Playa el Tecuán

The focal point of the long, wild, white-sand Playa el Tecuán is at the north end, where, at low tide, the lagoon’s waters stream into the sea. Platoons of water birds—giant brown herons, snowy egrets, and squads of pelicans, ibises, and grebes—stalk and dive for fish trapped in the shallow, rushing current.

  On the beach nearby, the sand curves southward beneath a rocky point, where the waves strew rainbow carpets of limpet, clam, and snail shells. There the billows rise sharply, angling shoreward, often with good intermediate and advanced surfing breaks. Casual swimmers beware; the surf is much too powerful for safety.