Jim Brinson“Paraiso Perdido” means “Paradise Lost” in Spanish, but for visitors to this undiscovered stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coast, it will be more like Paradise Found.
The Cabo Corrientes (“Cape of Currents”) region lies about an hour south of Puerto Vallarta, and marks
the point where the protected and peaceful coast of Banderas Bay ends, and the wilder Pacific coast begins.
It is another world altogether from the exceedingly popular and even a little overrun Puerto Vallarta. This thinly populated but breathtakingly beautiful region has traditionally been home to only a few people per square kilometer, because it has lacked modern infrastructure.
The tiny communities on the southern stretch of Cabo Corrientes, Mayto, Tehuamixtle, and Villa del Mar, are renowned for their spectacular, unspoiled, and barely visited beaches.
To reach them, one has needed to take a bus or drive on a somewhat primitive road from the interior town of El Tuito.
But the infrastructure is improving. First that road was graded; in 2015, it is being paved.
A dam and reservoir have been under construction to provide fresh water throughout the large municipality of Cabo Corrientes. The lack of fresh water has been a limiting factor in the development of the area.
A new airport is also planned that will serve the entire Costalegre (“Happy Coast”) area, which extends down the coast from Cabo Corrientes to the town of Manzanillo in Colima state.
The upshot of these improvements will be increased development of tourism, as well as retirement and vacation properties, although that will happen gradually over years and never get close to the densities of Puerto Vallarta and other major seacoast resorts.
The Paraiso Perdido property near Mayto Beach is currently selling oceanview lots on which one- and two-bedroom villas will be constructed, undoubtedly a sign of more such developments to come.
The small existing tourist facilities, a few low-key hotels and restaurants, will certainly be supplemented. Eco-tourism focused on sea turtle nesting areas and other natural features will continue to grow (there is already a “turtle camp” in Mayto).
But with any luck, the “Paradise” along Cabo Corrientes’ southern coast will retain its magical, off-the-beaten-track quality.
