July 25, 2021-Magic of Punta Farallon and Playa Teopa

A few years ago, as we sailed down the coast of Mexico, we noticed a strange bowl shaped structure on a point of land between Chamela and Tenacatita. What was it we wondered? A radio telescope antenna? Or something else?

Punta Farallon

It turned out that the point of land was Punta Farallon and the bowl was a large work of art known as La Copa del Sol, The Cup of the Sun, which is part of Costa Careyes, a private community created by Gian Franco Brignone. 

As intriguing as that was the charts of the area showed something that was even more interesting to us sailors: there wasn't much detail but it showed a large, protected bay behind the point. We wondered if it would make a good south wind anchorage.

We found little written about that bay, nobody we knew had ever been there, it wasn’t in the guide books, and there was no detail on the charts. We decided that someday we’d take a look for ourselves.

 

Dolphins Lead The Way

So, on July 21, 2021, guided by a pair of dolphins, Wings rounded Punta Farallon and entered into a fantastical dream world of untouched beaches, rugged cliffs, mysterious sea caves, and, of course, that marvelous big cup.

 
We felt a little like Captain Cook, exploring the unknown.

 

Paradise

What we found was a superb anchorage, a pristine two mile long white sand beach (Playa Teopa), plenty of crystal clear water for swimming, and loads of craggy cliffs and coves for exploring. We even found a turtle sanctuary. Of course we were the only boat there. What we didn’t find was a way to get to the Copa. Apparently Costa Careyes has closed access to it, due to COVID, we were told.

 

Playa Teopa

OK, Take Them Back Please

But never mind, we stayed for three days, went ashore, pulled the dingy up the beach and walked around a while. We met Roberto who runs the turtle camp, got to hold some turtles, met some visitors who were brought to the beach for a picnic from the house on the hill above the bay. We did some swimming from the boat, and explored the whole area by dingy. We could have stayed longer but the weather was predicted to turn to northerlies (it didn’t) which would not be the best for Punta Farallon. This anchorage would only be good in calm weather with wind and swell out of the south. In other words, summertime weather. Beautiful Beach

 

But that’s the beauty of our cruise this year, we’re doing it in the summer when the winds are light, the crowds are gone and we have all the time in the world.

 
And that includes time to discover a new paradise.

 
Click here for lots more photos.

 
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Mexico