Tenacatita (anchor)

As you continue south you round the spectacular Friars rocks


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A few miles further south you enter the bay at Tenacatita


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The first beach you reach is now under control of a new owner. He took control of the entire northern stretch of this bay by force in 2010 and bulldozed all the existing buildings and palapas. He intends to build a new resort. His ownership is being questioned in court and may one day return to its previous glory. Very good snorkeling around the rocks.

Around the next headland you find a very calm anchorage and an entrance to a lagoon. You can take a dinghy trip down to a larger lagoon. Fantastic wildlife to see.



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When I was anchored here I met the famous 'Chippy' the dolphin who swims around your boat and scratches his back on your anchor chain. He got the name from a large notch cut out of his dorsal fin. Apparently he has been here for years.

Ashore you can find a few small palapa restaurants. A must try meal is the Rolo Del Mar which is a fish filet stuffed with chopped shrimp and octopus in an almond sauce, wrapped completely in bacon and covered with more almond cream sauce. Wow!

As you can see from the map above there are lots of boats anchored here. Its very popular with cruisers on this coast as its so calm and protected.

If you walk 1/2 a mile NE along the beach you find a large all inclusive hotel that caters to European tourists.

I stayed a few days but decided to move on as the runoff from the lagoon made for murky water and I found too many flies around the beach area.