ATV Tour with Mi Chaparrita

After brief instruction, I hopped on the red ATV, donning a red helmet, looking quite stylish, I might add. I pulled into line behind our guide, Miguel Ventura, and Nadia Mahmud, from Chicago.  Alyssa Pohahau, Lenny Burdette, and Jack Danger Canty, all from San Francisco, filed in behind me. Being my first time driving an ATV, I felt excited and a little nervous, visible by my death grip on the handles, as we followed Miguel towards the jungle on an ATV tour with Mi Chaparrita.

As we neared the end of a cobblestone road, we came to a chain length fence. As Miguel held the chain up, we drove under it, onto the beginning of a steep incline. I held onto the brakes for dear life and began to move the ATV inch by inch down the dirt jungle path. Sensing my trepidation, Miguel came to my rescue, hopped on the ATV, and drove me down the hill.

We continued along the jungle path, with Miguel glancing back at the rest of us frequently to ensure that we were all okay. The path was beautiful with green, lush vegetation on both sides. In sections, the vegetation would form a canopy above us, with sunshine peeking through from time to time. The dirt path, which had several inclines, declines and turns, became strewn with rocks and we bounced along as we drove.

We exited the jungle at Playa Malpaso, a gorgeous beach, just North of Sayulita's main beach. The waves crashed against the shore and the sand sparkled in the sun as we channeled our inner race car driver and zoomed around the deserted beach.

We got off of our ATV's and following Miguel's lead, crawled through a small cave leading to another secluded beach. There were majestic rock formations along the edge of the beach, as well as in the ocean, and the beauty was something to behold.

Upon returning to our ATV’s, we headed back through the jungle and back into town. Much to my surprise and pleasure, the tour wasn’t over. We continued through town, passed by Villa Amor, went by Playa de los Muertos, and drove deeper into the jungle. By this time I was feeling much more comfortable on the ATV and couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I whipped around corners and drove along the dirt road, wind in my face.

We made a quick pit stop outside of Don Juan's just long enough to enjoy an iced cold beer. This gave us the perfect opportunity to soak up the sun and get to know each other better.

On the way back to Mi Chaparrita we maneuvered our ATV’s into the riverbed. There was just enough water in it to make the drive through it fun and exciting, water splashing on both sides of our ATV’s.

Miguel was an amazing guide, who was friendly, conscientiousness, and full of smiles. Early in the tour, he took my camera and snapped shots of us throughout our adventure. His English was good, and his attitude made our tour all the more enjoyable. The tour was so much fun that it seemed to end much too soon. Oh well, I guess that just means I should go again.

If you would like to experience this ATV tour for yourself or one of this company’s other tours, contact Mi Chaparrita.