This will be my last post of June…..so have fun reading about a favorite cruisers anchorage on the Gold Coast of Mexico….and have a great Monday. Liking this post will go far!!
Let’s get this out of the way first: Use this post for information or entertainment only, please do not use this post for navigation.
Anchoring in Bahia Tenacatita, Jalisco, on a sailboat is the quintessential Mexican cruising dream, offering protection, lush scenery, and immediate access to a vibrant mangrove estuary. It is a favored stop along the Costalegre, providing a peaceful retreat and a true taste of coastal paradise. – Thanks AI.
We arrived in the “cruisers” portion of Bahia Tenacatita at around 1040 in the morning, having done an overnight sail/motor from Banderas Bay. It was two days before Christmas and the weather was in the 80’s, with little wind. We found a spot a bit further out from the main cruiser group (because of small dog and quiet kids) and dropped anchor in 26 feet of water with about 150 feet of chain out. Of course, we were cruisers entertainment that morning….making sure to back down hard on the anchor and then let out the rest of the chain. Whew….we made it in time for Christmas…but still lots to do. By the time we put the hook down, a visitor from a buddy boat showed up to greet us….we were thankful to see friends off kid boats. Then our post-passage chores commenced. As I was working on chores about 1/2 hour later….up came other visitors…this time the social committee to let us know we needed to wear masks on shore around the bar (we always did) and the fact that they had a rockin boche ball league if we were interested. We were thankful to meet the Mayor of Tenacatita (real thing) but our Great Dane didn’t seem to appreciate the strangers and the kids had to take her to the front deck to allow us to talk. That afternoon, we did our best to get our Christmas spirit on….decorating the boat the best we could.
Tenacatita Bay is full of things for cruisers to do….or not do- per whatever your thing is. There’s a beach bar, a lazy river to take the dinghy into and explore, a town you can take big or small boat to provision in and several long stretches of white sandy beach to just do nothing on….or go boogy boarding on. We spent nearly two weeks here (this first time)…all the way through New Years. New Years was cool, with the big luxury hotel at the end of the bay doing a huge fireworks display, allowing us to just sit on deck and watch the party.
Jungle Cruise- Getting our Raicilla Fix
I don’t think we went on the jungle cruise specifically to go to the Raicilla Distillery….it just happened that way. Ok….the jungle cruise is through a real jungle with crocodiles, snakes and narrow passages…so make sure you have plenty of gas for the outboard and watch the corners, as the pangas don’t slow down. From Tenacatita, the entrance to the jungle cruise isn’t hard, just watch the swells and make sure to stay to the right side nearer to the rock jetty as you go into the river, as it’s deeper. This is the same advice when you come back out later in the afternoon, as there will be larger swells that need to be timed well or you might get wet. Check out my maps here, you’ll understand:
What’s Raicilla? …..what’s Mezcal?
From Google:
Mezcal is a traditional Mexican distilled spirit made from the harvested and fermented hearts of the agave plant. The word itself originates from the ancient Nahuatl words metl and ixcalli, which literally translate to “oven-cooked agave.” It is widely celebrated for its complex, deeply earthy, and often distinctively smoky flavor profile.
A common phrase to remember its relationship with tequila is: “all tequilas are mezcals, but not all mezcals are tequilas.” Mezcal serves as the overarching parent category for many Mexican agave spirits.
Raicilla is a traditional, artisanal Mexican agave spirit produced in the southwestern region of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Much like tequila and mezcal, it is distilled from the fermented mash of agave, but its unique terroir, production methods, and agave varieties set it apart.
How It Differs from Tequila and Mezcal
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- Agave Varieties: While tequila is strictly made from Blue Agave, and mezcal is made from various other species, raicilla primarily uses wild agaves such as Agave maximiliana (in the mountains) and Agave rhodacantha (on the coast).
- Flavor Profile: Raicilla is generally less smoky than mezcal because its agaves are typically steamed in adobe ovens rather than roasted in underground pits. It is highly terroir-driven, offering distinct floral, herbal, and tropical fruit notes.
- Production Methods: Crafting raicilla is deeply artisanal. Producers (called maestros raicilleros) often use centuries-old, rudimentary distillation methods, sometimes eschewing electricity entirely.
The Two Main Styles
According to the spirit’s Protected Denomination of Origin (awarded in 2019), raicilla is divided into two distinct regional expressions:
- De la Costa (Coastal): Produced around the Cabo Corrientes and Bahía de Banderas regions near Puerto Vallarta. These often show ocean-like brininess and sometimes a slight smokiness.
- De la Sierra (Mountainous): Produced in the mountain towns of Mascota and San Sebastián del Oeste. These are typically fruit-forward, floral, and herbaceous.
Wanna know more about El Tabernaro Raicilla/Mexcal Distillery? Click on the link and read more.
After the distillery, it was time to jungle cruise back to the boats….made more fun by some Raicilla tasting.
Finally, here’s points of interest in the bay:
Here’s more info:
Ease of anchoring: We anchored over a sand/mud in 26 feet of water, with 150 feet of chain out. Second time we anchored here near the same spot in 29 feet of water with 175 feet of chain out. Third time we anchored here, we broke our own rules and came in during the dark, following chart plotter tracks, to anchor in 25 feet of water with 150 feet of chain out.
Noise at anchor: Not much…other cruisers/generators.
Provisioning: Yes. You can take the big boat or the dinghy over to La Manzanilla across the bay and brave the surf, for great provisioning.
Cellular reception at anchor: Yes.
Wifi in the anchorage: None
Water Clarity: Not much until you are closer to shore.
Protection: Protection from the north, east and west. The more you can tuck behind the piece of headland separating the bays, the better protection. There might be some wrap around swell occasionally but it wasn’t bad.
Bugs: Not at anchor, but on the beach and in the jungle cruise….yes.
Beach: Yes, long white sand beaches.
Would We Go Back: Yes, totally, still want to now.
FYI- Make sure you go all the way around Roca Centro, because we have seen it nearly covered at high tide and we saw boats go very close to it by mistake.
Over the next several years we cruised Mexico, we would make it a point to visit “Ten” Bay at least three more times. We had Christmas and New Years 2020 there and loved it.
Wanna read more stories we’ve written about Tenacatita and surrounding areas? Click the links:
From LF2SF: Wishing You Many Blessings in 2021
Places We’ve Been: Bahia Chamela, Jalisco MX
Places We’ve Been: Punta Ipala (Tehuamixtle)
Places We’ve Been: Major Stops Along Mexico’s West Coast
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