial Authority of the Municipality was called upon to act immediately to remove the fence at the entrance of the town – it never arrived.
2. Letters were written to the Governor – he never replied.
3. We began to complain through the media and this provoked finally a visit from Jesus Torres Rodrigues, the new district secretary, Mr. Mario Antonio Andarete and Mr. Gabila Rosas, both legal representatives from FIBBA. When asked the name of the buyer responsible for the recent events and to show us his or her project, the confessed that they were not able to bring any information to the meeting which leads us to suppose that they were only coming to see what the size of the resistance was.

CITIZENS’ PLEA:
1. To begin with, we want the access that we used to have to the beach, in the traditional recreation area ‘El Palmar’ and that it may remain open to the public as a municipal green area park. This would become part of the 10% that the buyer is obliged to give up to public use.
2. We ask that the municipal road, which has been in use for generations and whose closure is anti-constitutional, be reopened. This could be done in the most convenient place for both social groups.
3. We ask that an entrance to the sea be made on the South side of the Bay where there are other existing and growing developments.
4. We ask that the land and necessary investment for the growth of commercial, social and civic life of the town of Chacala including the following works: Civic Square, Commercial Zone, Public Parking, Beach Services (WC/Showers).
5. Absolute respect for the docks of the fisherman which is the life and natural character of this town.
6. Relocation with lots in Chacala itself for the families of fishermen that have held possession for more that 30 years and to whom no worthy offer has been made to let them remain living and working in the very own town.
7. Absolute respect for the ecological surroundings, in as much the beach itself as its flora and fauna. We express a resounding rejection to the idea of dredging up a marina.
8. We ask to establish a ‘Free Beach’ program, opening access to all the above mentioned beaches that are illegally closed off at this time.

In essence, we ask that the Governor Ney follow in the footsteps of his father who did look after the needs of the town. Since those who voted for him did so thinking that he had the same humanitarian character as his father. We are not opposed to tourist development but ENOUGH with trampling on the needs of the town. Responsible development and addressing the needs of the town are compatible goals. (Translation by Emilia Robinson)

DR. LAURA DEL VALLE was born in Mexico City and was perhaps the first person to put Chacala on the map. She has operated a hotel retreat, Mar de Jade, at the south end of Chacala for many years. Laura de Valle can be contacted at lauradejade@gmail.com.

Sunset from the hill above town. Land to the left of the palm tree near the beach, is now fenced off. (Photo by Ana Getzoff)

This entry posted by Ana Getzoff

Summer News from Chacala, July 2008

2008-09-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

CAMBIANDO VIDAS NEWSLETTER

We ended the tourist season in March with a delightful fiesta in the school yard to give the visitors in town an opportunity to meet the kids in our program and learn what is happening at the Dale Reinhardt Learning Center. We invited the residents of Marina Chacala by email and flyers, and then distributed flyers to the RVers at the beach. Three of the teens (Alonso, Antonelly, and walked the beach at sunset the night before the party with Ana and talked to about 40 people, inviting them to the program and telling them about Cambiando Vidas. We had a pretty good crowd.

The show was wonderful. The kids sang and danced, both modern dances and Folklorico, complete with costumes. The also performed a few skits. Some refreshments were provided by the parents.

You can see the photos of this event at www.snapfish.com. Sign in under my name “getannie@cablelynx.com”, and enter password “EBACHfotos.” You can order prints as well.

Mary Jane Rintelman, Marina Chacala resident and CV supporter, took some wonderful video which you can see at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyXvw-fBkSk

You will see several other “related videos” at that site. Two more of the fiesta and some from the beach at Chacala which will remind you how lovely it is there and that you need to return soon.

Ana returned to Chacala for 12 days in June.
“I love Chacala in June. It is very quiet and there are few tourists. I had lots of time to wander around town, visit with Viky in the Learning Center, and visit with Mexican friends. Only one RV was parked in the Palm Grove. The weather was rainy, but beautiful and the water was warm enough to float around or swim for long stretches of time. The sun appeared almost every day, and it was in fact cooler than Arkansas. Mid-eighties in Chacala as compared to mid-nineties in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Very comfortable.

“I was surprised that the kids are still in school. I had forgotten that they don’t get out until July 1, and then only for 3 weeks. The after-school program in the library downstairs is lively, with Isaak supervising. Viky is up in the computer center upstairs all day until 5 pm.

“It is so wonderful to have the computer center as a gathering place for the teens. It is a safe place to hang out and interact with each other, and they have Viky as resident counselor, to talk to about any problems or concerns.”

Ana reports the following news.

EBACH

Our website has been redone, so be sure to go to www.Chacala.org and check out the completely new “Meet the Students,” with new photos and descriptions of all the students. If you have visited the website before, you will need to “refresh” the website on your computer or your computer may automatically pull up pages from the old website.

Our excellent group of 28 students met in May and elected new officers.

Alonso, who has served as the President for 3 years, will begin attending a Saturday program at the University of Tepic in August. He will graduate from High School (a Saturday program in nearby Zacualpan after three years of study there) in July. So he is now past-president, although always there when needed and still very much a part of EBACH.

The new President is Antonelli, and Raul is the new Vice-President. Monica will continue as treasurer, and Olivia as secretary. “Excellent choices,” comments Viky.

Photo

LIMPIA CHACALA
Jose Enrique of Majahua Restaurant, hotel and spa, has helped to develop an expanded “Limpia Chacala” program. There are new signs at the entrance to the village, asking visitors to keep Chacala clean.

Photo

Each week-end three EBACH students and one adult work at the entrace to the Palm Grove, picking up garbage and asking asking all the tourists to please pick up their garbage and take it out in their cars. They even get on the buses coming in to town and talk with the visitors about keeping our beach clean. Besides Jose Enrique, the other adult supporters who take turns helping the kids are Concha of Casa Aurora, Gora of Casa Aurora, and Luis of Casa Monarca. Viky reports that this project has been very effectiive

NINOS GUARDIANOS
Viky commissioned a metal worker to make 7 large receptacles, which are placed around town for the disposal of plastics. Each Sunday, the children and Viky collect about 20 bags of plastic. A truck from Los Ayala picks up the plastic each month for recycling. This program is a model for other programs along the coast.
Photo

Viky is looking for a way to take the kids on a cultural trip to Guadalajara his summer. She is very good at getting the government to donate a bus and driver for these trips. They have money from the plastic recycling, and she will be working on ways to earn the rest of the money for the trip. She is very resourceful and determined to give the kids this reward for their hard work.

DALE REINHARDT MEMORIAL
We announced earlier this year how saddened we were by the passing of Dale Reinhardt, the original founder of the Chacala Library, on December 28th. Dale asked that his ashes be interred in the Dale Reinhardt Learning Center and they have arrived. Later this summer, there will be a ceremony to place his ashes in a niche in the library wall. The winner of the design competition for the niche was Beto U.

MEDICAL/DENTAL CLINIC
Dale’s son, Mark has been working with Viky, our Learning Center Administrator, to carry on his legacy and complete the Medical/Dental Clinic, a project that Dale began a few years ago.   The clinic is looking good, lacking only doors and fixtures, and is scheduled to open in August or September. The governnment will send a doctor, a medical resident to staff the Clinic. The clinic is a wonderful opportunity for visitors, who are in the medical field, to come in to the clinic and volunteer their services.

VICTOR, OUR MEDICAL STUDENT in Hermosillo, writes the following to Mariana:

...I only want that it knows that I am very happy and thank for all the aid that offers me without requesting nothing in return, you are an example of life for me, and if I in the future can do the same for other people I going to do of heart.

I write to him [HIS SPONSOR] to talk that already I am going to finish to my 'Internado' in the first week of July her in Hermosillo and I am going away to return to El Capomo [NEAR CHACALA], to probably command me to do a social service in Las Varas one year, but I talked with Viky and she says that they are going to open a hospital in Chacala, I am going to investigate in my school to see if I can be in my social service in this place, I going to be very happy of being able to return a little of which you have given helping me in Chacala.

The good thing is that i going to stay closely together of my house and I believe that my expenses you would be smaller, but went the social service finish I want to make an exam to make a residence and to obtain a specialty, is a very heavy exam because they are few seats, for that I am thinking about taking some extra classes while I am in the service.

I want to say thank you very much and am thankful to God for it to have put to you in my way.
... and I hope to see it soon to you

PD. In my last vacations I went to the school of chacala and was teaching some things to the children, we amused much very well and I believe that them pleasure.
and I am sorry for my english, I didn´t learn yet

ABOUT OUR FINANCES

As a reminder to our donors, costs for the high school students are still $720 USD a year, $360 of which is transportation to and from Las Varas. The balance is for tuition, uniforms and school supplies. If you sponsor a student studying locally in Chacala, who does not require $720, please know that your donation helps pay for the extra costs of the University students as well as all the programs and expenses in the Learning Center. We count on that extra money as not all donors can pay the entire expense incurred by their student. As you know, all the money donated to Cambiando Vidas must be held in one big pot and distributed according the the needs of the program. It cannot legally be earmarked for a particular student.

For our University Students, Cambiando Vidas contributes $200 a month for 10 months of the year, or about $2,000 for the year, which covers books and tuition. We trust our loyal donors will come through and help us to continue to send our kids to University. We are so grateful for all who have increased their donations.

Any size donation is welcome, of course, as a one time donation, or to sponsor part of a scholarship. Some families divide the scholarship between them, among three or four families. Some Rotary Clubs or other organizations also sponsor a student.

2007 PROFIT AND LOSS SUMMARY

Total donations collected $34,696

Expenses 2007:
Learning Center Salaries $8,463
         Learning Center maintenance $3,874
Misc. Expenses $2,560
Scholarship Payout $21,045

Total Expenses were $35,940
Loss 2007 $1,244

Your contributions are critical to our survival.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can make a contribution to Cambiando Vidas by mailing a check to Cambiando Vidas, 245 Mt. Hermon Rd., PMB 312, Scotts Valley, Ca. 95066 OR by using PayPal on our web site, www.chacala.org. THANKS!

A NOTE TO OUR CANADIAN FRIENDS

You can now take a deduction on your Canadian Income Tax by donating through the Tides Canada Foundation if the donation is over $1000.

