SURFER’S COAST
By Gordon Robbins

Surfing our own nearby beaches at Sayulita and Quimixto are rated two of Mexico’s top-ten west -coast surfing destinations. Sayulita also boasts one of the growing trends of women only surfing school’s in North America.

Each November surfers from around the world gather at Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca State for Mexico’s segment of the televised World Surfing Championships. Annually surfers from the Puerto Vallarta region and those who surf a hidden beach at Nexpa in the state of Michoacán walk away with the most points, cash prizes, trophies, and product-endorsement contracts.

Where in the world is Nexpa? Nexpa, offering some of the best surf in the world, is located on the Michoacán coastline seven kilometers north from the pueblo of Caletas del Campo. Nexpa is not a village but a hard-to-hike-in-to ocean front surfer’s camp, where the population hovers at a transient 50 and inhabitants either camp or live in rough-hewn palapas on a secluded beach famous for long, high, barrel rollers.

Here, the champions and would-be champions daily challenge some of the strongest waves the Pacific coast can provide. This stretch of coastline is still rural, devoted to farming and agriculture. Many locals are suspicious of the sun-bronzed foreign surfers and thus the surfers of Nexpa choose to remain nearly invisible, venturing into Caletas only for supplies.

Caletas del Campo and the nearby resort pueblo of San Juan de Lima are on the Pan American Highway while El Ranchito, another surfer destination and a surprisingly modern pueblo, is just a few kilometers off the highway and is a bus transfer point. All are village headquarters for the part and full-time surfers who frequent this 40-kilometer-long stretch of the Michoacan coast.

This writer was the house guest of Scotty Auble, an elementary school teacher and computer expert from South Lake Tahoe, California, who, along with his wife, Dana Amarisa, had rented a house in San Juan de Lima this past August. It had three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen with modern appliances, a huge living room, wide veranda, and a huge green lawn overlooking the village and Pacific coastline. Scotty was paying $200 U.S. utilities included for a residence that would easily rent for six to ten times that much here in Puerto Vallarta.

Scotty made a confession to me that I was soon to hear from other part-time surfers who visit this coast periodically. He is torn between his high-paying job in California and his desire to live, and surf, this coast full time. Some, like Bob from Michigan who runs a combination surf shop and laundromat in Caletas del Campo, have married local women and live here year around. Others, (remember those cash prizes and endorsement contracts), have the money to maintain residences here as well as in the United States and come south for the winter months when the waves are at their best.

Adam is a friend of mine who lives in Sayulita, surfs whenever he can, and spends his summers in his native San Diego. Adam is not a competition surfer, although he would probably bring home a few trophies if he chose to compete. Adam is satisfied just to surf in Sayulita. Another friend, Jeff, has surfed competitively around the world and prefers the hard-to-access waters off Punta de Mita where, due to increased development, surfers must boat out from nearby public property to access the waves.

Pete, who owns a surf shop in Zihuatanjeo, claims the waves at the south side of the bay entrance at “Zihua” are the best on the coast. The surfer school for women in Sayulita will give the females a strong boost to compete in what has long been perceived as a male dominated sport. During what turned out to be three visits to Michoacan’s surf spots I only encountered male surfers. More and more females are now competing in championship competitions, weather they are here in Mexico or being televised from South Africa or Bell Harbor in Australia.

Times have changed and the next person that you see “hanging ten” may well be sporting a bronze tan, long sun bleached hair and wearing a bikini. Exactly the type of sight to cause a fair few males to wipe out!