Me with a friendly local in Yelapa
I first discovered Yelapa in 1984. I had gone with my friend Arturo to Puerta Vallarta. I had always wanted to go there since I had seen "Night of the Iguana". I love the idea of tropical locations. After we'd been in Puerta Vallarta a few days, we took a day trip down the coast to Yelapa. As soon as the boat came around into the little bay of Yelapa, I knew this was MY place! It was so strange, I felt in tune and at home. For me, it is a place where I no longer stop at the boundry of my body... you know... this is Paul, everything outside of Paul is other! In Yelapa, I lose that boundry and start spreading out into the jungle, the sky and the sea and KNOW all of it is me!
Yelapa is an indian reservation and any monies made from the tourists goes to support the community, their hospital and school. Being a reservation, there is little fear of the Hiltons coming in and putting up a fancy hotel. Also, you can only get to Yelapa by boat which keeps it fairly isolated. To stay in a hut is quite reasonable too... I believe they are around $26 a night for however many are staying there.
Since that first trip, I have been back there almost every year... sometimes with friends and sometimes alone. It always casts a special spell over me and washes away my mind garbage. The times of the year I go there, there are usually few tourists staying. You can stay in Yelapa in little huts called PALAPAS that are scattered in the trees near the beach. They have showers and running water (not to drink). Sometimes the water is even hot, if the natives remember to put a fire under the water tanks. There is electricity for a couple hours in the evening until the generator is shut off. I bring a tiny sterno stove and a coffee pot and fix coffee in the morning for the sunrise.
One thing... if you don't like critters... Yelapa may not be for you! There are scorpions, bats, snakes and, one time I was there, I had an albino crab living in my toilet. Flushing didn't seem to bother it. At night, you can hear the Iguanas under your palapa or on your porch, munching on crabs. They won't bother you though. If you are very quiet, during the day you can catch sight of them sunning themselves out on the rocks. I saw several... You can see on in: CRITTERS.
One time when I was there with Arturo there was a married couple staying too... stuffy (at first) professors from Boston. They actually dressed for dinner. The restaurant is just a big palapa... poles with a roof thatched with palm leaves. After eating, they asked us to join them for wine by candlight (the power was off). We were having a very adult conversation when we heard a lot of shouting and barking. Suddenly, a bull came charging through the restaruant chased by a pack of dogs and a farmer. The lady professor touched her pearls and quietly said, "We don't see that sort of thing much in Boston."
A couple years ago, an English penpal visited me. He was a blue color type with a lovely sense of humor and very much a city man. When we went down, it was just at the end of the rainy season... not QUITE the end. We were the only tourists staying there. At night, all the natives disappeared back to their homes in the jungle. A huge storm came in. Rain there is like being under a waterfall... Well IT RAINED!! Matter of fact, it rained so hard, the roof of our palapa caved in on us. We had to struggle through that black jungle storm and find a dry palapa. Since I had been there before, I knew where to look. In the morning, when the English man woke, he had an odd expression on his face and said, "Do you know, there is a rather large snake coming in the window?" It was a real live boa constrictor from the jungle Well, we were both delighted! It was not full grown but big enough to be impressive. (about 7 feet) I looked it up when I got home ... it was what is called a Rosy Boa. It hung around for about an hour and then wandered back into the jungle. We also had bats living in the bathroom. Being from London, he loved it... very Indiana Jones! (see CRITTERS)
There are so many other stories I could tell you about this magic place. I guess you could always ask me! DROP ME A LINE.
Here is a very nice page all about the hotel Lagunita where you can find out all about reservations, activities, etc.
Also, the most comprehensive page about Yelapa, take a look HERE.