You may send a check to Tides Canada, who will take 5% for handling and forward the remaining monies to Tides San Francisco, who in turn will send us a check in US funds. Tides Canada will send you a tax receipt for your income taxes as part of the service. You will have to submit a form letter along with your check—Mariana will send this to you upon request. For more information or the form letter write Mariana (madak99@aol.com). Canadian donors can also use PayPal at the website for no cost.

CAMBIANDO VIDAS is a charitable organization with United States Internal Revenue Service 501 (c) 3 tax -exempt status. EIN 73-1668982

Cambiando Vidas Newsletter

2008-01-25T11:59:00.000-08:00

A visitors description of Chacala reads,
“We walk down the early morning beach, footprints wiped clean by the tide, pristine. A couple hundred pelicans float the shallow waters, rising and dive-bombing the unsuspecting sardines and other bait fish, packed tight near the shore. A feeding frenzy for three days now. The magnificent frigates shadow the pelicans, looking for a dropped fish, or snatching a piece from a pelican’s immense beak.”

This is an everyday scene on the pristine beach in our beautiful little bay. Up the hill at the Learning Center and elementary classrooms, children run in and out, playing and laughing. They are being educated and enriched as never before. It is seven years since Cambiando Vidas initiated the Scholarship Program and support of the Learning Center. What a miracle of hope that a little help from our friends has brought to the children of Chacala. We are so grateful to all those folks in Chacala, the USA and Canada for all the help in creating a brighter future for these children.

The winter in Chacala was successful and productive. Mariana arrived mid-November and began working with Viky and the scholarship students. Viky left the next week for a well deserved week's vacation to Vera Cruz to visit her family.

Ana was able to come for a couple of short visits, surprised mostly by how big the little kids have gotten, and how mature the teen-agers look and act. She wasn’t able to recognize some of the kids. We were impressed by Viky—she has made great strides in her English and is speaking in English with our visitors. The pueblo is filled with the not always pleasant sounds of construction—everywhere. New homes, condos, restaurants, and motels springing up everywhere. It is a real boon for the local business owners, but a little sad for those of us who have loved Chacala since the days before the road from the highway was paved.

DALE REINHARDT LEARNING CENTER NEWS

Chad Waters, long time supporter and sometime resident, has been financing the town's garbage pick up service for the past several years and has donated funding to Cambiando Vidas to keep the recycling project going as well. Many folks have mentioned that they thought the town was looking cleaner. That is very satisfying—what we have been working toward for years.

We are sad to tell you that June Constant, Susana Escobido’s mother, passed away this year. June, who lived in Ajijic, was a regular donor to Cambiando Vidas. After June’s death, Susana made a lovely donation for maintenance in her name, which allowed us to hire Juan, our favorite local painter, to put a fresh coat of paint on the outside of the Learning Center. It looks wonderful.

Viky has taken the kids on two summer enrichment trips, and this summer she is dreaming of taking the kids to Mexico City. Although these trips provide wonderful enrichment for the kids, they are beyond the mission of Cambiando Vidas, and with all the students entering University the budget doesn’t allow for a summer trip. The government will provide a bus for her, but she also needs $16,000 pesos (about $1500 U.S.) for lodging and meals for about 20 kids and EBACH supervisors. She has received a partial donation from a friend. If you are interested in sponsoring the trip or making a special contribution for this, please let Mariana know (_madak99@aol.com_
(mailto:madak99@aol.com) ).

SPECIAL VOLUNTEERS

We are so pleased to honor Teresa Freeburn as our volunteer of the year. She came to Chacala mid-Jaunuary and immediately began working with the children in the Learning Center. She is originally from Cuba, and thus completely fluent in Spanish. In her “spare time,” Teresa helped Viky with her English.

Teresa lives in Ellensburg, WA where her husband is pursuing a Master's Degree in History. She taught full time for 5 years and has been substituting for 12. Her two sons are in college, which gives her the opportunity to do some traveling. While staying in Sayulita on a previous trip, she visited Chacala and fell in love with it. ”I love the Mexican people, the culture, and especially working with the children,” she says.

About her Learning Center experience, Teresa says, “I really enjoyed working with the kids and it's nice to know that I made a difference in their lives. I worked with them 3 afternoons a week teaching English, creative writing, listening to them read, reading to them, and asking questions to check on their comprehension. We did a little math to reinforce what they were doing in their regular class. I also did a few art projects although I am not the
most artistic person around.”

Teresa invited guest speakers to come to her classroom after school and talk about their jobs or teach a lesson. Rick and Serena Raskin who own a pizza parlor in Hornby Island, B.C. came and taught the kids how to make pizza. Of course the best part was eating it.) She invited musicians, a personal trainer who did a workout with the kids, and two women who did art projects. She had a total of 15 friends come to share with the children. There are so many interesting visitors in Chacala and coordinating them to come into the Learning Center was a stroke of genius.

“I wanted to broaden [the children’s] horizons as the town where they live is so tiny—I wanted to expose them to the outside world. I took lots of pictures of them and made them each a little photo album which I gave them on the last day of class.”

The children loved Teresa and many didn’t miss a day when she was there. The Friday before Teresa left some of the moms gave her a surprise going away party with a three leche cakes (these delicious milk soaked-cakes are aspecialty of the area). The kids had written some very sweet letters for her (assisted by their regular after-school teacher, Isaac.) After the party they all went swimming at one of the student's pool. There were many sad little faces around town when Teresa left, mid-March. “I absolutely love that little town and hope to go back in about two years.”

Thank you, thank you Teresa. Your presence was such a gift and creates a model for how other visiting teachers can help. We would also like to acknowledge Nancy LeHocky Preston, a new winter resident in Chacala. Nancy and her helpers painted the entire inside of thelibrary, went through and organized all the books, and gleaned duplicated andoutdated reference books. She alphabetized the fiction and made an inviting displayfor the younger children, as well as a special place for the after school primary teachers to read. The scholarship students and other volunteers helped make this all happen during the two-week Christmas holiday. Volunteer helpers were Viky, Mariana, Nancy, Sue Vohanka, and Jacob and Clay, beach campers from Seattle. Students who helped included Gustavo Flores, Karina, Carolina, Sofia. According to Nancy Preston and Betty Todd, another librarian living in Chacala, our library now is equal to any in the U.S. Thanks to Nancy for creating a wonderful project and carrying it out. The library looks beautiful and inviting. Isaac, our after school enrichment teacher, was pleasantly surprised when he returned from the Christmas break.

The gleaned books were boxed up and delivered to smaller pueblos who do not have the blessing of tourism and donations of books.

Philip Botwink, friend of a regular donor, has sent us 6 Leggo Sets. They are wonderful toys for the kids. Evelyn Kerber from Canyon Lake, CA took Viky on a couple of shopping trips for school supplies. Tony Davis from New York, a friend of friends, sent us a very generous unexpected donation. It’s amazing how word gets around and the generosity flows.

Most of all, we cherish our regular donors and sponsors. Your commitment is what makes the program run, month after month, year after year. In the fall newsletter we will list all our regular donors. We are so grateful for your commitment and generosity.

NEWS FROM EBACH (Estudiantes Becados Agradecidos de Chacala, or Grateful Scholarship Students of Chacala)

We are happy to announce that we graduated our first University student, Candelario Serrano Gomez from the Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Coahuila, Mex. with a degree "Ingeniero en Parasitologia.” Candelario has had three job offers in different parts of Mexico and has not yet decided where he will work.

Pablo Arturo will graduate in July 2007 with his degree in tourism. Last summer he did his practical working in a big hotel in Puerto Vallarta—experiencing all parts of the hospitality business. His English has improved as well as his self confidence. We suspect he will start working with his brothers(Cundo and Juan) in their local tourism business and will be able to add his expertise to help them expand and become successful entrepreneurs in Chacala.

Four more students will be starting university in August 2007 (Ulises, Antonelly, Ernesto, and Teresa) bringing the total in University to seven (Carolina will be in her second year, and Gerardo and Gustavo will be in their third year).

This year we have started a mentoring program within the scholarship program. we have inducted two new students this year to fill the spots of the graduating university students using this new system. Roberto Carlos will be mentored by Gerardo and Dalia, who will be mentored by Raul. This program is to help new students integrate into EBACH.

Susana learned about a Toys for Tots program when she met Kelley Trainer, the American Consulate in Puerto Vallarta. So in early January, Alonso and Monica, representing EBACH, went to a meeting in Puerto Vallarta to learn about the program. EBACH agreed to participate and to deliver the toys in our area.

On January 7th, some of the students piled into Mariana’s car and Gerardo’s truck to go to Puerto Vallarta to pick up over 300 toys for the small pueblos in our area. The toys distribution coincided with Three King’s Day, a traditional gift giving time in Mexico. The kids participating in the pickup and in the distribution were Monica, Erika, Gerardo, Chuy, Pedro, Lety, Nena, Gustavo, Alonso and Oscar, They, along with Viky, delivered soccer, volley and basket balls, Barbie dolls, trucks and blocks to nearby barrios, including Las Varas, El Capomo, Divisadero, LaCuata, and Paso de las Palmas. We will stay in touch with Kelley at the Embassy, and are hoping to be invited to do this again next year.

One of our University students, Carolina, is also enrolled in the "Big Learning School" in Tepic which is an accelerated and intense English program. They claim that in one year Carolina will be speaking English fluently. The cost for this program is $1300 US for the 365 days of class. Carolina is getting a special scholarship student rate to introduce this new school to Cambiando Vidas. Carolina, one of our brightest students, wants to study Business Administration with an emphasis on hospitality.

Carolina has been invited to spend a month this summer in Canada for a total immersion in English. This trip is sponsored by Justin and Susan Fryer who are opening their hearts and home to make a dream come true for her.

All of the 29 students in the program are doing really well and we are extremely proud of them! When we reflect back just a few years when only a few of the children in Chacala went to high school and most left school after 6th grade We are so pleased that education has become more important to the kids and their parents.

