Skip to content

Sunrise, Sunset, and Fishing in Yelapa

Yesterday after breakfast in our casa, we walked into the village and caught the 9:30am water taxi into Puerto Vallarta. Not because we wanted to go to Puerto Vallarta…but because we needed a bit more cash. There are no ATMs in Yelapa, so if you come to visit, make sure to get enough pesos to last the entire length of your stay.

Sunrise from Casa Pericos, looking toward the village

We walked around Puerto Vallarta for an hour or so, found the hotel we’ll be staying in for two nights before we come back to Portland, got some cash, and hopped on the 11:30am water taxi back to Yelapa. We relaxed a bit in the afternoon, and Kevin took the Mavic off right from our room to get a few drone shots of our fantastic location.

The water looks SO green when the sun shines on it!

Later in the evening we wandered back into the village to have dinner at Pollo Bollo. This place is a favorite among locals and it did not disappoint. We ordered one plate of BBQ chicken, one plate of arrachera (marinated and grilled beef…can be hangar steak, flank steak…) that came with sides of arroz y frijoles y ensalada.

Sunset from our casa after dinner

We packed up our bag last night for today’s fishing excursion, and tested our alarm sounds to make sure we had the most annoying one that could be heard over the sound of the surf below. It worked!!

Sunrise in Yelapa
So early it was almost still dark!

Our charter boat (Ixa from Garcia Charters…obviously highly recommended…we’re going out with them again in the same week!)) picked us up once again on Playa Isabel and off we went to try to catch some fish! (And by fish, we mean more ceviche.)

We headed south this time, looking for red snapper, but after a few hours of trolling up and down the coast we were still empty-hooked. Luckily, it was beautiful out and we were in good company and Juan Carlos humored us and we were able to practice a LOT of Spanish while we were waiting for the fish that never materialized.

Rocky coastline
Jonas driving the boat!

We noticed a lot of bird action and splashing around a little further out than we were, so we went to check it out.

Seagills, frigates, pelicans…everyone was here!
Most of the splashing came from a ZILLION dolphins (delfínes en espanol)!
Delfínes!
Mas delfínes!
Muchos delfínes!

Kevin and Jonas were still casting lines out, and Kevin got a bite on his…whatever he had was strong! We caught a glimpse of it before it took off with a bunch of line…a Jack Crevalle (in Spanish they call this fish “Toro” — the bull). This is not a good fish to eat, but it’s a REALLY fun fish to catch. It’s a super duper fighter and makes for a great workout just getting it to the boat.

Kevin got it aboard, we took the obligatory photos, and then let it to back in to chase or be chased by dolphins. 🙂

So…no ceviche today, but we had a great time regardless. We had a wonderful boat ride down the coast, saw a ton of dolphins and even a mama and baby humpback just south of Yelapa a little way…we even saw the baby whale breach a few times…very cool! Maybe we’ll see the very same whales (las ballenas) in Alaska this summer!

Tonight we’ll probably walk into the village for dinner (because, no fish). Todo bueno.