Los Ayala

Los Ayala is a small fishing village at the southern end of Jaltemba Bay, in the municipality of Compostela, Nayarit. It is the smallest and southernmost of the three towns on the bay, after La Peñita de Jaltemba and Rincón de Guayabitos, and sits right next to Guayabitos at the foot of the forested Sierra de Vallejo. The 2020 census counted 618 people. Puerto Vallarta's airport is about 65 km to the south along Highway 200, a drive of roughly an hour to an hour and ten minutes.

The village is the beach. About a kilometer of soft golden sand curves around a sheltered cove where the Punta Raza headland blocks most of the Pacific swell, so the water is usually calm, warm and turquoise, with rock pools at one end and beach restaurants under palapas at the other. That makes it a favorite of families with small children and of people who want to swim, float, kayak or paddleboard rather than surf. The whole place can be walked in a quarter of an hour: a little plaza with a kiosk, a few streets of bungalows, small hotels and vacation rentals, and no big resorts or nightlife.

From the western end of the beach a path through the jungle, known as the Paseo del Beso, reaches Playa Frideras, better known as Playa del Beso, a small cove between rocks, in about 15 minutes; at low tide you can also walk there along the shore. The trail continues to Playa Hamaca and Playa del Toro, a hike that can take up to two hours. Fishermen on the beach run boat trips to Isla del Coral, about two kilometers off Guayabitos, for snorkeling, and to Isla del Cangrejo. Food is Nayarit seafood: pescado zarandeado, fish tacos, shrimp cocktails and ceviche, usually cheaper than in Sayulita or Vallarta.

The dry months from December to March are the high season, when humpback whales pass offshore and many Canadian and American winter visitors stay from November to April; the rest of the year the village is very quiet. Birdwatchers come for the parakeets, pelicans, frigatebirds and egrets that live along this stretch of coast.