With the sad disappearance of the open-air Pin Par bar in the village center to make room for a larger Supercolmado, a second-rate replacement quickly appeared as the main watering hole. The BLUE MARLIN is a discoteque located on the southern edge of the center. You'll likely hear the music well before you see the sign. I found this place rather sinister - dark, closed-in and the music all but deafening as you'd expect from how loud it is from the outside. I passed through only one night and didn't care for it...nor do most of the locals, though that's mostly what you'll find inside. Beer and liquors are served.

Most independent and resort tourists head for the newly opened BIG SUR discoteque on the backside, far end of the bay. The place is open whenever you hear the music, but the crowds don't pick-up until well after 10:00 p.m. It has more of a Caribbean feel further enhanced on nights they've live Merengue/Bachata/Salsa music. You can sit under the thatched-palm roof or a gazillion stars on a clear night with the sand under your feet. I suspect the tiki-torches are burning citronella as mosquitoes suprisingly weren't a problem. Francisco's the harmless pumped-up bouncer. There's a 4:00 a.m. closing with locals heading back to Blue Marlin.

However, the most authentic form of nightlife begins when everyone gets off work and begins passing through the village center. From this point until the wee hours, locals can be found gathered together for the interactive camaraderie which their lives are centered around enjoying El Presidente beers and music - both found inside the colmado with open, heated games of dominoes, or men discussing politics, baseball, daily life and any story you'd share with a friend. They're also quite eager to interact with guests staying in the village.

For enjoying sunsets, the best place is the concrete landing behind the internet cafe where the main road t's into the coastal road. There's usually an interesting assortment of boats in the harbor, but likely the biggest bonus is there's few if any mosquitoes here. As for sunrises, they're best viewed from elevated places such as a 2nd floor, east side balcony at Hotel Bayahibe.

I'm by no means a heavy drinker, but I continue to be amazed that whether the atmosphere, weather, company or what - when in Bayahibe, I can pretty well non-stop leisurely partake of the beers, rum, Mama Juana and NEVER be sloppy drunk!