At sunset the bay turns gold, and the reef shows as a dark line across the water. By day the same lagoon is pale turquoise over white sand, so shallow that people wade far out, and the islets of La Matica and Los Pinos sit green in the middle.
On the sand, fritureras lift fried fish out of the oil and yaniqueques crackle beside them. Divers head west to the wrecks of La Caleta. It stays warm all year, with more showers from May to November and drier days from December to April. A Local Friend knows when to arrive early, before the weekend crowd from the capital, and when to linger for the light over the reef.
