Attractions
The area around La Punta is home to many exciting attractions
Las Hadas
The rambling and elegant Hotel Las Hadas resort complex is a 30-second drive from the entrance of La Punta. Casa Chinampa residents and their guests have access to the large swimming pool with floating gardens and swim-up bar (there’s one of those in the casa, too), plus all the restaurant and beachfront facilities of the resort, including all water sports, tours to nearby attractions, ATV excursions, hiking and biking.
The hotel restaurants are Los Delfines for fresh fish and shellfish at seaside and the elegant Lezgapi for a Continental meal in lovely surroundings high above the sea.
Restaurants
Restaurants abound within a 5 to 20 minute drive from La Punta. For example, an exciting dining experience awaits you at the cliff-top L’Recife Restaurant. (A grammatically ill-advised and unpronounceable inter-lingual monstrosity: Just drop the “L” and say ray-SEEF.) A 20-minute drive from La Punta, L’Recife overlooks a hidden cove. Guests park below the restaurant and walk up a winding staircase to one of the most dramatic views on the west coast of Mexico. Go to L’Recife at sunset, watch the sun sink into the sea, listen to the waves crashing on the rocks, and stretch out time while sipping a perfect Margarita. L’Recife is justly famous for its Camarones Imperial, enormous shrimp, stuffed with local cheese, wrapped in bacon and grilled.
For a more casual meal, the main drag at the foot of the peninsula offers Huerta, Toscana and Willy’s. They all serve a wide range of dishes at modest prices right on the beach. El Fuego is a good choice for barbequed meats and Porto Fino is the place for pizza and pasta when you want a change of pace. For a quick Mexican meal and fire grilled pizza with the locals, try El Chipotle, only 5 minutes from La Punta. For the adventuresome, there is Senor Sushi, featuring freshly caught local fish and seafood. Or, if you’re looking for a quick prepared meal, try barbequed chicken or a local specialty called sopes, thick corn tortillas topped with shredded beef, chorizo and salsa fresca, sour cream, grated cheese and jalapenos.
Shopping
Dedicated shoppers will find much to entertain them as well. The nearby town of Santiago Village is home to La Primavera, a high-end arts and crafts center with silver, Mexican pewter, textiles, bead work, pottery, clothing and more. La Primavera is across the street from a covered shopping center that provides all essentials to the townspeople, including pots and pans, shoes, linens, electronics, sundries, ice cream, a meat market, fish monger, children’s’ furniture and baby clothes, to name just a few. Two miles in the other direction is the town of Salahua, which has an air conditioned indoor mall called Commercial that includes a large grocery store, pharmacy, bank, currency exchange, coffee shop, Radio Shack, news store, beach supplies, dress shops, jewelry stores, internet cafe and new this year, a day spa for manicures, pedicures, massages, waxing and more. And, if you’re looking for that special gift, Maria Cumbe’s boutique offers high-end arts and crafts, plus lovely, hand made clothes for adults and children. Weekly, on Saturday, the beach front flea market is open. Scores of vendors bring their wares to this tented market and bargaining is the rule. There are also permanent seaside shops in Santiago where artisans display local crafts, silver, candies, snacks, woven hammocks, hand bags, seashells, ceramics, wooden carvings. Especially prized are the ceramic Colima Dogs: statues of fat, local dogs in every possible canine posture. These dogs were both cherished and used as a protein source by the native population for thousands of years.