Manzanillo Mansion

I had been home only two short weeks from my adventure in the Yucatan, when I received an exciting phone call. Would I be interested in staying in a 15,000 square foot ocean view mansion for 4 nights? How could I possibly pass up a chance like this? The only catch was that I would have less than two weeks to prepare for my next journey, this time being a trip down to Manzanillo, Mexico.

Manzanillo in located in the state of Colima, and is situated on the Pacific coast between Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa. Travel Invasion would be visiting during the slowest point of the year, and would be accompanied this time by a local television news photographer who will be doing a future story about my website and travel exploits.

With little time to prepare, I began searching the Net to see what this place had to offer. I quickly began to realize that Manzanillo is definitely off the beaten tourist path. The area seemed void of the disturbing American commercialization festering worldwide. Activities for the surrounding area were somewhat limited to excellent golf courses, sport fishing, a volcano, nearby waterfalls, open stretches of beaches and finally a sea turtle refuge. I was hoping for a visit to the turtle refuge.

Our lodging was going to be at a very affordable luxury villa called Chateau Manzanillo. The private rental home boasted five bedrooms, five bathrooms, indoor/outdoor pool, billiards room, marble wet bar, palapa patio and sweeping views of the Pacific. The home also included a separate self contained thatched roof apartment that would have made Gilligan drool. The chateau offered daily maid service as well as a house manager who was available for meal preparation.

Manzanillo is not an easy city to fly into. From Los Angeles your options are limited to sporadic flights on Alaskan Airlines and a tiny airline called Aero California which doesn�t even have a website. We chose Aero Cal for their much lower prices and best of all, the ability to smoke cigarettes on the flight. Viva la Mexico! Disaster struck while riding the Airport Bus down to L.A. Near Gorman, the bus broke down stranding a bus load of confused riders. Worrying that we were going to miss our flight, I noticed a Rent-A-Wreck sign down the road. Within minutes I was in a Kia and heading back to the bus to load up and go. Without this stroke of luck, we would have been doomed.

We touched down in Manzanillo just in time for an explosive rain shower. Weather predictions had warned us that this was going to be the norm during our visit. A driver was there to greet us and escort us back to Chateau Manzanillo. Arriving at the villa, the fun began. The place was beautiful and the views down to Santiago Bay were mesmerizing. All of this was ours for the next four nights. The house manager Maria greeted us with Margaritas and homemade chips & salsa.

Sunday was spent exploring the Manzanillo region in a chauffeured Suburban. The afternoon had us at a locals beach interviewing the owner of a large dive shop. After the interview, we decided to get some food from a street vendor to take home. Loaded down with carne asada tacos, salsa, & beans, we were headed back to our villa for a night of food and festivities.

Monday was spent filming the property and just letting it all soak in. The owner of the house called and told me to use his car to take us to dinner that night. This was much easier said then done. Driving in Mexico is not easy. Making a left hand turn is done from the far right lane with thoughts of being T-boned swirling in your head. Eventually I noticed a taxi had slammed on its breaks about 50 yards up the road. Slowing our car to see what the problem was, I was horrified to find that the driver had ran into a jaywalker. The body lay face down motionless while the cabbie looked to be in some horrific shock. The front windshield of the taxi was smashed in. Nothing we could do but drive on.

The final day was fulfilling as we headed out early to El Tortugario which is a sea turtle sanctuary approximately 45 minutes south. The highlight of my trip was letting handfuls of baby sea turtles onto the sand for their all important first journey to the water. You can read about this special place on my website. Finishing up, we headed back to Manzanillo for an authentic lunch in the downtown shopping district, followed by a visit to a Botenero call El Caporal. The vibe was great with entertainment and all the food you can eat. You just pay for your booze. A supposed 20 minute visit turned into 2 hours. Now it was back to Chateau Manzanillo for a final dinner prepared by Maria. We were treated to a satisfying Chicken enchilada dinner. Completely stuffed and entering into chill mode, we all groaned when the phone rang. It was the owner calling to say we had been invited to dinner at a waterfront place called La Toscana which is the nicest restaurant in the area. Grudgingly we obliged and headed out for our fourth meal in less than 8 hours. Everything turned out great though, as the gourmet menu opened up some additional room in all of our stomachs. Now it was over and time to head back to the Chateau for our last night or paradise.

The Chateau Manzanillo is a very affordable and unique mansion. If you went down as a group of 8 during slow season it would be less than $75 a person per night. A huge bargain for such a huge house. The weather turned out to be perfect, and the general Manzanillo region was considered to be clean, crime free and very authentic. I advise you to make a trip down there before the hordes of tourists discover this tropical gem. Thanks to Mike Longley and his family for offering up a great vacation experience.