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A little local surfing History
Surfing
in Zihua began about 40 years ago at Playa las Gatas, a small
beach surrounded by a man made reef rumored constructed by
a Nahuatl King who wanted a safe place for his daughter to
swim.
Now the sharks are gone (Las Gatas are harmless cat
sharks) but the beautiful beach and reef remain.
So do the waves, which the locals flock to every time
the swell comes up.
Las Gatas is accessible by
boat from the Municipal Pier, overland via a rocky
path from Playa la Ropa or, if you’re feeling energetic, just
paddle over. The
waves here have been known to reach triple overhead when the
summer storms are passing.
Playa las
Gatas today is a bustling beach lined with restaurants (usually
open from about noon till dark), bungalows for rent, even
electricity and city water. There is no road to the
beach and the favored mode of transportation is water taxi
from the Municipal Pier. Very popular for snorkeling
inside the protected reef, people rent snorkel and scuba gear
from the shops on the beach. Camping is allowed in some
areas, ask around for permission, but bring what you need
as there are no stores on the beach and water taxis only run
until dark.
Everybody surfed
there and no place else until Leon started exploring, moving
up and down the coast to spots like Escolleras, Playa Linda,
La Saladita the Ranch and Pascuales and south to La Barrita,
Loma Bonita and Juluchuca. Watch this space for more
information, Catcha L'Ola will add more surf spots as time
goes on.
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