ABOUT OUR FINANCES

Costs for the high school students are still $720 USD a year, $360 of which is transportation to and from Las Varas and the balance is for tuition, uniforms and school supplies. If you sponsor a student studying locally in Chacala, who does not require $720, please know that your donation helps pay for the extra costs of the University students as well as all the programs and expenses in the Learning Center. We count on that extra money as not all donors can pay the entire expense incurred by their student. As you know, all the money donated to Cambiando Vidas must be held in one big pot and distributed according the the needs of the program. It cannot legally be earmarked for a particular student.

While in university each student requires $200 a month for 10 months of the year, or about $8,000 for the year. We trust our loyal donors will come through and help make this happen. We are so grateful for all who have really stepped up to the plate.

In the 2006 calendar year, total donations collected were $41,550
Our Expenses included:
Salaries of $9,052 (Our only paid staff are local Mexicans)
Learning Center maintenance was $2,491
Bank and Exchange Fees totaled $573
Scholarship Program expenses (including tuition, uniforms, books,
transport, etc.) for 29 students were $26,180
Our Total Expenses were $38,296, leaving us $3,254 to carry forward into
2007.

You can see how critical it is that your donations keep coming in.

OUR ROTARY CLUBS ARE TERRIFIC

Thanks to our devoted Rotary Clubs, our plea for new computers has been answered beyond our expectations. and we have acquired 8 new computers. What would we do without our Rotary supporters? We can always count on them.

George Luna from Berkeley Rotary had taken up a casual collection of his members (our plea was too late for their 2007 budget). Berkeley contributors to this special fund include Bob Randell, Grier Graff, George Hasa, Pamela Doolan, Pate Thompson, Gerry Cote, Mary Alice Rathbun, Jack MacPhail, Allen Leggett, Jackie Hammon, Reg Garcia, George Luna and Scott Garmon from the Garmon Corporation.

Since Berkeley Rotary worked in New Orleans this past winter, the New Orleans Club, in gratitude for the help from Berkeley Rotary, added a very generous donation to the computer fund. This generosity was from people who have lost homes and businesses, everything. The New Orleans contributors, led by Henry Lowentritt, include Gayle Dillenger, Susan Simon, Jane Sumner, Mike & Lisa Ryan, George Hero III, Hilton Bell, Phil Nimmo, Christine Hoffman, Carol Neff, Donald Hoffman, Dick McCarthy lll, James and Susan Peterson, Frank and Leslie Carbon. and Frank Stewart. We are so grateful to you all, who reached into your pockets for our remote little village, when your own needs are monumental. What heart!

George and Reg Garcia came to Chacala in the fall and purchased four new computers at Wal-Mart and delivered them in person to the Learning Center. Buying the computers here gives us Spanish operating systems and local support. We are so blessed. Referring to Berkeley and New Orleans, George wrote, “We are all friends of Chacala.”

BK Barringer & Dale Elks, Rotarians from North Carolina, have put together a plea to their clubs and are working with Compostela (MX) Rotary and Rotary International to obtain a matching grant $10,000 for new computers, desks and supplies for the computer center. Dale also worked with Dale Reinhardt and his son Mark, as well as Compostela (MX) Rotary on a book buying donation. We picked up the donation from Compostela and were able to buy dictionaries for every child in school this year as well as some wonderful reference books for the library.

Art Thompson of the Kalispell Rotary Club sent us a check which enabled us to purchase two more new computers. We put the two working older computers downstairs in the library so the little ones will be able to use the donated interactive games and begin to build their skills and start learning about computers and the internet.

Finally, thanks to Scott Turner and John Melius from North Carolina , who donated laptops.

SPECIAL SPONSOR NEEDED

We have recently found out that Telmex Prodigy DSL is offering a router that can handle the ten workstations for $500 pesos ($46USD) per month. For less than $600 per year, the LC could provide much improved Internet access. The DSL solution sounds perfect for us and could make a difference for allour scholars. We would be so grateful to have a sponsor take on this commitment.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

You can make a contribution to Cambiando Vidas by mailing a check to:
Cambiando Vidas, 245 Mt. Hermon Rd., PMB 312, Scotts Valley, Ca. 95066
OR by using PayPal on our web site. THANKS!

A NOTE TO OUR CANADIAN FRIENDS

Mariana is looking into a way that you can take a deduction on your Canadian Income Tax by donating through the Tides Canada Foundation. The way it would work is that you would send a check to Tides Canada, who will take 5% for handling and forward the remaining monies to Tides San Francisco, who in turn will send us a check in US funds. Tides Canada will send you a tax receipt for your income taxes as part of the service. You will have to submit a form letter along with your check—Mariana will send this to you upon request.

If you are interested in more information or the form letter please contact
Mariana: madak99@aol.com.

CAMBIANDO VIDAS is a charitable organization with United States Internal
Revenue Service 501 (c) 3 tax -exempt status. EIN 73-1668982

"MAKING A DIFFERENCE - THE CHILDREN OF CHACALA"

2007-05-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from 50 Minute Radio Broadcast
Radio de Universidad de Aguacalientes (94.5 FM)
May 15th, 2007

Interview with Susana Escobido of Chacala, Nayarit.

I have been a business woman all my life. As I would sit at my desk on a Sunday evening, paying bills and writing checks to this charity and that, I would say to myself, “when am I going to actively give back to those who have less opportunities than I?” I saw the world as humans equal to each other, the only separation was the amount of opportunities. Enter my sister, Judy, who was battling breast cancer. A more talented woman there was not. She was going to spend her golden years taking Judith Anderson Puppets on the road, a grandma puppeteer. She did not get the chance, but as she lay dying at age 51, I made her a legacy. I would take her work forward into the world of children. We sold our home, our material treasures and started forth on an adventure in a second-hand travel trailer. I gathered Judy's puppets, my roller-blades, craft materials and set forth for Mexico. Once in Mexico, I used the different plazas as my venues, difficult locations for theater and education. And then one day, we traveled through the canopy of trees to lush Chacala Bay. I discovered a small library built by a Rotarian, Dale Reinhardt, from North Carolina. I opened the locked doors and knew that I had found my destiny. Within three months I went from 2 children to 40, hungry to participate in my after-school program.

Several years went by as I gathered a staff, volunteers, educational material, toys for all ages, craft classes, sports equipment and ingredients for live theater. We had fun, but we were poor as Poncie and I provided almost the sole financial support. Often visitors would arrive. I would give them a tour and tell the story, hoping one day someone would take us into their hearts. And it happened in the form of another Rotary Club, this time from Kalispell, Montana. With their validation, in three years, Berkeley California Rotary added a second floor, a tool lending library, a hot-lunch cafeteria, and a new primary school bathroom. Other Rotary Clubs re-built the secondary school and kindergarten. Our library was named the Dale Reinhardt Learning Center.

During the early years, I saw smart kids dropping out of my programs, they had finished public education in Chacala, at age thirteen or fourteen. Another volunteer, Mariana Day and I vowed to raise scholarship money so that we could send children to high school in surrounding larger towns. We asked all edible, interested students to bring me a file with an essay, their grades and their teacher's recommendation. Thirteen students presented me with their files. While I was in the U.S, Mariana and I raised money equal to two scholarships. I proudly called our learning center administrator. Before I could speak she proudly told me that all thirteen had enrolled in school, on our credit! Somehow the money for the other eleven students appeared. Six year later we have 30 students enrolled in high school, technical high school, several universities and two colleges.

Cambiando Vidas (www.chacala.org) became a non-profit U.S. organization six years ago. We now have a board of directors with Mariana as President and Ana Getzoff as secretary and an excellent staff. My primary goal is to help raise visibility and money. I found that while I was not a puppeteer nor had never been a teacher like my sister, I was still a business woman who can facilitate, network and create opportunities for children.

"Mexico's Pacific Coast Beckons Retirees"

2007-05-07T15:22:00.001-07:00

By Tom Carter
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 1, 2007

CHACALA, Mexico -- Retired U.S. soccer executive Gordon Preston has no regrets about retiring to Mexico.

Standing on his third-floor patio, overlooking the turquoise blue Pacific Ocean, coconut palms swaying in the gentle breeze, he sipped his Pacifico beer, chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I can't think of a single downside," said Mr. Preston, surveying the comfortable three-bedroom, three-bath home he had built and furnished for less than $100,000. "I feel at home here like nowhere else."

Mr. Preston is a retired Detroit executive with the now-defunct North American Soccer League who helped bring the World Cup to the United States in 1994. He first visited Mexico on soccer business 17 years ago and then started spending winters in Chacala, 60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.

He and his wife, Nancy Lehocky, are two of the estimated 1 million Americans and Canadians living in Mexico at any given time.

Mexico's laws were revamped in 1994 to make it easier for foreigners to invest in Mexican real estate and buy second homes, creating a building boom as "gringos" from the north flock to the white sand beaches of the south.

Although foreigners still have to negotiate some legal hurdles, the population along the coast is growing -- swelling exponentially after Christmas, when harsh winds, cold and snow rake El Norte and "snowbirds " from Canada and the United States head south for the winter, to bask on the beaches and sip margaritas in the near-perfect weather -- sunny 80-degree days with no humidity and 60-degree nights -- that bless coastal Mexico in winter.

BUILDING BOOM
Like the campers currently parked on the beach, Mr. Preston started out in a tricked-out recreational vehicle. And like many U.S. retirees south of the border, Mr. Preston maintains a "summer" home in the United States. But seven years ago, he bought a piece of prime real estate on the hill overlooking the small fishing village and its two scenic bays. He started building three years ago.

"We drive down before Thanksgiving and go back in April or May. But I may spend the summer here this year," he said. "Hopefully, my kids and grandkids will get this someday."

Many second-home settlers first visited for a resort vacation, returned for longer stays in recreational vehicles and then started buying.

"My biggest mistake when I came here 11 years ago was not buying everything I could. If I won a million dollars today, I'd invest it all right here," said Harvey Craig, a fast-talking, retired Canadian tool-and-die maker, reborn as a real estate broker and developer in Sayulita, a booming surfing village between Chacala and Puerto Vallarta.

"I don't know anyone who ever bought property here who didn't make money. ... Moving here was absolutely the best decision I ever made in my life." As a result of Mexico's legal changes that protect foreign investment, the sheer volume and intensity of major and minor construction on the coast, especially along "Costa Vallarta" -- the 100 miles of coastal villages north of Puerto Vallarta to San Blas -- is difficult to fathom.

