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Playa Ventura, Guerrero |
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Where do you go on vacation if you already live in paradise? Playa Ventura! Of course, it depends on the kind of vacation you're looking for. If you like the luxury hotels, fine dinning, guided tours, paying through the nose and no adventure, try a Club Med. If you like the convenience of a laid back, package vacation in a small city, go to Puerta Vallarta. If you like camping, un-touristy, make-your-own-adventure style of get-away, PLAYA VENTURA! Priscila suggested we spend the week between Christmas, 2000 and New Years camping on the beach a little south of Acapulco. We weren't at all sure where we would find a place to stay, but her brother had been to the area several years before and we decided to go investigate. We search the Net for possible locations and found a wealth of information at :
We left Cuernavaca early on Boxing day, on the bus, for Acapulco ($197 pesos each, 3 hours). From Acapulco to Copala by bus ($40 pesos 1 1/2 hours) and Coapla to Playa Ventura by taxi (about $30, 20 minutes), finally arriving about 5 P.M. and a little tired. After a quick beer we wandered up the beach looking for a vacant palapa.
The camping in the region is done under the shade of a palapa. These palapas are built with posts, set in a 3 m grid and roofed over with palm leaves. They are built by locals who happen to own property fronting the beach. We settled in on the property of a lady who lived in a small complex of houses. One daughter-in-law ran a little store and three other daughters helped in the restaurant. The restaurant sat between the beach and the parking lot, a large-ish, open air, round, palapa where we could order breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The town's official name is Juan Alvarez. It's known as Playa Ventura because most of the residents have the last name Ventura. It's a town of some 200+ where there is very little work in the off-season. Many of the residents are forced to go to Acapulco, Mexico City or other towns in Guerrero to find work. This was the case with the family with whom we stayed. There was a brother in the military and a sister working as an accountant in Acapulco, but most of the men were gone and the women simply waited for the Christmas or Easter tourist seasons.  We spent the first few days just lounging on the beach: swimming, eating, sleeping, reading and strolling the beach and town. While swimming, I saw a sea snake and several medium sized rays that would jump several feet out of the water. As usual in Mexico, men, women and children of all ages cruised the beach selling food and handicrafts. The girls on the left were selling Jello, custard and quesadillas. One day a fellow came by selling hand-made clothes. We talked to him for about an hour about the clothes, how they were made and his town. He told us that his wife hand wove the cloth and then embroidered the designs. We decided to go do some shopping there before we left the area. His town would have been difficult to find, difficult to reach and not very exciting. However there is a small city, the hub of the area, called Ometepec. We consulted the maps and talked to some of the townspeople and were told it was just past Marquelia, up in the mountains. Getting there was a bit of an adventure. The local bus service is kind of rustic. Instead of buses, or even vans, service is provided in pick-up trucks. They are roofed over and have benches along both sides of the box. You flag them down where ever you happen to be and, to signal a stop, you just bang on the side. It turns out that the driver who picked us up outside of Playa Ventura was planning to go west toward Copala but everyone complained that they wanted to go east to Marquelia so he turned east and off we went. It was just $10-15 pesos to reach Marquelia, some 15 km, then Marquelia to Ometepec by regular bus.
There were two impressive things about Ometepec, the clothes and the church. We spent an hour or so wandering through the market comparing, negotiating and buying, then wandered off to find something to eat. In our search, we stumbled across the church which is quite different from others I've seen. It seemed somewhat out of place: clean, quite, serene, cool and well kept. That's not to say that the rest of the town wasn't pleasant, it was, but the church was special. It front was a statue of Santiago Apostle, who is also big in Oaxaca. I wasn't comfortable entering the church. There was a sign it the doorway, something about not entering in shorts (hmm... a dress code) so we didn't go in. We got back to Playa Ventura okay, late but not so late we missed the last pick-up. I think it was New Years Eve so we were concerned that the service might stop early. One of the taxi drivers in Ometepec told us that it was to be a "Noche Libre". It sounded like the laws would be suspended for the night when he warned us that people go out that night and fire their guns in the air. Lot's of fun!  Back in Playa Ventura, we planned the next adventure, the Laguna de Chautengo. It's a lagoon back toward Acapulco that is supposed to be a nature preserve. Getting there was not just an adventure, it was a challenge. First, a pick-up truck to Copala then another pick-up to Cruz Grande which took us right past the turn-off for Chautengo. 
We tried to get the pick-up to stop and let us off at the turn-off to Chautengo but the other people in the pick-up thought that was a bad idea. Aside from the fact that there was no shade and it might be some time before the next pick-up came by heading into town, they told us that it was too dangerous for two "outsiders" to stand at the side of the road. We might get robbed or worse. We conceded and continued on to Cruz Grande. At Cruz Grande we found another pick-up that was heading back into Chautengo. We jumped aboard.  Chautengo was a bit of a disappointment. The was very little wild life, but, at the mouth of the lagoon, beside the ocean, were several restaurants under palapas that served a good menu of fresh seafood. We ate and cruised the beach picking up stones and shells.
As I recall, it took us about four hours to reach the beach at Chautengo. It was starting to get late by the time we decided to head back, so, on the way through the town we tried to find a taxi. On arrival in town we found there was a wedding in progress. They had the main road blocked off and had erected a stage, on which a band was playing flat out. We detoured around the action and eventually found a gentleman standing beside a car painted as a taxi (you can never be too sure). We asked if that was his car, and would he consider driving us to Playa Ventura. He agreed to carry us for about $50 pesos I think, and then disappeared into his house for about 10 minutes. It turns out he was looking for his son, who would drive us. That was just about it for our adventures in Playa Ventura. There was just one more thing. Oddly enough, the majority of visitors to Playa Ventura are from Cuernavaca. We had gotten to know a couple who happened to be leaving the same day. Ortof and Eleana, he's German, she's Peruvian. We asked if they would consider carrying us back and we could split the tolls. No problem! Almost...
The next day, late, 5-ish, we piled in their car and took of. A brief stop in Cruz Grande for cash and gas but then car wouldn't start again... Okay... Things happen... We just had to wait a bit, and pour water on the starter to cool it off. It eventually started and we were off. We were just past Acapulco when... the rear wheel bearing broke! This was a little more serious. By this time it was about 7:00 P.M. and dark. It's not good to be on the highway, in Mexico, at night, broken down. We had nothing to worry about, really. There are free phones every couple of kilometers and while we waited for the tow truck, the highway patrol stopped once, the Green Angels stopped once and a highway maintenance crew stopped twice. The second time, they left a young fellow with us to wave a flashlight at the traffic. We wound up spending the night in a cheap hotel in Acapulco and the car was fixed the next day. From there on, the trip was uneventful. We arrived home in good time, in good shape, rested, with photos and good memories. I'd go back anytime. Some day I want to do a motorcycle trip down the coast and I definitely spend a night or two at the same spot in Playa Ventura. |
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This page has been viewed many times since about April, 2001. |
