PUNTA CHIVATO
by Greg Joy ( bajalistings.com)
Introduction
The history of Punta Chivato: Punta Chivato’s history is filled with intrigue
and started with the building of a hotel, then known as the Borrego Del Oro, in 1965.
The hotel was competed in 1966 and its tortuous history and the history of Punta Chivato
up to the present is being chronicled in “The Elusive Dream”, by Jennifer Joy due out in
October of this year. The original construction of the hotel is described in
Lou Federico’s book “One hell of a ride.”
Punta Chivato Point
Things to do and see: Punta Chivato is on a peninsula that extends out into the
Sea of Cortez and provides both north and south facing beaches. The area has become
known as a Mecca for small boating because of the easy accessibility to many islands,
ledges and reefs that provide wonderful fishing and diving close in. In addition to this
there are endless shelling beaches and a 9 hole dessert links golf course.
The Pool at Posada de las Flores
Camping: A camping beach north of the hotel still offers basic amenities for campers.
Its terrain was altered considerably during the summer of 2003 by a hurricane and it
is now easier to get your vehicle bogged down in the sand than in the past. Although
still accessible and a beautiful place to camp, caution is advised.
View from the Camping beach
Hotels, Restaurants and shops: Currently the original hotel still operates as the
Posada De las Flores and continues to provide a beautiful setting for vacationers to the area.
There is a small tienda which provides basic staples and vendors of fresh vegetables and sea
food frequent the area once or twice a week. More comprehensive shopping is done in either
Mulegé or Santa Rosalia, each about a 45 minute drive from the area. There are mechanical
and tire repair services available in Punta Chivato; however, there is no fuel.
A new restaurant, referred locally as Ricardo’s, has recently opened and serves excellent
food at reasonable prices. Ricardo is planning to expand this restaurant over the next year
into a second but smaller hotel. Julia’s , is a third restaurant and, although simple,
serves an excellent breakfast.
The Arches at the Posada de las Flores Hotel
How to get there: Punta Chivato can be accessed by small plane, boat or by car.
There is a well graded and maintained airstrip running north and south that is
owned by the Hotel Posada de las Flores. Avgas is not available. An 11 mile dirt
road connects Punta Chivato to Baha 1. The road is usually fairly well maintained,
but at times can be quite a washboard. It is slow going for trailers and campers.
During the winter, there is a good anchorage south of the hotel for private boats.
Daily flights from Guaymas arrive at the Santa Rosalia Airport in Palo Verde, about
a half hour drive from Punta Chivato.
The Anchorage
Real Estate: Punta Chivato has grown rapidly since the Ejido began
selling property during the latter part of the 1990’s. All houses provide their own electricity
through solar power with a generator back up. The original subdivisions were first started in
1984 on either side of the hotel. The houses in these two subdivisions are today still supplied
water via local wells. Occasionally some of these established original homes come up for sale or
rent by their owners. The website www.bajalistings.com provides information about these properties.
ChivatoBay, Raul Lujan and his partners, are spearheading a very large development currently underway
for the area and beginning a new up-scale residential sub-division just to the west of the airstrip.
Here large beach-front lots in a gated community are being made available for sale. All the
exclusive services and amenities of Punta Chivato will be offered. A building already constructed
and designed to be a restaurant will serve as a club house and administration center for this new
community. A small dry marina is also planned for here. The new Realty office in Punta Chivato is
now open and staffed by Raul´s sons, Roberto and Geoffrey. There is an area south of Punta Chivato
known as Shell Beach that is also growing rapidly. The parcels here are being developed by
independent developers and lots are available for sale. In a recent interview with Raul, this
region is now considered by the municipality of Mulegé as separate from Punta Chivato and will
not be served by the same amenities. Only two of these parcels are currently being supplied
water from the local wells. The remainder have water trucked in.
The Desert Lynx Golf course!