Mike caught in a big wave fishing at the rocks at Villa Estrella.

Mike went out fishing with Ruben, the best fishing guide around, (he is from San Blas) and he said the experience was fantastic. Mike first tried his luck with one of the locals with the “Pangas” down on the beach in Platanitos but all they did was drive him to the Bajo and let him sit there for 3 hours even though not one fish was biting, he was very disappointed when he came back.

The next time, Mike decided to try his luck with a different fishermen. Ismael our manager at Punta el Custodio, recommend Ruben. Ruben picked Mike up on time, had sandwiches, water, sunscreen, cushions for the little panga, even a sail to provide some shade. Ruben has 40 years of guiding experience and was using a GPS to track the fish. First he caught a couple of Dorado and then suddenly a little bell was ringing and Ruben raced over to the pole and hooked the fish really hard (Mike is telling me the story as I didn’t go…I get sea sick) and handed Mike over the pole. It took Mike 45 minutes to wheel in the fish (I guess its called “Bella” in Spanish? At least that’s what Ruben was yelling…bella bella and pointed to the ocean while the bell was ringing).

Mike posing with his trophy from his Mexico sailfish fishing excursion.

He said the sight was amazing…the sailfish was jumping out of the water and was fighting really hard. Ruben and his “helper” got the fish into the boat and wanted to clean and filet it but Mike didn’t have a camera so he said he has to take the full fish home to get a photo. Then Heimar and Vincente (I am sure I butchered their name) cleaned the fish and filetted it – very NICE! I had asked Heimar to divide the fish between all the employees of Punta El Custodio but I am not sure that happened…when I asked Ismael and Cynthia if they got fish they said no…fortunately we had some more and gave it to Ismael…Rosa also got some and Mike gave her all the Travails he caught on the rock down from villa Estrella.

Mike said they had to go out 4 miles out…kind of a little bit left of Villa Estrella at the point. I’ve attached a couple more photos. If you take a look at the very last photo and look really close you can see Mike caught in a big wave leaning at the rocks and the pole sticking out (grey hair…you can see his head in the middle of the photo in a dark spot and white shirt if you look really close)…he loved fishing off the rock to the right down from your Villa. He was in heaven!

Mike and Dunja showing what the best Mexico fishing trips are all about.

Ruben said in November and December is the time to catch big fish, they were fortunate that they caught such a big fish this time of the year. Mike said Ruben was just amazing and how much knowledge he had about the area, a true fisherman who’s pride is measured by how many (big) fish his clients catch (not like the Panga guys from Platanitos, they really didn’t care if Mike would catch a fish or not).

Mike and I want to say Thank YOU for renting us out your villa and thank you Ismael for catering to all our special requests. Mike was very happy about his burger and the BBQ couldn’t have come to a more perfect time to BBQ the sailfish he caught that day (I have attached you a couple of photos). We BBQ’d all the way out under the big fig tree to ensure no flames or ashes would get close to your beautiful palapa roof.

Your place is beautiful and we loved everything Rosa cooked for us, your personnel is fantastic, everybody is so friendly and accommodating. Thank you both for allowing us to stay in your beautiful villa and making our vacation so very special. We hope we will have an opportunity to come back soon.

Written By Dunja, Villa Estrella Guest, May 2010.

Platanitos is a quaint beach village just a short walk from Villa Estrella and is a perfect place to pass a lazy day at the beach while immersing yourself in local Mexico culture.

The place was full of happy Mexican families, grandparents, kids and babies. We found a table at the edge facing the beach, simple plastic table, feet in the sand, watching the kids play in the waves, teenagers playing soccer on the beach, vendors selling inexpensive jewellery, banana bread, a wonderful ice cream cart, and a bunch of strolling mariachis with very old beat-up looking instruments. We were the only “white folks” on the whole beach. This place is the real thing. There are several restaurants like Ruiz’s all lined up tightly beside each other, and each restaurant has its own blaring juke box, pumping out that typically Mexican variety of songs, of love and heartbreak. It wouldn’t be Mexico without a bit of chaotic noise.

In a few minutes Pepe, Ana, Tania their daughter, and her brand new husband Zithi showed up, we ordered a bucket of iced beers, some shrimp empanadas and waited for the fish to arrive. Lovely people, warm hearted, loving, we are best of friends, communicating only in Spanish. I would get so good in Spanish if I had to do this every day. Of course, within minutes the ladies had snagged the wandering jewelery vendor, who proceeded to lay out all his wares on the table. This took a good half hour of sifting through a few hundred items and trying everything on. This is my kind of shopping, the goods are cheap, I don’t have to go to a store, no standing around with tired feet, and best if all, I can sit in comfort on the beach with my friends and a beer.

