We hauled the dinghy up the shore next to the panga landing to access shore and town
Banderas Bay is a 20 by 30 mile indentation on the central mainland coast of Mexico, and the northern tip of the bay is called Punta de Mita. This jungle-covered peninsula was home only to a small fishing village until it was developed into a high-end resort. While much of the land on the tip of the peninsula is now protected by gates, the village remains and the waters around the point are still accessible. The south side of Punta de Mita offers natural protection from the prevailing northwest wind and waves, and Madrone anchored just off the front of town.
Anniversary dinner overlooking the anchorage
One of the draws of Punta de Mita is the surf – there are a variety of points and beach breaks all within a 2 mile or so radius. El Faro (the lighthouse) is the point at the south tip of Punta de Mita itself, El Anclote is a gentler point just off the front of the village, Stinkies is a beach break in front of town (named because the prevailing wind blows over the anchored fishing boats into the break…), while La Lancha is another point about a mile and a half from town.
In Mexico there are 4 sizes of Pacifico- naturally, we had to try them all
The benefit of our anchorage spot was more or less equidistant access to all of these surf spots. While anchored in Punta de Mita, we were lucky enough to have swell almost every day. Combined with our time at Chacala surfing at La Caleta, we were able to surf at least once per day on 11 out of 13 consecutive days.
Angie’s favorite was the Ballena- can’t beat a happy whale on the label
Given its proximity to the resort of Punta Mita, the village of Punta de Mita has some high-end real estate shops, boutiques and a market featuring predominantly imported (and very expensive) American food. But it also retains some of what we have really come to enjoy about small beachfront towns in Mexico – local abarrotes (small grocery stores), food carts on the corner, small taquerias usually specializing in one particular type of taco, and simple palapa restaurants on the beach.
Heading out to surf at El Faro
We enjoyed a week anchored in Punta de Mita, and we’ll surely be back.
