General Information
La Manzanilla Orientation
La Manzanilla is located on the pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Jalisco, approximately a 3½ hour drive south of Puerto Vallarta or a 45 minute drive north of the Manzanillo Airport.
As you exit off the Coastal Highway 200 at KM marker13 and head down toward the beach, you’ll pass several houses, small tiendas (grocery stores), lavandería, and the secondary school. As you come to the end of the road, turn left. You are now on the main road into town, Maria Asunción. It parallels the water and will take you through the center of town to a large plaza (the Jardín) and a church.
Money
La Manzanilla does not have a bank, ATM machine, or casa de cambio. Businesses do not accept credit cards or currency other than pesos. You will need to arrive with enough Mexican pesos for your stay or plan a trip to Melaque to replenish your stash of cash. Pesos are the currency used in Mexico. Bills come in denominations of $20, $50, $100, $200, $500, and $1,000 pesos. Coins are in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, and $20 pesos and 10, 20 and 50 centavos. The exchange rate fluctuates daily.
Internet in La Manzanilla
Wireless Internet abounds at many restaurants and there are a few Internet cafes that come and go. Lots of folks come to La Manzanilla equipped with a laptop; it’s an easy way to stay connected. If you are staying at a vacation rental, inquire with the owner about the availability of wireless Internet, as many rentals have it.
Postal Service in La Manzanilla
If you plan on spending some time on the beach crafting witty postcards to your friends and family, please be advised that there is no postal service in La Manzanilla. You can send your postcards to Melaque with someone who is making the trip or take them yourself when you get the urge to explore the big city of Melaque yourself.
Medical Services in La Manzanilla
There is a well-stocked pharmacy in the main part of town and a small clinic located just off the main road into town. The clinic is staffed with a newly-graduated medical student who serves a year internship and he/she usually speaks English. The clinic is clean and the doctor lives above it so someone is always available. Keep in mind it is a clinic not a western-style hospital.
Phone calls
When calling internationally from Mexico you’ll need to dial 00 (international prefix)-(country code- depends on the country, US is 1)-area code-phone number. For example, to call Denver, Colorado, you would dial: 00-1-303-123-4567. There is a Tel-Mex office as well as a payphone located in the main part of town. Cell phone use is on the rise, so call your provider before you visit and you may find you have service with roaming. Long-term visitors often purchase a local cell phone along with a prepaid card.
Weather in La Manzanilla
La Manzanilla’s weather is sunny and beautiful all year long.
During the high season from November through March, when the tourist population is at its highest, the daytime temperature ranges from 75˚ to 85˚ F (24˚-30˚ C).
During the summer months the weather is hotter and more humid, in the high 80′s and low 90′s F (30˚-32 ˚C) with 95% humidity.
The rainy season typically starts in June and lasts until early October with afternoon showers and occasional thunderstorms that tend to cool things off for the night.
Dress
The dress in La Manzanilla is casual. Shorts and T-shirts are the order of the day. In the winter months, bring a sweater for evenings. Sun hats and cover-ups are a good idea as well. Mexico, in general, is rather conservative, so topless bathing is not all that common in La Manzanilla. Although beachwear is perfectly acceptable on the beach, just use common sense when strolling down the street or when shopping for the perfect Mexican gift to bring home to the family.
Holidays and Festivals in La Manzanilla
The Gringo Day Fiesta of La Manzanilla: La Fiesta de Toro usually the first weekend in February. Bull riding, parades, food, and kids activities. The foreign community sponsors one day of this event to show their appreciation of their Mexican neighbors. It’s a four day event and each day is sponsored by a different group or business. Originally it was to celebrate the Ejido. Ejidos were created in the Lazaro Cardenas administration (1934-1940) to redistribute land to the peasant farmers who worked the land.
Semana Santa: Easter holy week. A major holiday throughout Mexico. Accommodations may be limited. The holiday usually falls at the end of March or early April.
Fiesta for patron saint is August 6-August 18.
Revolution Day! On November 20, Mexico celebrates the anniversary of its Revolution. On this date, in the year 1910 the war to overthrow the dictator Porfirio Díaz, began. La Manzanilla celebrates by hosting a parade in the morning, all the school kids dress in period clothing and parade from the elementary school to the jardin. The Saturday following the 20th the town hosts a Mexican night and the jardin is filled with eateries and dancing.
Virgin of Guadalupe- first 12 days in December. Parades in the evening along the main street through town to the church, starting around 6:30. Participants, women and children, are dressed in traditional clothing. The Virgin of Guadalupe has symbolized the Mexican nation since Mexico’s War of Independence. Rebel armies waged war underneath Guadalupan flags, and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is generally recognized as a symbol of all Catholic Mexicans. For more check Wikipedia
Speak Spanish?
In most of the gringo-owned restaurants, the wait staff speaks English. However, at the taco stands, tiendas (grocery stores), and palapa restaurants on the beach, Spanish is the main spoken language. This is part of the charm of La Manzanilla, but it’s changing quickly as more and more tourists find their way here! People are friendly; don’t be embarrassed to give your Spanish a try. Word to the wise: Speaking English louder and slower will not make them understand you better.
Drinking Water
Drink only bottled water. Most restaurants and bars use purified water, but feel free to ask to be sure. When cooking or preparing vegetables for salads, use products such as “Microdyn” to purify the water you use to clean them. You can purchase Mircodyn at all the local grocery stores.
When staying in a vacation rental the proprietor will usually have one or two five-gallon bottles of water for you to use. If you run out just listen for the horn of the water delivery truck, flag him down and for a few pesos you can purchase a five-gallon bottle of water.
Mangrove
What are mangroves? Most people consider mangroves to be swamps; they are in fact, a wetland ecosystem formed by plants and animals that live where fresh water rivers empty into the ocean in tropical or subtropical regions.
In general, Mangrove forests filter out pollution, stabilize sediments, hold nutrients, protect the shoreline from erosion and provide food, nesting and nursery areas for many animals, including at least 220 fish species, 24 reptile and amphibian species, 18 mammal species and 200 bird species.
It’s been reported that the mangrove in La Manzanilla has as many as 200 resident American crocodiles. They are easily viewed from a platform at the southern end of the village. On occasion a few get washed out into the ocean during a storm surge, eventually they find their way back to mangrove. The mangrove of La Manzanilla has come under attack recently by a proposed development project. The citizens of La Manzanilla rallied together and were able to halt the project, at least for the time being.
Mangrove Tours- Interpretive birding tours through La Manzanilla mangrove are being offered and guided by Dave Collins and/or Joseph Rutherford in collaboration with CIPATLI, the local La Manzanilla ecotourism cooperative. If you’ve never been through the mangrove before it’s a magical and educational journey into another world!
Minimum group size is 3 persons, and maximum is 15. To book, call Dave at 044 (315) 104-5442, or Joseph at 044 (315) 104-4231. Tours are run in a paddle-powered “panga” boat (the guides do the paddling) from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. (this schedule may vary depending on time of year), and can be scheduled any day of the week as long as minimum group size is met.
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