Dozens of giant billboards line the highways going in and out of Puerto Vallarta -- advertising condominiums for sale, pre-sale offers, luxury oceanfront villas on golf courses -- Nuevo Vallarta, Punta Mita, Marina Vallarta and La Cruz de Hunacaxtle.

The Puerto Vallarta airport is expanding to accommodate the ever-growing number of nonstop jumbos flying in from Alaska, Chicago, New York, Houston, Vancouver, Toronto, Dallas and Atlanta.

Day and night, 18-wheelers navigate Mexico's highways, unpaved dusty back roads, and village cobblestones, filled with concrete, brick, rebar, copper, roofing tiles, and other building materials. Much of it is destined for gated communities filled with second homes, where modest two-bedroom homes start at about $400,000 and increase to $2 million and well beyond. In some places it seems as though every house on every block is undergoing remodeling or add-ons.

The Mexican government recently announced plans to spend millions improving highways and water and sewerage facilities in the region. One of the first projects, a large sewage- and water-treatment facility in Higuera Blanca-Litibu, on the coast between Punta Mita and Sayulita, is under construction. Sayulita's modern new sewage-treatment plant is scheduled to begin operating this winter.

In early February, Front Porch Development Co. in partnership with Mexico firm Grupo Krone, announced it will develop "Luma," an "active adult" retirement community in Nuevo Vallarta, 15 minutes north of the Puerto Vallarta airport. When completed, Luma -- which is being built exclusively for the over-50 set -- will have 400 residences starting at $400,000 and topping out at around $1.2 million.

Not to be outdone, the Related Group Inc. of Miami, the largest builder of luxury condominiums in the United States, announced recently that it would build $1 billion worth of property in Mexico in the next two years, much of it north of Puerto Vallarta. Beachfront condominiums that cost $300 a square foot in Puerto Vallarta would sell for $1,500 a square foot in Los Angeles or San Diego, according to Bloomberg News.

Stewart International, one of several companies selling title insurance for foreign investors, has insured between $3 billion and $4 billion worth of property in Mexico, mostly in second homes for American and Canadian buyers, since 2001.

"Buying property in Mexico is safe, with competent legal counsel and title insurance," said Michael Skalka, chief executive of Stewart International.

And GMAC International Mortgage announced in December that it would be the first U.S. lender to offer 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for second and retirement homes in Mexico, at 8.75 percent.

LAND RUSH
Housing prices in Mexico are skyrocketing with the building boom.

Two years ago, the cheapest lot in the Marina Chacala gated community next to Chacala cost $100,000. A similar lot today is on the block for $200,000.

"I didn't want to, but I had to buy [my $175,000 town house behind the Puerto Vallarta Wal-Mart] now," said Paul Werner of North Vale, N.J., who has been wintering in Mexico for three years and has watched prices double in that time. "I would not have been able to afford it in three years. They say my house appreciated $40,000 the day I signed my contract."

A beachfront bed-and-breakfast in Sayulita that was bought for $75,000 seven years ago is currently listed for $1.6 million. It is all but impossible to buy a small lot for less than $50,000. And ocean-view lots, even in out-of-the-way places such as Chacala, which two or three years ago sold for $20,000, now start at $60,000 to $75,000. Building a home costs between $60 to $100 a square foot.

Michel Peretiako and Cheryl Watts, of Kalispell, Mont., who spend four or five months each winter in Chacala, rent a room with a bath and kitchen at Casa Concha, a small inn run by Concha Garcia Velazquez, for ethical reasons.

"We'd rather pay a Mexican owner and put our money into the Mexican economy, rather than buying a piece of property or paying the mortgage of some gringo who bought a second home here but lives in Colorado," Mrs. Watts said.

"We know Chacala is going to change, but we come from an area [in Montana] where the locals have been priced out by rich investors. We'd rather see Mexican families make the money, so they can stay here."

Still, the Mexican coast is cheap compared with the U.S.

According to the March-April 2004 issue of AARP magazine, "For 600 bucks a month, retirees in Mexico can [rent] a three-bedroom home, with a gardener. For a cool thousand well, you won't believe it."

Rod Rosile, a California surfer turned real estate entrepreneur, agreed.

"This place will ruin you. It is inexpensive, and the people are so nice. Spend any time here and you won't want to go back," said Mr. Rosile, who has a home in Sayulita and is building another one in Marina Chacala.

With so much construction, like the massive developments going up on either side of Chacala, it feels like a land rush.

"I compare it to the Wild West, only instead of Conestoga wagons, the settlers are coming in RVs," said Mindy Christie, of Modesto, Calif., who retired from 35 years of teaching last year and moved to Mexico.

Mrs. Christie, and her husband, Ralph, a Spanish teacher, sold their home in Modesto last year, but have been renting in Chacala since November. They live on a budget of about $2,500 a month.

"We did not want the stress of homeownership in Mexico, and for what we are renting for, it made sense for us," said Mr. Christie, occasionally glancing up to check the score of the Florida-Vanderbilt basketball game on ESPN, beamed to his living room by satellite.

Instead, they have the stress of heavy trucks constantly lumbering by out front and construction on three sides of their rental home.

"We came down here expecting to read and write and relaxing in a small, quiet Mexican village, but Chacala is on the edge of a boom," Mrs. Christie said.

Mr. Christie's only criticism about Mexico: It is hard to find "decent wine" beyond Chilean in the $10 to $15 a bottle range.

Some expats complain about Mexico's "manana" culture. Foreigners quickly learn that when a Mexican says he'll do it "manana," it does not mean "tomorrow," it just means "not today."

Others don't like the culture of petty corruption and bribes. For example, the traffic police are poorly paid, and it is standard procedure to slip the cop who has pulled you over $20 or so, to get out of a traffic ticket.

But most go with the flow.

"It is Mexico. It is a different country. If you don't like the way they do things, don't come," Mrs. Watts said.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Mrs.Watts and Mr. Peretiako are regularly invited to Chacala weddings and baby christenings.
"We know Concha's nieces and nephews and sons, her whole family," Mrs. Watts said.

She and her husband, who have traveled all over the world, said that based on seven winters in Chacala, she finds the Mexican people are warm and welcoming.

"I wish Americans treated Mexicans as well as Mexicans treat Americans," she said.

Mr. Craig said relations between Mexican locals and newly retired Canadians and Americans who have transformed Sayulita are excellent.

"There may be some resentment, but most Mexicans seem to be very happy with the changes. This was a very poor village 25 years ago and a lot of locals have made a lot of money with the influx of gringos. Look out on the streets, there are a lot of expensive new trucks being driven by Mexicans out there," he said.

Expatriates do not seem too concerned that Mexico might elect a socialist president, like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"You know what, I looked at [the political situation in] Venezuela before I bought. They don't know if their property will be taken," said Jim Campbell, a retired computer executive from Boston who recently bought a home in Sayulita.

"What if [Andres Manuel Lopez] Obrador, rather than [Mexican President Felipe] Calderon had won, I thought about that. But I think Mexico is too far along, oil, American tourists, too integrated into the U.S. economy to go the way of Venezuela. NAFTA and globalization make that unlikely," he said.

The Mexican government has no desire to interrupt the flow of tourist and retiree dollars from the United States.

"At the Mexico Tourism Board, we are focused on travel to Mexico, not precisely promoting real estate, but we have discovered a lot of interest in that area," said Eduardo Chaillo, Mexico's tourism director for North America, noting that tourism, after oil, is Mexico's second most important economic engine, at about $10 billion a year.

"We are focused on the 50-plus market, the baby-boomer segment, not kids and spring breakers. We are conscious of the power of the money that baby boomers have."

AMERICAN STYLE LIVING
Mr. Campbell, who retired 14 years ago from Data General in Westborough, Mass., recently bought a three-bedroom, 2-- bath home two blocks from Sayulita's surfing beach.

"I resolved when I left Boston that I'd never live in that climate again," Mr. Campbell said. He spent a few years in California before settling in Santa Fe, N.M., and now Sayulita.

"Feel that breeze. It would be 95 degrees in Oaxaca by now. The climate is wonderful, less tropical than farther south. It is the same time zone as Santa Fe. It is a new house, totally furnished. There was a clear title the light just went on," he said.

He noted that Puerto Vallarta, just 35 minutes from Sayulita unless slow-moving construction trucks clog the two-lane highway has a Sam's Club and Wal-Mart, for American-style shopping.

Mr. Campbell said he and his wife are still trying to figure out if they need to buy a car, and if they want to wire the house for high-speed Internet. His XM Satellite receiver works, and he is using his American cell phone and local Internet cafes to keep in touch with his family and read the daily newspapers.

Being 67 and having some health concerns, Mr. Campbell said he researched local health care facilities before taking the plunge.

"Puerto Vallarta has two American-style hospitals with American-trained doctors. There is a nice medical facility in [the next village up the coast at] San Pancho. And if needed, I can always jump on an airplane back to the United States," he said. "I've had no buyer's remorse at all."

The Christies echoed that sentiment.

"I saw a cardiologist in Puerto Vallarta last week. She was American trained and spent 45 minutes with me. It cost $50. I'd trust her in any situation. You rarely get that kind of attention in the United States," Mr. Christie said.

Mr. Campbell said while American newspapers are filled with Mexico's crime and drug problems, he feels safe.

"There may be problems in some of the border states, but I feel safe walking around Sayulita after dark," he said.

Mrs. Watts in Chacala agreed.

"I feel much safer in a Mexican bus station than I ever would in an American one," she said. "The people [at home] concerned about safety in Mexico have never been here."

As for water, many of the communities along the Pacific Vallarta coast are putting in new water and sewage plants, and expats as well as Mexicans in Chacala and Sayulita said they "could" drink the water from the tap, but most stuck with bottled water.

"We drink bottled water here, just like we do in Canada," said Mr. Craig, who is a central character in the recently published "Gringos in Paradise" written by Barry Golson, a former "Playboy" and "TV Guide" publishing executive, whose new book chronicles retiring and building a house in Sayulita. Retirees said their family and friends were horrified that they were retiring to Mexico. But they were beginning to change their minds. "Everyone we know thinks we are crazy," Mr. Werner said.

