Most longtime visitors know Jalisco’s Costa Alegre through Barra de Navidad and two big, beautiful beach-lined bays: Tenacatita and Chamela. Tranquil Bahía de Chamela, the most northerly of the two, is broad, blue, dotted with islands, and lined by a strip of fine honey-yellow sand.

Stretching five miles south from the sheltering Punta Rivas headland near Perula village, Chamela Bay is open but calm. A chain of intriguingly labeled rocky islitas, such as Cocinas (Kitchens), Negrita (Little Black One), and Pajarera (Place of Birds), scatter the strong Pacific swells into gentle billows by the time they roll onto the beaches.

Besides its natural amenities, Chamela Bay has three bungalow-complexes, one mentionable motel, two trailer parks, and an unusual “camping club.” The focal point of this low-key resort area is the Km 72 highway corner (88 mi/142 km from Puerto Vallarta, 46 mi/74 km to Barra de Navidad). This spot, which on many maps is incorrectly marked Chamela (actually the village at Km 63), is known simply as “El Super” by local people. Though the supermarket and neighboring bank have closed and are filled with the owner’s dusty antique car collection, El Super nevertheless lives on in the minds of the local folks.