FROM THE NORTH SHORE

Lo de Marcos – Unbreakable quietness!
By Nora Hernández & Jesus de Avila | Translation by Eduardo Rincón Gayardo – May 2008

On Federal road 200, approximately 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta’s airport, you will find Lo de Marcos, a coastal town with a Mexican rural flavor, offering visitors its magnificent beaches bathed by the impetuous sea inviting you to totally immerse in the contemplation of its spectacular hues of blue in the ocean, green sierra and thick vegetation surrounding this town of approximately 3000 people.

Lo de Marcos —originally a ranch dedicated to the collection of a small oil producing coconut— has among its attractions the Las Minitas and Los Venados Beach. On both you can enjoy its tasty gastronomy based on fresh seafood served under the shade of huts built from palm branches, these in turn protected from the sun by slender and lush palm trees.

According to 84 year-old Victorino Salazar Mariscal and his wife Martina Castellón Rodríguez, the founders of the town were the brothers Oliverio and Pedro Palomera, who apparently arrived in the region – already known as Lo de Marcos― in 1918, finding there a man named Cirilo Cerratos who already lived there. 

In the beginning the first settlers had to go to La Peñita to obtain a small ration of corn and beans. Back in those days pigs were fed with ripe coconuts in order to obtain from them the lard used to cook or fry all foodtuffs.

During many years their main activity was the crushing of oil-coconut, and, according to Don  Victorino, this was done as follows: “coconuts were gathered and peeled. The landlords hired someone named “orillero” who coordinated other 12 who gathered and peeled coconuts until they had a large amount. The day gathering reached its end the harvest was covered with palm fronds.  It was in December that coconut crushing started with the help of many people who came from other places to that effect. This cycle ended on the first days of May and everybody returned to their towns leaving Lo de Marcos alone. By 1936 Lo de Marcos became an ejido (a Mexican form of land ownership offered by the government by which owners can work the land but not sell their property).

Already under the ejido regime there came an investor from Compostela named Fernando Flores, who bought the oil coconut and helped the people during the rainy season. Back in those times oysters and limpets were plentiful; they are still harvested seasonally and are enjoyed as a regional delicacy.

71 year-old Mrs. Ángela Cruz Rodríguez remembers that in her infancy, along with her brothers and sisters, she collected river shrimp and all kinds of shellfish and abundant seafood “Back then you fished to eat, not to sell”. She remembers with joy how in 1950 the route of the “Tropical” began operating, it was a vehicle without doors or windows, just wooden benches and a canvas top to shelter passengers from the sun.

By 1960 a change in the local economy occurred and locals started to work in either agriculture or tourism. With a population of several hundred people and two streets, Lo de Marcos started to grow and slowly evolve. By the 1970’s some bungalows appeared as a lodging option, some small restaurants and a trailer park, bringing new life to the town.

With an atmosphere of tranquility that seems unbreakable (except during Holy Week and Easter Week) and excellent weather year-round, Lo de Marcos is a picturesque place offering its visitors the opportunity of experiencing and enjoying a taste of rural Mexico. Located on the Riviera Nayarit coastline, this is the perfect space to spend a weekend, a week or many months, away from the hustle-bustle of other cities and destinations with greater touristic infrastructure. During the day and especially at sunset, this is the photographic paradise for those who take pleasure in catching the detail and movement of nature as in no other place in the area.

The wide beaches of Lo de Marcos are a favorite of Mexican families on holidays, that is a plus for many foreigners who wish to acquaint themselves – and interact if they so wish – with the warm and happy Mexican family ambiance. On the south beach, sheltered by a small mountain covered with thick jungle, a small bay is ideal for kids to frolic in the small waves, while towards the middle and north, the imposing ocean rises in three to six feet high waves that are a constant temptation for amateur and experienced surfers. Golden sand, sheltered by mountains, decorated by tall palm trees that seem to have been placed there for a purpose, the beach at Lo de Marcos is definitely a beautiful relaxation destination in the Riviera Nayarit and it surely offers an unbeatable opportunity to explore and find great investment and retirement options.Email to a friend

Jesús de Avila
E-mail: editor@pvmirror.com

My Feedback about this Article

Previous Articles