Where locals go

Where locals actually go

In a town this small the line between “tourist” and “local” spot is blurry, because there’s really only one beach and one lane. But there are still rhythms that residents keep and visitors miss.

• The taco and tortas stands off the beach. The palapa seafood restaurants on the sand are aimed at visitors and priced for them. Residents eat cheaper and better at the small family stands and comedores a block or two back from the water, where a plate of tacos or a torta costs a fraction of a sit-down fish dinner.
• The north end of the cove. Locals and long-stay regulars drift to the quieter far end and the coves past the point, leaving the central sand to day-trippers.
• Whichever tienda has what you need. With no supermarket, the little village shops are the social hub. It’s where people catch up, and where you’ll get the honest answer on which restaurant is actually cooking that day.
• Early and late, not midday. The cove belongs to residents at dawn and after the day crowd leaves in the afternoon.

What a friend here would tell you: eat one fancy fish on the sand for the experience, then eat everything else at the stands the fishermen eat at, and bring cash because none of these places take a card.