The Christies agreed.

"My 86-year-old mother was aghast. Most of our friends thought we were out of our minds, but they'd never been here," Mrs. Christie said. "Now they are coming to visit and cannot believe how wonderful Mexico is."

Cambiando Vidas Newsletter

2007-04-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

NOTICIAS DE CHACALA, NOVEMBER 2006

Chacala is growing and thriving beyond belief. Mariana will be heading down in just a few weeks to resume her role as President of the Board of Cambiando Vidas, and work like crazy for several months in the Learning Center, revising programs, consulting with Viky, meeting with the kids, and making sure our scholarship students get what they need.

LEARNING CENTER NEWS
Since August, the children have been back in school and the Dale Reinhardt Learning Center is busy and noisy with the sounds of children working and playing. Isacc is still working with the kids every day after school. We are so blessed to have him.Viky, Alonso, Jamie and Carlos wished to continue with their English class when they ended in Chacala last year, so they have been going to Las Varas on Saturdays to study with our English teacher, Trudy. Viky is working with Trudy to start a regular class again at the Learning Center.“CHACALA LIMPIO” (Project for a clean Chacala)There is a terrific push to create a clean Chacala. Viky, our friend, Jose Enrique, owner of Mahajua Resort, the scholarship kids (EBACH), Mariana, and our good friend Chad Waters, who has financed most of this, have a new plan to not only collect and recycle plastics but to promote a regular program within the community. The kids are going door-to-door, street by street to get the recycling program off the ground.In conjunction with an annual Mexico-wide program, the Primary kids made up teams and greeted each visiting car and bus and passed out information about keeping Chacala clean. They gave each family a garbage bag to collect their trash and instructions for putting it in the large cans that have been placed around the beach area. Once again the Primary kids have won the 1st prize in the plastic recycling contest, a competition of all the rural schools started by Nayarit Governor Ney, who also started the "Guardian" program with the primary kids. The 10,000 pesos prize will be used to pay for continuing garbage removal in Chacala.This program is now being used in conjunction with EBACH's participation in the "Chacala Limpio" program. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Chad Waters for his commitment to creating a clean town, and his generous donations to make this program happen. We also want to thank Tushar Atre for his contributions to the sweeping program.

A SPECIAL STUDENT
Yesica is a bright 14-year-old, who hasn’t been able to attend much school in her young life. She is the only girl in a family of five, who came to Chacala the year of Hurricane Kenna and lost everything when their beach home was demolished. They returned to Zacatecas for a short time, then came back to Chacala and began rebuilding their home. The mom went to work as a cook, and Yesica was kept at home another year to care for the baby. The dad tried to earn money from fishing, which is very hard for a newcomer. Yesica caught the eye of visiting Canadians, Sher and Jon Alcock, of Sunshine Farms in Kelowna,B.C.Yesica returned to school, was included in E.B.A.C.H and their activities, and Viky has taught her how to use the internet so she could communicate with her donors and friends in Canada.Since she came into the scholarship program, she has been on an accelerated program to finish Primary, and finished in an amazing four months. She is now in Secondary school, which will put her nearer her age group. Viky reports that Yesica should be able to complete Secundaria in two years (6-8th grades) and then go on to high school. The government of Mexico has a program in which students who have not been able to attend regular school can work their way through workbooks for each grade level. and move at their own pace. Viky is in this same program working at the High School level.Viky has taken Yesica into Las Varas to get fresh uniforms and supplies. so she was ready for the transition. This is an example of the tender, loving care the students get from Viky, and demonstrates how generous donors make a real difference in the lives of the children of Chacala.

CAMBIANDO VIDAS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
29 students are currently in the scholarship program. Five of our kids are at University (Arturo, Carolina, Candelario, Gerardo, and Gustavo), eleven in high school in Las Varas and La Peñita (Alonso, Angelita, Antonelly, Beto U, Chuy, Ernesto, Karina, Sofia, Ramon, Raul and Teresa), seven are at secundaria in Las Varas (Erika, Mariel, Monica, Nena, Olivia, Leti and Pedro), three at Chacala Telesecundaria (Gustavo de Trini, Javier, and Yesica).Beto Munoz graduated from high school has taken several university level classes but has chosen to go into the family business instead of pursuing a university degree. He is still active in EBACH and serves as Vice President of the student club, E.B.A.C.H. His sponsors, Dave & Linda Allen, now sponsor his youngest sister, Leti, who just started Secondaria in Las Varas.During the 2006-07 school year Gerardo will be in his second year at the University of Tepic and Carolina in her first year. Gustavo is in Puerto Vallarta and Arturo is in Neuvo Vallarta, both in their second year. Candelario will be graduating in December 2006, our first student to graduate from University. We are very proud of all their achievements. While in university each student requires $200 a month for 10 months of the year, or about $8,000 for the year. We are so grateful for the generous donors who have make this possible.While at University, Carolina is also enrolled in the "big learning school" in Tepic which is an accelerated and intense English program. They claim that in one year Carolina will be speaking English fluently. The cost is $1300 US for the 365 days of class. Carolina is getting a special scholarship student rate to introduce this new school to Cambiando Vidas. Carolina hopes to study in the U.S. someday.Next year, 2007-08, we'll have Ramon, Antonelly, Ernesto & Teresa ready for University. giving us a total of 8 students in University. When we reflect back just a few years when only a few of the children in Chacala went to high school and most left school after 6th grade, we are so amazed. We know our loyal donors will come through and help make this happen.Costs for the high school students are still $720 USD a year, $360 of which is transportation to and from Las Varas and the balance is for tuition, uniforms and school supplies. If you have a student studying locally in Chacala, who does not require $720, please know that your donation helps pay for the extra costs of the University students as well as all the programs and expenses in the Learning Center. We count on that extra money as not all donors can pay the entire expense incurred by their student, and, as you know, legally, all the money donated must be held on one big pot and distributed according the the needs of the program. It cannot legally be earmarked for a particular student.We try to supply our students with all the necessary tools to be successful. Cambiando Vidas has a charge account open for our scholarship students at a local papeleria where they can get whatever school supplies they need, and Viky is always near in case there is something that needs to be purchased in Puerto Vallarta such as scientific calculators which are not available locally.

NEWS FROM EBACH
(Estudiantes Becados Agradecidos de Chacala, or Grateful Scholarship Students of Chacala)The Scholarship students are still doing a fine job of running their club. They are doing their community service, and have collaborated with others to make the garbage program successful. Alonso is a very strong and well respected leader. Antonelly, Beto and Monica round out the leadership team of EBACH.The club held a Dia de las Brujas (Day of the Dead/Witches) costume party, which was a great success. Sofia won the 200 peso prize for the best costume (portraying a dead person).In August, the EBACH students, took their second Cultural trip, this time to Morelia. 23 students and 8 adults. The trip was paid for by Cambiando Vidas and its donors. The following account of the trip was written, in English, by Maria Antonelly Romero Guerra:“We took a trip to Morelia, thanks to Cambiando Vidas and its donors. E.B.A.CH. says, “thanks very much.”We met in front of Viky’s house at eight o’clock in the morning. When we were all there, we left for Morelia. In the bus we spoke all the way. But when we were tired we were silent and we slept. Sometime we stopped because we wanted to eat.When we arrived in Morelia, we saw the aqueduct. It is really big. We visited the abstract art museum and we played and rested in the park.A place more wonderful we visited was Janitzio. This is an island and is similar to Chacala, because we needed a longboat to get there. In Janitzio, the traditional fish is the “charal”. On the wharf of Janitzio is the commerce, and the people are nice and modest. We spend all day in Janitzio. We were very well. We took so many photos in Janitzio, because it is beautiful!!When we returned we were tired, but we all wanted to know Morelia!!In the hotel, the boys swam in the swimming pool, and even though the water was warm, the boys were cold.The days we were in Morelia were cool, very nice.We learned so much about the culture and the people in Morelia.And the most important thing is that we learned about a place that we don’t know before!!Finally, I would like to do a commentary about why we couldn’t go to Oaxaca, and decided to go to Morelia instead. In Oaxaca the teachers are on strike, so the schools are closed and the traffic is stopped. So we couldn’t go to that state, as we had planned.Well, I think that is all that I can say, but thanks so much, again.”

ROTARY NEWS
We are so grateful to Kalispell Rotary for their their long time support of the Dale Reinhardt Learning Center and the children of Chacala. Rita Fitzsimmons & Art Thompson have sent 40 plus pairs of brand new tennis shoes to the children of Chacala. Dean Drenk, who came to Chacala with Habitat for Humanity, delivered the shoes to us. It was “Shoe Christmas” for the kids.The Kalispell Club has been there, supporting us, since the very beginning. The following is an excerpt fromThe History of the Chacala Library, recently posted on our web site. . “The original library was founded by Dale Reinhardt and built in 1996 with funds from Rotary International and Rotary North Carolina. A year later, a couple from Kalispell, Montana, Betty and Jim Thompson, visited Chacala & became patrons of the library...Rita Fitzsimmons and Art Thompson, Rotarians from Kalispell have also been working since 1998 to channel funds from their club to the Chacala library, often saving the library from closing its doors.”Our request for new computers is really going well. Viky and Mariana have been collaborating with Berkeley Rotary and others for many months. George Luna from Berkeley Rotary has taken up a casual collection of his members. Since Berkeley Rotary worked in New Orleans this past winter, the New Orleans Club, in gratitude for the help from Berkeley Rotary, added a very generous donation to the computer fund. George and Reg Garcia came to Chacala recently, bought four new computers, and delivered them to the Learning Center. Viky is very excited and says “gracias a nuestro donodores.”Our web site now has the Rotary story 1996-2006. (www.cambiandovidas.org) We also now have PayPal on our web site to make it easier for you to make your donations.

WE NEED YOUR HELP !!!!
You can make a contribution to Cambiando Vidas by mailing a check to Cambiando Vidas, 245 Mt. Hermon Rd., PMB 312, Scotts Valley, Ca. 95066 OR by using PayPal on our web site. THANKS!

