There are no piers or structures built out into the bay of Tenacatita near La Manz. The rocks on the beach came from the arroyo (dry River bed) at the south end of the beach in La Manzanilla. There are always some rocks on the beach coming from the high stream flow in the arroyo following the rainy season.

This year there are stunningly many more rocks and a lot less sand below the tide line. The beach is sloped at a steeper angle.

There are two reasons for this change. First, the rocks and gravel in the arroyo were disturbed by heavy machine work to widen and deepen it.

Second, Hurricane Lidia hit the coast in October with an extremely high storm surge. Ocean water flooded the town and the arroyo. Wave after wave dragged out the previously loosened stones from the arroyo, and deposited them on the beach.

At the same time, tons of sand was displaced- a lot of it was pushed up into the mangrove and further up the beach. You can still see large piles of sand along the back road to Boca de Iguanas.