Located south of Puerto Vallarta, Conchas Chinas is a very exclusive place within the reach of a few fortunate people. A little paradise inside paradise.
It is one of the first residential areas of the city, with elegant houses, as well as small and beautiful beaches. According to some, it is the Beverly Hills of Vallarta, and is almost distance walking from the Zona Romantica (1.5 kilometers) and not far from the hustle and bustle of downtown (3.5 kilometers). So to speak, it is the best of two worlds: tranquility and natural beauty, and there is a short distance from restaurants, bars, shops, spas, entertainment centers …
Conchas Chinas enjoys a strategic position that allows you to enjoy beautiful views of the Bay of Banderas. Not only that, behind it there are hills of exuberant vegetation and in the front, the warm waters of the Bay with a white sand beach, in addition to rock formations that give it a unique atmosphere for the enjoyment of those who own or inhabit houses or condominiums in this area.
Along with Teresa, his wife, Bernardo Applegate was the first driver of this iconic treasure of Vallarta characterized by its atmosphere of quiet and peace. His father was an adventurer from Oregon who fought in the Philippine War, at the end of the 19th century. Upon returning to America, Moray Applegate arrived at the port of San Blas. He worked on an hacienda owned by a Senator of California. Moray met the local Pastora Pérez, whom he married. They had three children: Bernardo, Ricardo and Alicia. With the revolutionary struggle burning the country, Moray went with his family to California. Years later hereturns and stablishes in Acaponeta. His son Bernardo came years later looking for him; He found himsick and took Don Moray to California – all a movie character – to spend his last days.
Not to make the story long, Bernardo heard about a place called Las Peñas, ate the south of Nayarit. Together with his friend Smitty Rose, they made a boat, filled it with groceries and rum and aided by a sailor, they embarked on a voyage to the then small Puerto Vallarta. At the end of the trip they drifted until they were able to disembark at Los Muertos beach. They liked the place and decided to buy land in what was then ejidal property, a delicate issue because of the legal implications. In addition, the urbanization was not simple: it was necessary to take by sea a Caterpillar machine to make streets and to flatten in what was then a virgin, wild country, and that would become one of the best-quoted areas of Puerto Vallarta.
Bernardo Applegate began his real estate career at the beginning of the 60s. Soon, his brother Ricardo would come to build houses. In those days, the architect Fernando Romero could not cope with designing residences for locals and foreigners, as would engineer Guillermo Wulff. Thus took off the real estate boom of the old town of Las Peñas.
Visionary, Applegate set his sights on Conchas Chinas, south of Los Muertos and Gringo Gulch, which were populated at an accelerated pace and were insufficient for the growing demand for residential housing. Precursor of the luxury real estate market in Puerto Vallarta, Bernardo began to build and buy houses and condominiums in Conchas Chinas, thus initiating the takeoff of this area. At first, access was by donkey until the construction company ICA, led by another Bernardo-Quintana-traced and built the road to Manzanillo, which helped the growth of the south of Puerto Vallarta.
Little by little they were appearing elegant constructions of stone, resistant wood, tiles, with well-tended gardens … in a style between Mediterranean and of “Mexican town”. These properties, the same on the hill below, near the beach, were larger than the traditional ones of the city and also more luxurious. People from the United States, Canada and other countries were buying properties in this spectacular corner of the Bay of Banderas and one of the best quoted.
Its green spaces, nature at its full, the sea, a quiet atmosphere … are the ideal combination to live in Conchas Chinas. You can walk or jog through its streets, the road or its small dream beaches and fill the senses with 100% beauty and just a few minutes away from the city. By the way, the part of “Chinas” ( conchas chinas, which literally means “chinese shells” has nothing to do with the huge Asian country, but with the Chinese term, in Spanish: curly. In those years, there were on its beaches gargoyle shells, curled, as with curls. Hence its curious name.
Son of Don Bernardo, grandson and namesake of Don Moray, the current head of Applegate Realtors has inherited the adventurous and enterprising spirit of his ancestors. Combining innovation and professionalism, Moray Applegate directs and operates the march of one of the leading luxury real estate companies in Puerto Vallarta. A little more than 50 years since its founding, Applegate Realtors is a pioneering company that has managed to keep ahead of the curve.
Diego Arrazola