CAMBIANDO VIDAS is a charitable organization with United States Internal Revenue Service Ref.: 501 (c) 3 tax -exempt status. EIN 73-1668982=

Remember your First time at the the Beach?

2007-03-30T16:29:00.001-07:00

Do you remember the first time you ever went to the beach? The excitement you felt running into the ocean for the first time? You can re-live this vicariously on the weekends at Playa Chacala. With the exception of holidays (hordes of humanity), weekends become pleasantly packed with Mexican families, groups of friends or organizations having the most fun you’ll ever see at the beach. These people know how to play and have a genuinely fun time. As musicans stroll from palapa to palapa, five piece orchestras, for a small fee will play your favorite Mexican tune. Sometimes if you are lucky you”ll see a whale or two breach the surface of the water off in the distance. Or jumping fish, better still flocks of pelicans diving for their lunch. The vendors are there too, not too many to be annoying, just enough to do a little shopping. Ice Cream vendors, umbrellas for shade, patates made of straw to sit on, jewelry, ceramic plates, wooden bowls and tattoo vendors all add to the flavor. A cold beer or two and a plate of fresh seafood at any of the palapa restaurants and LIFE IS GOOD! It doesn’t get much better than this! Relive your childhood!

Cheryl from Montana

Nervous Nellie vs. Mr. Wing-It

2007-03-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

By M.L. Lyke
Special to The Washington PostSunday
March 25, 2007

I never thought of myself as a travel wuss, but there I was, busted, browsing for rentals at an Internet cafe in the little Mexican tourist town of Rincon de Guayabitos.
"Get off!" said my road partner, Bob, the man who loves nothing better than tooling down a Mexican highway on a local bus, prepared for nothing but the next big adventure. No itinerary, no plans, no reservations. That's travel heaven for Mr. Wing-It.

For me, it's travel hell. I'm a need-to-know girl.
We cut a deal. We had two weeks in Mexico to tour the sweet little beach towns north of Puerto Vallarta. The first week, we did it my way, staying at a multi-story villa in the surfing town of Sayulita with three other couples. Our friend Jay -- an uber-organizer who actually logs the contents of his freezer on a computer spreadsheet -- booked the stuccoed manse a year in advance. By Day 2, we were already planning breakfasts and dinners for the rest of the week. We had grocery lists, a book to tally expenses and Jay to work them out to the peso.
It was safe, comfy, predictable, right down to 5 o'clock happy hour. Guacamole, chips, margaritas, every night. The only variable was peanuts.

Everything was under control, including me. I'd taken precautionary antibiotics -- all I have to do is look at a map of Mexico to get turista -- and had an extra-large bottle of spray-on sunscreen. I arose every morning at 9 a.m. to watch the surf heave, crest and break below, then stretched, sipped coffee and lost myself in a novel.
Ahhh. The beauty of routine.

On Day 7, I kissed it all goodbye. It was Bob's turn.

Our friends taxied south to the Puerto Vallarta airport, dropping us off on the side of coastal Highway 200 to catch a bus north to . . . "Where exactly are we going, Bob?"
I believe, as we stood by the road, dusty, sweating in the midday heat, he said, "Trust me."
Maybe it was "Don't worry, be happy."

When the bus finally came, I bumbled on with my duffel and backpack. Old men reached up to help me with the bags. Young girls smiled, patting the seats next to them. "Hola." "Gracias." It was a bath of Mexican goodwill. I tried to relax, but questions niggled the Nervous Nellie inside me as we rattled up the highway on a Saturday afternoon toward Rincon de Guayabitos. It would be weekend, high season, in a hopping tourist beach town. Would there be room at the inn? Or would we end up in some cockroach-infested room with sagging mattresses, stained sheets and a view of the town dump?
Couldn't we just, like, call ahead?

I love planning trips. Browsing online on a gray winter day, I picture myself swinging in a hammock in the exotic Mexican garden spa found on Hotels.com, or catching the warmth of first morning sun through the arched windows of the cliffside condo on Vacation Rentals by Owner.
That's fantasyland to Bob. He likes his investigations on-site, eyeball to keyhole, and that's what we did after we stepped off the bus in Rincon, into the hotel zone. Boy, was I wrong. "Si Vacantes" signs were everywhere along the oceanfront. Nellie had a home for the night.
Our unit at Bungalows Anai, recommended in the guide, wasn't cheap for Mexico -- about $75 a night -- and it wasn't fancy. The light fixtures were crooked, the refrigerator rusted, the faucets oxidized and the glasses chipped. But the place was clean, with air conditioning and fans, and we had a nice view across a manicured garden and a pool to the busy beach, where vendors pedaled bicycle carts full of inflatable water toys and skewered shrimp, and volleyball players set and spiked. Water-bike hot-doggers made roostertails in the surf, the machine whine mingling with the tinkle of ice cream carts and the distant buh-boom of rap blasting from trucks cruising the main drag.

If Sayulita was Laguna Beach, this was Coney Island. We were soon longing for seclusion, peace and quiet. Bob pulled out his Lonely Planet guide, and his finger drifted north to Chacala, a fishing town on a cup of a bay surrounded by jungle. It was tiny, a speck, a guidebook paragraph -- so remote it didn't even merit a turn-off sign on the main highway. I was convinced we didn't have a chance at finding an empty room. And that's when I sneaked onto the computer in a Rincon Internet cafe and got busted. Bob looked at me with a mix of sympathy and disgust. He may have used the word "cheater." Contrite, I clocked off the computer, waved down a taxi and away we rumbled, leaving behind the buh-boom and blow-up beach toys and heading north into the lush groves of mango and jackfruit that crawled up the sides of an ancient boulder-strewn volcano overlooking remote Chacala Bay.

Six miles off the main highway, the taxi dropped us off on the dirt road serving as Chacala's main drag, in front of a deeply tanned couple who looked bemused when I asked them, a bit anxiously, if there was anywhere to stay in the town. They pointed at the cobbled side streets above us, to a hotel, condo rentals, the half-dozen Mexican homes that take in tourists. They pointed down the beach to a holistic retreat center called Mar de Jade. "There, and there, and there." Then they pointed to a place about 20 steps away. "And here." "Here" turned out to be a sweet beachside hotel called Las Brisas. "A hole diferent Vacations"(sic) read the hotel's brochure, in English translation.

For about $55 a night, we had a humble but pleasant little room with air conditioning, a DVD player and free movies, and two comfy queen-size beds. Downstairs, under the thatched roof, was a full bar, with good selection and generous pours, and a restaurant that served huevos rancheros for breakfast; fish, shrimp and lobster fresh off the boats for dinner. We ate barefoot, toes curling in the sand. Las Brisas drew a crew of regulars from Canada and the States who set up every day on the loungers out front, deep-tanning, working crosswords, splashing in the gentle surf -- one called it a "kiddie pool" -- and spending long hours staring across the fine golden beach and out to sea. Looking at what?

Maybe big waves, ships, whales. Maybe, after the second cerveza, marlin and mermaids. Maybe, after three, old loves and lost lives. I soon unfolded onto a lounger in this unexpected paradise and joined them in the Long Watch, eyes glued, mind unglued. As hours turned into days, and days melted away, I found myself mulling the nature of travel. I thought about all the great wanderers through time: Odysseus, Marco Polo, Kerouac, Frodo. I thought about the thrill of discovery that attends the adventurer, about the differences between trips and journeys, between tourists and travelers, between those who need to know and those who let it go.

I finally put niggling Nellie to rest on Day 5 of Week 2 during a crazy side trip that started with an early-afternoon taxi-dash to nearby Las Varas for a look around. Once there, we spotted the big bus station across the main highway. We wandered inside and, for the heck of it, plopped down 50 pesos each to bus it to the inland colonial capital city of Tepic. We thought the trip might take a half-hour. It took almost two. I started worrying: We'd have to return in the dark, the buses wouldn't be running, we'd never find a cab back to Chacala from the station.
I was alternately chewing on my fingernails and gazing at my watch when I suddenly stopped and actually looked out the window at the beauty passing by. There were lush jungles, fields of sugar cane, rugged volcanic peaks. I saw pretty little towns with walls painted bus yellow and rose red. I saw bullrings and cemeteries with giant white crosses and pink memorial wreaths still wrapped in plastic. There were big blue birds with long tails and lush green trees fruited with tangerines. There was a world going by, begging my attention. And it didn't requireadvance booking. I took a deep breath and settled in. Finally, I got it. I wasn't a hundred miles down the highway heading home; I was here, on a bus, off the clock, going nowhere in particular.
In all my fretting over the future, I'd been missing out on the romance of the moment.
We arrived in Tepic about 3 p.m. and quickly caught a taxi to the Plaza Principal, a town square surrounded by stately stucco buildings from the 1800s and a large neo-Gothic cathedral, dedicated in 1750. At one end of the plaza, we found shy Huichol artists, down from the mountains, selling intricate beaded masks and shamanistic yarn paintings at prices half those in Sayulita galleries. On recommendation of a government guard, we climbed up to the roof of a 200-year-old hotel to dine on velvety filet mignon in an excellent open-air restaurant, La Gloria, overlooking the town square. Down below, as the sun set and the old wrought-iron lamps went on, couples gathered, a mariachi band began to play and dancers in big ruffled skirts and hand-tooled cowboy boots high-stepped and twirled in the fading light. We wandered down, and I, too, found myself dancing in the dark, not giving a thought to when, or if, we would ever get back.
We did, easily enough. The buses ran. The taxis were waiting at the station. I arrived back in little Chacala feeling light, liberated, ready for more adventure.

Mr. Wing-It caught my smile and couldn't help putting in the last word. "See?" he said. "It all works out."

Only leave your footprints in the sand!

2007-03-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

We came for a day but wound up staying a week. Our first impression of Chacala was how friendly the Chacalans are. They treat you like you are part of their family. And if you spend any amount of time here you do become “adopted” by at least one, if not several families. And each year we return it’s like we are coming home, we get such a warm, fuzzy feeling. ”You’re back-Bienvenidos! That’s Spanish for Welcome! That’s the main reason we keep coming back to this friendly community. We feel right at home with our Mexican Families! The best motto when visiting here is: –Only leave your footprints in the sand!

