La Manzanilla is a small Mexican

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The village is located in the southeastern corner of the Bay of Tenacatita, on the

Costalegre Costalegre ("Coast of Joy" in Spanish) is a series of different beaches, capes and bays of various sizes distributed alongside the Pacific Ocean on the western coastline of the Mexican state of Jalisco, between Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and Man ...

of southwestern mainland

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the state of Jalisco. "Manzanilla" is Spanish for chamomille. The town is a popular beach destination for U.S., Canadian and local Mexican tourists. Many of the residents are employed in

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, local

palapa Palapa is a series of Communications satellites owned by Indosat, an Indonesian telecommunications company (formerly by Perumtel and then by PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia/Satelindo). Starting with the first in July 1976, at which time Indon ...

restaurants, small

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s, and

grocery stores A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

. La Manzanilla is approximately three and a half hours south of Puerto Vallarta and one hour north of Manzanillo by car. Croc conclave

It has a population of about 300

American crocodile The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts ...

s in the nearby nature sanctuary.

External links

Washington Post Article on La Manzanilla (12/3/06)
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Tourism website
Populated places in Jalisco Beaches of Jalisco