Getting the Hang of Cruising

Barra de Navidad, Jalisco/Colima, Mexico
January 29, 2010

I think the fact that we just hung out on our anchor in the Barra Lagoon for 9 days and didn't even bat an eye means that we might be getting the hang of this cruising thing.  I have always had a hard time imagining long stretches at anchor in the same place, but it didn't seem to a problem.

Sunset in Barra de Navidad                        Austin gets a picture of the rest of us              Sunlight through the waves

The provisioning was easy in Barra.  One of the hotels (the Sands) has a bulkhead where they welcome cruisers to tie up their dinghies.  They also have internet and really good cheap food.  From there it is an easy walk to tiendas (little stores), lavendrias (laundries), feraterias (little hardware stores) and the bus.  There is a beach strip with lots of restaurants, though we only tried a couple because we try to stay within our budget by not eating out.  We did spurge a couple of mornings on the "French Baker" who delivers fresh pastries to the boats in the anchorage from his panga every morning before he goes surfing (sometimes with our friends on Delos)!  We also went out with the adults for a night on the town to listen to some jazz and classic rock.

 Dinghy Parking at the Sands 

Grand Hotel Resort

Brad and I went exploring to a town on the other end of the bay called Melaque while the boys played on their friend, Josh's boat for the afternoon.  We took the bus to the near edge of town and walked to the far end on the beach.  We stopped at a beach bar that had the best pina coladas that I have ever had.  They were more like a milkshake with rum (it was even served in an old fashioned milkshake glass).  At the end of the beach, there was a really nice promenade/sea wall that swung around to protecting point.  We never got the story, but the promenade was well built, but seemed sort of abandoned.  At it's beginning (after the trailer park on the edge of town), there was a dilapidated palapa restaurant or bar situated up on top of a big rock.  At one time, there was power and water to it and it had a cool curving stairway up to it.  Now the roof has fallen in and it is inaccessible.  A little farther down the way was a small ampitheatre where people could listen to music or what-not with the bay as the backdrop.  There was even a lookout at the end of the promenade.  We climbed down from it to the beach and checked out the fishermen's shrine which was on an isolated rock with a rusting steel bridge out to it.

 Melaque (end of town to the point)
 

Besides all this activity in Barra, we also had the good fortune to be hosted for a couple of afternoons at the big resort's pool by other cruisers who were staying in the marina.  It was a good thing, because we couldn't swim in the water of the lagoon as it was just too icky.  One the boats in the marina, Oso Blanco, hails from Minnesota and threw a football bash to root on the Vikings in the playoffs.  The overtime was exciting, but we were all bummed by the outcome.  However, it was fun to do something sooooo American!
We are heading to Zihuatanejo currently and will probably stop in Manzanillo and maybe even a couple of spots along the way.