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My wife informed me that we were going to an idyllic small fishing town called Chacala over Easter. Chacala’s set in a small cove on the Pacific coast of Mexico about 60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. Sounds nice! She’s has booked us a house right on the beach and located in the heart of the main village, surrounded by a few palapa roofed restaurants and bars. The house is truly beautiful and the beach is one of the best I have visited in Mexico! In Chacala, there are no brand name high rise hotels, resorts, shops, or restaurants and no crowds, except at Semana Santa (Easter) and Christmas when Mexican tourists flock to the beach from Guadalajara and Tepic. I venture out and drink too many beers at the Chac Mool Café. It’s Saturday night and they have a small band playing on the beach. I forget my wallet and had to return sheepishly the next morning to pay my bill. Chac Mool becomes my favorite haunt, especially for their Ranchero breakfast MX$75, USD$4! Most of the restaurants and shops close shortly after the sun goes down. However, a new food scene starts at the same time – street food, and it’s cheap and authentic. Take home a taco combo meal! I am told that the early closing is normal except for Semana Santa and Christmas. I start to get a bit concerned. Chacala is known for its physical beauty and unhurried lifestyle. I am told that by the Thursday before Easter it will start to get really busy - That is an understatement! Thousands and thousands of people arrive at this sleepy Mexican village and it transforms into party central! The ocean becomes a sea of people or human soup with gallons of pee. As the throngs grow, so does the noise. Muchas ruido! What are most annoying are the Mexican beach bands that play to drunken tourists and love to compete against each other for attention. Hour after hour I listen to amateur musicians with questionable timing and ability. I decide to head to the very south of the beach and discovered some peace at Debi’s Tapas Bar which has an awesome to-die-for shrimp cocktail. For the most part, the surf is calm and we enjoy regular swims in the clear waters. There are some concerns about baby stingrays, but the only thing we encounter are some small jellyfish which the pee should take care of. There are friendly vendors selling fruit and the usual bell ringing carts with delicious Mexican ice cream. To escape the drums I take a walk up the hill and stop at the Hotel Paraiso Escondido for a beer – they have a beautiful cold, quiet pool, so I take my beer payment as permission to use it. I get back to the din and speak with the cleaner whose husband works at the port cooperative, to arrange a small boat, a lancha, to take us around any headland to escape the masses. The next day we meet Roberto and his lancha. The ocean is cobalt blue, the water relative calm and the boat surprisingly stable. The mob scene on the beach is growing and our escape is uplifting. The look on my daughter’s face as we turn the corner into Chacalilla Bay is priceless. A pristine deserted palm tree-lined beach greets us. The sand and clear blue water is a dream. The bay is home to Marina Chacala, a complex of luxury private condominiums. The beach is public if you arrive by boat, but there’s no bar, restaurant or restrooms for us to use. I wish I had discovered Chacalilla earlier. I leave Chacala with mixed feelings. We will miss the Chacala we experience when we arrived – the quiet, clean, friendly, quaint little Mexican fishing village and beach. But now, we can’t wait to get out of there to escape the hordes and racket. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful, and I will probably visit again. But, if I want to keep my sanity I will never visit again at Easter! I would rather eat broken glass.