Cheryl y Michel in their 7th year to Chacala

Ana's Return to Chacala

2007-03-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Mahuajua Chacala, Nayarit

We walk down the early morning beach, footprints wiped clean by the tide, pristine.
A couple hundred pelicans float the shallow waters, rising and dive-bombing the unsuspecting sardines and other bait fish, packed tight near the shore.
A feeding frenzy for three days now.
The magnificent frigates shadow the pelicans, looking for a dropped fish, or snatching a piece from a pelican’s immense beak.
They can’t dive, so only hang around for the leftovers.

We climb the steep path to Mahuajua, snaking back and forth to the restaurant perched high on the cliff.
The owners, Jose and Carmen, have placed a vase of ferns at the first turn.
Then a silk-screened banner of birds, hung above the path.
Then a broken, decorative plate placed in a niche in the rock.
A black and red butterfly hovers by the side of the path, following us for a bit.
We emerge on a gravel patio and sit at a small wooden table by the edge of the cliff.
The waves crash below us onto the lava rocks strewn across the beach, with occasional heaps of rock interrupting the flatness of the pattern.
The giant hand of the volcano above sprinkled them artfully across the landscape.

We have come, my friend and I, to write our thoughts, enjoy a little solitude and share random conversation.
A white carafe of coffee sits on the table between us.
A lovely woven tray bears a small flowered pitcher of milk, a couple of spoons, tiny napkins, sugar.
I read from May Sarton’s House By the Sea: “Solitude like a long love, deepens with time, and, I trust, will not fail me if my own powers of creation diminish.
For growing into solitude is one way of growing to the end.”
Hmmm. I like that.
I realize it reflects my strategy.
Can we do solitude together?, my friend and I ask each other.

We sip the rich coffee, laced with cinnamon, and bend to write.
I have been taking in my familiar pueblo for a week without attempting to write about it.
My journal is blank.
I need time to figure out what I feel.

“I feel more at home here than anywhere,” Gordon told me.
I know exactly what he means.
Chacala has always been that for me.
A wave of peace washes over me as I look out to sea.
A large cruiser comes into my vision, motoring out of the bay.
In the foreground, just below us, a giant fig tree wraps around a palm, weaving a gnarly pattern upward until just the palm branches emerge at the top.
Writing is easy solitude.
Providing focus, guiding my thoughts, inviting me to look around and take in the setting.

I have been craving solitude here, sleeping, walking the cobblestone streets, avoiding too much time with my gringo friends.
I am healing more each day, getting strong from the walking and swimming, feeling nurtured by the juicy weather.
My heart raced with exhilaration the first day I waded into the water, timing the waves, shooing the pelicans, running to dive under at the exact moment a tremendous wave breaks.
Then surfacing on the other side of the crashing waves and swimming laps back and forth, floating easily with toes sticking out of the water, perusing the incredible sky.
I startle when a pelican dives from 30 feet above just to my side, or when one skims the surface of the water directly in my path.
I trust their accuracy.
Sometimes they float quietly near me, watching me carefully.
I wonder what they are thinking.

Concha, my best Mexican friend here, had a small benign tumor removed from her uterus three months ago and is still in chronic pain.
Gringa friends are taking her to the doctor again this week, pushing for a diagnosis.

Aurora, my Mexican daughter, from a nearby town, shows up with her new husband, Miguel, and three-month-old baby Miguelito.
She is very happy, despite her parents divorce, and the circumstance of this marriage.
They take me to Platanitos, another small bay up the coast.
I have never been there before and am happy to know about it.
We drive up the cliff to a miramar and look out over an estuary winding back towards the highway.
Afterwards, we sit at a restaurant on the bay and drink cokes.
Miguel orders civeche, then oysters on their shell, then raw camerones en aqua picante.
I eat the civeche on fresh, hot, greasy tostados, but pass on the rest.
My stomach is still making friends with the food.
Aurora and Migel are returning to Tepic tomorrow to start their classes.
Aurora to become a dentist, Miguel a biologist.
I was lucky to catch them before classes start.

Pepe and Maribel, friends from Guadalajara, stop to see me on Sunday.
They are returning from Puerto Vallarta, only passing through.
They look for me at my house, are told I am visiting someone and go there, and finally go to Gordon’s, where I am staying.
Gordon brings them to find me at the beach.
This is the way here.
You can find anyone, but must track them down.

So many families to visit.
Each walk takes me by homes of old friends and children I no longer recognize.
The little girls I danced and sang with 8 years ago are young women.
They greet and hug me openly.
The boys I played Ochos Locos with in the little library so many years ago, are swaggering, young men.
Some greet me with a shy smile or extended hand.
Some I grab for a hug and kiss, much to their embarrassment.
A few, now part of the “bad boy” gang, look the other way when I pass.
I teasingly call their names, making them glance at me, grinning.

Dona Lupe makes pozole Saturday night in her small puesto.
Several of us go down for an impossibly large bowl of the delicious soup, sprinkled liberally with shredded chicken and lettuce.
Don Elijio, her husband, is sober, for a change, and even helpful.
Blanca, their retarded teen-age daughter, now taller than I, lingers near our table, swaying and smiling toothlessly.
Lupe hugs me and demands to know about my health.
How do I explain?
“Muy bien,” I usually say.
With some I add “mas o menos.” and explain that tratimiento is ongoing.
Lupe reminds me of the dried snake meat that I am supposed to be chewing daily.

Lupita, another friend and motel owner, tells me that she knows by my espíritu that I will be fine.
She is proud to show me that she has completed the ESL workbook that I left for her two years ago.
Her English is a little better.

When I go to see Chapa, the familiar stick house behind the school is gone.
I find her in back in a new cement block house with cement floor.
I remember sitting on a wooden chair in the old house, watching her unfold spotlessly clean pajamas from huge baskets, and dress her children for bed.
They would hop from chair to cot to cot to keep clean, bare feet off the dirt floor, and climb under their mosquito netting on their cots in the corner.
Now she has separate rooms for kitchen and bedroom.

The gardens surrounding my little casa/terraza are more beautiful that I could have imagined. In two years, the bougainvillea and other flowering vines have covered the fence and boulders. An assortment of flowers, hibiscus, gerber daisies, and other things I can’t name, bloom in pots and in the garden.
Palms and banana trees I planted 2 years ago are 12 and 15 feet high.
The lemon tree is full of fruit, not quite ripe.
Juan, my caretaker, has a enormous new tent, erected smack in the middle of the terraza.
He is proud of the gardens.
He carefully shows me the signs of disrepair, the crumbling grout around the tile at the edge of the terrace floor, a few cracked tiles, the rust on the wrought iron circular staircase leading to the roof.
I unpack plastic storage containers in my kitchen and bathroom, giving things away, packing up others to send home, preparing my house to be sold.
feeling sad and nostalgic and mad that I can’t spend my winters here.
I talk with several Mexicans who might be interested in buying.

At the final hour, my sons, who have visited but shown little interest in my house or my pueblo, write and say, “Mom, don’t sell.
We will buy it and build some bedrooms so we can all stay there.”
La Casa de Ana will take on new life.
I will keep returning, if only a week at a time.

-Ana

Visitors help Mexicans build stable futures

2007-03-14T12:30:00.001-07:00

WORLD BRIEFINGS
By Tom Carter
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
March 13, 2007

