Brenda and Jesus have a brand new enramada (thatched roof restaurant) on the beach in Las Peñas. A lot of readers have written and asked how they could meet the affable couple and their loving daughters Pilar and Dalia. Since the hotel and RV Park has closed it had been somewhat of a challenge. It is now easy to do so.
WHERE IS LAS PEÑAS?
It’s a tiny village located on the Pacific coast on the south end of the state of Michoacan. Larger maps can be used: Find the cities of Manzanillo and Acapulco and Las Peñas would be in the middle. See the Logistics section below for orientation and travel times to popular destinations. Don’t fret about blowing through the village without seeing it – huge overhead highway signage fairly shout its existence.
NO SWEAT RV PARKING
Roadside parking an RV, especially really big ones like low-slung pusher diesel rigs and long 5th wheels has always been a challenge in Mexico. Knowing in advance where there is a good pull off is almost unheard of but fate has risen to the challenge and now rigs can utilize a delightful, safe place to spot a rig smack dab in the middle of the village, forty feet off the travel roadway. Its packed gravel with absolutely no drop-off (refer to the images below). There’s room for a seventy-foot RV or four. Parking is parallel to the highway. The village has three well-marked speed bumps so maneuvering onto the gravel is done in an area of reduced speed. This is an RV’ers roadside parking dream and no matter what a good place to pull over and stretch your legs.
Cars, vans, and camper pickups can follow the concrete street down to the concrete paved parking area. Hundreds of cars parked here over the years have proven that parking in the lot overnight is safe. Weekends especially Sunday are busier than weekdays and Christmas and Lent may find the parking area jam packed. Most of the time the huge area has few cars in it.
Unless you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle do not descend the concrete ramp at the far side of the parking lot onto the beach; it is soft sand. 4WD can proceed onto the beach, make a hard left and go to the last (far end) restaurant. When walking, use care on the ramp’s steep sand covered surface. To the right are concrete steps.
LOGISTICS
From Las Peñas, the RV Park in Playa Azul is a half-hour drive; Zihuatanejo is three hours, and Patzcuaro is five hours. Going the other way, the RV park in Melaque is a seven hour drive (taking into account using the toll bypass around Manzanillo) which is a bit long, but there are a pair of 24/7 Pemex gasolineras, on the highway, twenty miles distant, adjacent to the town of Caleta de Campos. Either station would make a great refueling and launch point to reach Melaque and its RV Parks the following day. The station on the Manzanillo side of Caleta is prettier. Both stations have the new “cheat proof” gasoline and diesel dispenser pumps and female attendants.
WHY STOP?
If you’ve a notion to meet my friends Jesus and Brenda and their two lovely daughters, then by all means you can now do so even if you’re traveling in a huge rig. Many RVers have fallen in love with Las Peñas for good reason – it is authentically Mexican, virtually unsullied by “tourists”. If food is your mission then you’ll find out why Brenda’s cooking is legendary with Mexicans and visitors alike. When she cooked at the now defunct hotel her meals were wildly popular with RVers. Read the individual points below:
FREE CAMPING alongside the restaurant
Steamed lobster which is hard to find in Mexico is on the menu, and of course Jesus is the fisherman that caught them. Too many Mexican restaurants, even those located right on the ocean now buy frozen lobster imported from Australia and New Zealand. Clarified dipping butter will be served, Brenda’s famous Spanish rice, a nice salad, Brenda also offers authentic grilled lobster.
Giant oysters on the half-shell. Again, the seafood origins from the pristine crystal clear waters right off the beach – Jesus will open them for you, and then return the shells to the oyster bed to recycle the calcium.
Local shrimp: Prepared with garlic and butter, breaded, and a la diabla
Fresh fish: Huauchinango, Pargo or other local denizens of the deep, prepared any way you like it. Try the al mojo de ajo style, which means cooked in butter and garlic. Beans and tortillas are normally served with most dishes but are missing in this image.
