Having traveled the Mexican coast line north of Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita, my husband and I are not really newcomers to Mexico. However, our stay in the Las Brisas area of Manzanillo in January, 2008 was our first coastal adventure south of PV. It appears to have agreed with us in several aspects, because we have now become condo owners in Perla del Mar!

While we were in the Manzanillo Bay area for the month, we covered the locale quite thoroughly on foot, by taxi, bus, rented car, and with an official guide to the capital city of Colima. We experienced a lot and always kept an eye open for a property we could call home during the winter months. After walking through several communities, neighborhoods and listed condos, we determined that what we really desired was a new ocean front property “far from the maddening crowd” yet, accessible to commercial services and, of course, restaurants! This brought us back to the Las Brisas neighborhood where Perla del Mar was in phase one of construction.

Las Brisas is south of the junction leading into Manzanillo Centro and the Colima interior. Traffic becomes considerably lighter in this neighborhood, although you should always look twice before you cross the street! Busses and taxis are still readily available to the larger commercial stores for shopping. However, there are markets and restaurants within walking distance.

Perla del Mar is one block off the main road. Traffic is light on the street side and only the surf and gentle breeze is heard on the beach side. The bay can be mesmerizing and we found that time flies, when watching the water for whales or the beautiful daily sunset. The beach is clean, however on a gradual slope; one should not swim alone. There are only a handful of regular vendors, who travel the beach daily. They are not pushy and do not enter a condo property unless invited by a prospective customer.

We still have exploring to do and restaurants to meet, when we return to Las Brisas next winter! But we are already looking forward to this relaxing and private winter retreat, knowing that there are also plenty of resources to enjoy in the community and surrounding area.

Mary and Bob
Warrenton, Oregon