CHACALA, Mexico

Nine years ago, Aurora Hernandez Blancarte's family lived in a dirt-floor shack, six miles from a paved road, and although her husband is a fisherman, the fam- ily sometimes went hungry. "During the rainy season, when the fishing is no good, we didn't even have enough money for tortillas," said Mrs. Hernandez Blancarte.
"Now, we eat well. I can send my girls to private school. I can take them to the doctor. And that is our first car," she said, proudly, pointing to the family's new Toyota pickup. Mrs. Hernandez Blancarte owes her family's bright orange home, adjacent guesthouse and fortune to a program called Techos de Mexico -- Roofs Over Mexico -- founded by Mexican social activists from the 1960s and modeled after Habitat for Humanity, but designed to meet the needs of Mexico's poor. Twenty-seven years ago, Laura del Valle, a medical doctor, and her brother Jose Enrique bought a piece of jungle property at the south end of the beach at Chacala, a small fishing village of about 300 people overlooking a scenic bay about 60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. Dr. Laura, as she is universally known in Chacala, studied medicine in Mexico City during the turbulent 1960s. She lived with a Japanese Zen master who took his students to the rural poor in the mountains of Oaxaca. Influenced by the social consciousness at the medical school, she took her skills into the Mexico City slums. After buying the property, Dr. del Valle invited Mexican and U.S. medical students to Chacala to spend their summers in palapa huts -- covered with hand-woven fan-palm leaves -- on the beach and volunteer in local clinics. The experience taught the students how to record health histories in Spanish, exposed them to primitive medicine and gave Chacala residents much-needed health care.
Volunteering in luxury The palapa huts have evolved into a luxurious hotel, spa and conference center. At Dr. del Valle's Mar de Jade, Birkenstocks, yoga pants and New Age patter among aging U.S. baby boomers is the norm -- as is the tradition of volunteering in the community. Dr. del Valle said Mar de Jade has brought in "easily over 1,000 medical students," hundreds of volunteer builders from U.S. Rotary clubs, as well as New Agers who want to practice yoga, lie on the beach, and make a social contribution on their vacation.
Mary Ann Day, a retired merchant seaman from Alaska's ferry system, began visiting Chacala 17 years ago. "I started volunteering here before Mar de Jade was a spa. I did translation for the medical students. Laura and Jose are just the best people. They inspired me to come here and help," Miss Day said. She bought a home and now spends her retirement working the Internet, soliciting donations and corralling Canadian and American tourists to paint, or work in the sparkling new book-and-tools lending library, built by Rotarians, or teach local youngsters how to use a computer or pick up trash.
Miss Day's efforts have evolved into a $40,000-a-year scholarship program called Cambiando Vidas (Changing Lives), for the children of Chacala. It now has 29 children in junior high, high school and college, including four of the first college graduates in Chacala's history. Housing and income With Dr. del Valle addressing medical needs at the Mar de Jade clinic in nearby Las Varas and Miss Day supporting education, Jose Enrique was interested in local housing issues. Many of Chacala's 300 residents lived in log huts, with dirt floors and palm-frond roofs. Many still do. "I did my thesis is engineering, social psychology and housing. We live in a country that has many problems in housing," said Mr. del Valle, Techos founder and the proprietor of the upscale Majahua bed, breakfast and spa, next door to Mar de Jade, in the jungle above the beach. In 1995, Mr. del Valle was introduced to Habitat for Humanity, the U.S. charity that organizes volunteers and builds homes for the poor. It seemed a natural for Chacala. Mexicans value land and housing, and there is a long tradition of stocking bricks and mortar, rather than putting money in the bank. When enough raw material has accumulated, Mexicans gather friends and neighbors to "self-build" their homes, but for Techos de Mexico he made a major change. "Habitat for Humanity does not allow their houses to be used for commercial purposes. I believe that a house can be used for business," he said. His idea was to use microloans to build small homes, plus two or three budget-style rooms that could be rented to tourists, giving the family a home, as well as an income. "Many countries have bed and breakfasts. France, Italy -- why not Mexico?" asked Mr. del Valle. He called a meeting to outline his idea, and 35 Chacala families attended. Points to the poor "We formed a committee and developed criteria. We visited each family. It was all open and transparent. Basically, the worse your house, the more points you got," he said, in determining the building order. If the applicant had a dirt floor, the family was awarded five points, a cement floor, three points, and a tile floor, zero points. If the dwelling had a rough-hewn log walls, five points, brick walls, three points, plaster walls, zero points, and so on. The family's social condition also was evaluated. A woman with an absent husband -- perhaps seeking work in the United States -- and two or three children younger than 11, or with disabilities, would earn high points. Newlyweds living with their parents were awarded big points. "But this is a fishing village. Even if you were living in a shack, if your family had three boats and 1,000-horsepower engines, this would bring your points down," Mr. del Valle said. The fact that U.S. tourists in Mar de Jade financed the $4,000 to $9,000 Techos loans scared some families from the program. "Because Americans were putting up the money, many were afraid Americans would come down and take their homes, so only five of the original 35 stayed in," said Mrs. Hernandez Blancarte, whose Casa Aurora was the third Techos built. Another of the five was Concha Velazquez, who had three youngsters and a husband in the United States. All Techos rooms are tiled. "It is like a home-stay. We have become part of Concha's family," said Cheryl Watts, of Kalispell, Mont., who has been spending winters at Casa Concha for the past few years. Booming B&Bs The del Valles recruited volunteer labor from their guest registries, and Techos bed-and- breakfasts began springing up. In all, seven were built, and other families who did not participate in the Techos program, simply copied the idea and built on their own. Now, nearly 20 B&Bs operate in Chacala. Lodging originally cost about $10 per night, but now runs $25 to $50 a night for the larger rooms with private bath, kitchen and a view of the bay. By contrast, rooms at Mar de Jade and Majahua start at $100 a night and go beyond $300 a night. "We had to put in our own labor. But I was lucky. American plumbers and electricians were volunteering when my Techos was built," said Mrs. Hernandez Blancarte. "If it weren't for Techos, we'd still be living in that shack," she said, pointing at the one-room log hut with a dirt floor and tin roof where she and her family once lived. She said her three guest rooms are filled almost all year, many with long-term rentals. She has repaid the $7,000 loan used to build her house. Because she is considered good with money and scrupulously honest, Mrs. Hernandez Blancarte has been drafted to act as accountant and treasurer for several of Chacala's civic organizations. "Our guests come back every year. We now have to turn people away. Even in the rainy season, I am full. I had a good September this year because we had good surf," she added. With Chacala transformed into a growing tourist destination, Mr. del Valle is in discussions with several Mexican and U.S. universities, hoping one will adopt the Chacala model and use university resources and students to reproduce the Habitat for Humanity and B&B hybrid throughout rural Mexico. "I am 50 years old and exhausted," said Mr. del Valle, sitting on his shaded terrace overlooking the Pacific. "I want a university to take this over. To take it further. "To make this work, you need lawyers, architects, social workers, volunteers."

LA Times Photo Gallery

2007-03-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.latimes.com/la-tr-chacala1-pg,0,4038577.photogallery?track=rss

LA Times Feb. 26, by Christopher Reynolds

2007-03-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

Sure, there's a great beach here, fresh fish, tall palms and only about 400 locals to share them with. But let's start with the treachery and deception.
"You wouldn't believe the snakes. Snakes as big as your head," says Ben Laird, a Wisconsonite who bought a vacation home here last year.
"People are poisoned in Chacala every day," deadpans Richard Laskin of Hornby Island, Canada, who has been coming here for 10 years.
"Are you sure that was a whale?" asks Laskin's friend Stu Reid, gazing offshore. "Could have been drums of toxic material."
Then — having done their best to deter the reading public from invading their winter haven — these good-natured liars go back to their tropical idylls. Laskin and Reid tuck into their breakfast at the Mauna Kea Café, one of about 10 restaurants in Chacala, as they gaze down upon a canopy of green, a deep blue sea, a deep blue sky and a few dozen pelicans, swoop-commuting between the two.
Sometimes, a lie is really just an invitation. And the truth about Chacala is just as intriguing, especially for a traveler who wants to actually meet Mexicans while vacationing in Mexico, who likes his coconuts straight from the tree, who doesn't need the bright lights of Los Cabos or Cancún.
Chacala, a village 60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico's Pacific Coast, is built around the beach, a handsome half-mile crescent of jungle-adjacent sand. At the southern end of the beach, black volcanic rocks murmur in gentle surf. In the middle of the crescent, half a dozen palm-shaded restaurants serve fresh fish and shrimp (and keep a machete on hand for those new-fallen coconuts). To the north, two dozen battered little fishing boats are tied up at a modest dock.
In town, several lodgings have popped up in the last few years, most offering ocean views, modest amenities and nightly rates from $50 to $90. A little farther north, more than two-dozen luxury vacation homes, some of which rent by the night, have gone up in a gated compound called Marina Chacala.
But what sets Chacala apart from so many other modest but growing Mexican beach destinations is this: Thanks to the arrival of three hippie siblings here at the end of the 1970s, the town is awash in social experiments, many of them built around the idea that locals and tourists need to meet and learn from one another.
Under one 11-year-old program, called Techos de México (Roofs of Mexico), half a dozen villagers have added upstairs rooms and terraces, most with ocean views, none more than a five-minute stroll from the beach. When not snapped up for the season by wintering Canadians, most of these rooms rent for $22.50 to $60 a night.
Other tourists can volunteer on community projects, attend yoga or meditation seminars or learn Spanish as guests at a 24-year-old beachfront retreat called Mar de Jade (pronounced Hah-day), which in winter is usually priced at $120 to $135 per person per night, double occupancy, meals included.
But you don't have to volunteer. Instead, you can spend $50 a night on a hotel room with an ocean view and lie around. Or spend $625 a night on a mansion that sleeps 10 and lie around in splendor .
You can take a $10-per-person boat trip to snorkel by the rocks off Chacalilla beach. You can fish for dorado or sierra or surf at La Caleta Point. You can kayak between rock formations and secluded beaches, go birding in a mangrove swamp to the north or drive half an hour east to the petroglyphs at Alta Vista. You can ride a horse through jungle to a secluded beach or drive about two hours into the hills and see Lake Santa María, its waters collected in the caldera of an ancient volcano. Or you can stroll back and forth, with refreshment breaks, on that grand crescent of sand.
Ahhh, seclusion
Until the first paved road connected the village to Highway 200 seven years ago, the only way into Chacala was by dirt road or boat. Now, business is picking up and the occasional RV, rental car and taxi has joined the local traffic, including the cab that delivered me to my lodgings at dusk one day.
It had been a three-hour flight from LAX to Puerto Vallarta, then a 90-minute ride, and my first thought, rolling into town, was, "Uh oh." Two blocks of dirt roads, sleeping dogs and ramshackle storefronts. That was the commercial district.
Ahhh, but then I stepped out to the beach. It was nearly empty, a slight breeze blowing. The tall palms, the quiet, the loop of the beach between the rocky points at either end — this was a landscape to banish worry. In the restaurants along the sand, a small band of Canadian snowbirds nursed seafood and cervezas. A little way up the beach , 20 RVs were parked in the palm grove next to the beach, their owners paying $5 a night for the privilege.
Looking for a meal one night at about 7:30, I found nearly every restaurant closed. They've had electricity here for years, but from the look and sound of the beachfront after sunset, you'd think they were still waiting for it.
Intrigued by the gated luxury homes of Marina Chacala, I greeted one homeowner from Seattle and soon was getting a tour of his nearly completed villa, the onyx spiral staircase as well as the 400-square-foot bathroom in the upstairs master bedroom.
Remember, however, that the nearest ATM is six miles up the road in Las Varas. Dozens of residents still live in dirt-floor houses, roosters greet each dawn, and the dominant architectural style is brick box, not Spanish Colonial. Outside of Las Brisas restaurant, the gated grounds of Marina Chacala and the lodgings Mar de Jade and Majahua (where I stayed), little English is spoken.
But in four days, I never met anybody from Southern California, saw only one jet-powered ski in use and was never invited to go parasailing or purchase a time share.
"It's still real Mexico down there," said Ben Laird, he of the imaginary snakes, gazing out at the town one afternoon from his hilltop home in Marina Chacala. "Chickens at your feet. And everybody knows everybody."

Chacala Video Journal by Keith Silva

2007-03-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

http://web.mac.com/keithvsilva

Gordon's 80th B-Day

2007-03-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

Today, March 9, 2007 is my 80th birthday and today is the birth date of the Chacala Life blog. In Chacala some refer to me as the O.G. of Chacala – the oldest gringo or original gringo. Oldest perhaps, original, that’s debatable. Gringo’s visited Chacala long before I did, long before the paved road and long before places to stay were available. I haven’t missed spending a winter here for more than a dozen years-here’s hoping for a dozen more.

It used to be said about the Italian City “See Naples and Die”. I say “see Chacala and live to see it again.” Perfect it isn’t but it is good enough for me.

Viva Chacala Life
Posted by Gordon P., the OG of Chacala