A wide assortment of Mexican beer chilled to 330F (or 10C)
Las Peñas has one of the most beautiful beaches in all Mexico.
And one of Mexico’s most successful sea turtle hatcheries is but a short hike away. This makes for a fascinating side-adventure and a good excuse to find a way to overnight near here. Summer to mid-fall is turtle hatching season.
Women campers and RVers have (only half jokingly) remarked that they would like to “Steal Pilar and Dalia and take them home with them”. How can a person resist the smile and giggles of the two charmers?
SAFE FREE TENT CAMPING right next to the restaurant. American and Canadian campers have raved about how much they enjoyed their stay and plan to return. Reservations not necessary, but permit me to gently twist an arm and beg that campers solicit the restaurant?
Four wheel drive vehicles are also invited to camp here. For a modest tip a very low amperage electrical cord could be strung from the enramada – just enough power for lights and perhaps a fan.
Fresh ground, fresh brewed French Roast Coffee from Chiapas. Coffee doesn’t get any better than this. As an aperitif this high class beverage is heavenly – made of course like every other beverage in the restaurant from purified bottled water. Really good brewed French Roast is danged near impossible to find in Mexico – I’ve lent my coffee snobbery, carafe, grinder and brewer to the enramada for a good cause. Starting the morning with a cup of fresh ground coffee is a great way to experience the beach
Don’t care for fish or seafood? Brenda’s sopas, chicken enchiladas, soup, and chicken tacos are to kill for. So are her authentic handmade tortillas.
Bi-lingual menus – just point and smile.
FROM THE ROADSIDE PARKING PLACE, TO THE RESTAURANT
PARKING SPOT: The site is for a drive-through liquor barn, which is a good place to load up on snacks and beverages for the remainder of your day’s driving. Because of the curve when coming from the “north”, spotting the parking area a bit more sudden than when arriving from the “south”. THE PARKING AREA IS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY FROM THE OCEAN. Please use care when parking to not block ingress & egress to the business and driveway. Your rig and contents will be safe!
Cross the highway and proceed down the concrete paved side street toward the ocean. There are no other side streets in the village. The street curves its way down to a sloped parking area. At the far end of the parking area is a concrete ramp leading down to soft beach sand. From your rig to the restaurant is a six-minute stroll.
BRENDA and JESUS’ restaurant will be to your left and is the LAST ONE (the far end) in the lineup of palm frond restaurants on the beach Its name is ENRAMADA BETTY or BETY depending on which sign you happen to be looking at. To make things clear, you will need to walk past all the other palm frond restaurants in order to reach Enramada Betty. The two-minute stroll along beach will help work up an appetite. They serve cold beer.
You thought I was kidding when I bragged of “Giant Oysters”? I have queried dozens of Canadians and Americans about which oysters are better tasting – the ones they usually get “back home” or the ones that come from Las Peñas – not one person said that the ones from “back home” are better, or even as-good.
Just a few days ago unlucky fishermen had to cut their line after they snagged a monster black marlin that the fishermen said was more than “four meters in length”. Marlin, sailfish and Dorado are considered “undesirable”, and a single 200 kilogram yellowfin tuna from the “tuna hole” will clog the local market for a week or more. This area is too far away for charter boats out of Manzanillo or Ixtapa. Shore fishing has been impacted by hook and line commercial fishing but offshore fishing seems to be quite similar to that found in Cabo San Lucas back in the 1960’s.
Contact me for further details. My personal mission is for Jesus and Brenda to save enough money from their hard work to send their daughters to college. The family will gladly trade or pay hard cash (as will I) for small goodies brought from the states. Tropical weather children’s clothing is always extremely appreciated (For an eight and a five year old). So are toys – Children’s learning aids are difficult to find in Mexico, and this area is especially remote. The family is barely scraping by. Brenda is expecting and would greatly appreciate lots of “Huggies” disposable diapers. We can also start a good-size paperback lending library if visitors could bring the novels.