Next thing you know, the wandering weathered looking thin older man with the beatup guitar turns out to be an old friend of Pepe and Ana from Ixtapa down the road. Apparently he writes a lot of his own songs as well. We are in for a treat as he serenades us in a lovely voice and excellent guitar playing for a good 20 minutes. He sang a special song that he wrote himself, dedicated to Jackie and me, entitled “Tequila y Rum”

The succulent tender fish arrives, a huge feast, the entire fish laid open on a huge tray, grilled a golden brown with wonderful aromas. It comes with a bunch of plastic forks, some little plates, rice and tortillas. Everyone digs in, finger licking, lip smacking good. I’ve never had better fish than this. Of course the pretty waitress keeps bringing us more cold ones.

Next thing we signal the lady on the beach operating the ice cream cart, apparently she is known to Pepe and Ana as well. It seems her family are highly regarded ice cream makers from Zacualpan. I have the limon, others have fresa, or coco, lovely ices in nice crunchy cones, 6 ice creams for 50 pesos, not a bad deal.

After lunch we all piled into Zithi’s pickup, the men in the open rear truck bed, Mexican style, and we bump our way back up the hill back to Villa Estrella, me holding on for dear life. We made coffee, sat and talked, as the sun dropped ever lower in the sky. As the orange ball came close to sea, we wandered out to the point under the big fig tree, the nightly sunset ceremony has become a wonderful tradition, a time when day slips into night, accompanied by a spectacular orange glow of sky. We toast the end of the day as the final glimmer of sun slips under the waves.

The romantic lights under the palapa gradually come on, one by one; conversations grow deeper, easy laughter, wine flows. Eventually, after large lunches, endless talking, kissed by sun and breeze, cool wine, fatigue sets in, time to break up the party and head home, hugs and goodbyes all around. The villa returns to magical silence. Surrounded by the black night, the chirping of crickets, the soft surge of waves on the rocks below. We sink into the comfort of cushions and lounges, nap a bit, read a bit, cherishing the peace and silence.

Just another day in paradise.

Punta el Custodio is on the Riviera Nayarit, near the tiny beach village of Platanitos. Punta means Point, Punta el Custodio is like a small village built on a small peninsula projecting into the sea. We are surrounded on three sides by Pacific ocean, including a fabulous surfing beach. The community is operated by the 19 villa owners and at this time we have 15 lovely villas, each one uniquely different. The property has retained all the original Mexican jungle vegetation and new villas are not permitted to cut trees. This has created the opportunity for living flora to be creatively incorporated into the architecture of some of these stunning homes.

Punta El Custodio is filled with beautifully designed and maintained gardens filled with plant species native to the Nayarit region.

The road through Punta El Custodio is a sweet, narrow cobbled winding affair which twists and turns to miss the trees and huge boulders (see picture). At the very tip of the peninsula is our beautiful common swimming pool, and one of the most amazingly large Mexican chalata trees you will ever see.

In the gardens that fill every inch of space surrounding the villas, we are continually adding diversity to the plant species – seeking plants that are native and unique to this region of Mexico and protecting and re-planting endangered species. We are starting a composting and mulching program to return all fallen organic matter to the soil. We have also been steadily constructing a network of narrow cobbled footpaths throughout the property.

One of our prime objectives is to protect and enhance the natural beauty of the peninsula wherever possible. Many areas in Punta El Custodio have been left in their original condition, especially the very wild tip of the peninsula where the ocean swells break wildly on the “prow” of our point. The natural native Nayarit vegetation at that location consists mainly of cactus and wild fig. At this point the jungle and landscaping has re-grown so quickly and richly, that most of the villas have become almost invisible as the gardens have overgrown and concealed them. Walking the cobbled road and paths of Punta el Custodio is a beautiful experience.

I am heavily involved with the ongoing master planning and evolution of the common areas and landscaping of the property. Today I walked the property with our manager Ismael and we planned out the construction of some new cobbled footpaths through some of the jungle areas. Then, with Valentin the Arquitecto, I supervised the placement of some enormous boulders in one of our common areas because there happened to be a big backhoe here today doing some other work and dozens of these big boulders were just lying around awkwardly. So we arm waved a placement of the rocks that will enhance the next phase of the project, which is to turn the area into a secret garden park.

If you are considering a vacation rental in Mexico on the ocean and beach, you really should consider renting Villa Estrella in Punta El Custodio. Renting our villa is amazingly economical when you consider the large number of bedrooms, and that that the cost could be shared by a group of renters (please CLICK HERE for our weekly rental rates). Also, with the full time maid and meal plan you can save a fortune on expensive restaurants.

If you want to rent a villa in Mexico, we strongly recommend the Riviera Nayarit region, north of Puerto Vallarta. It’s easy to get to from the west coast of North America, has great flight frequencies in and out of Puerto Vallarta International Airport and good air fares are available from all over western US, Canada and Alaska. Fly directly to Puerto Vallarta and have Ismael send the van to pick you up and whisk you to Villa Estrella. It’s that simple.