Up to My Knees in Crocodiles

It was a full week.  My friend and crew, Jim, arrived, so I spent the first couple of days getting him settled in, showing him around Barra de Navidad and introducing him to some of my cruising friends.  We devoted a day taking the bus to La Manzanilla to visit the crocodile preserve and enjoy a lovely lunch overlooking Bahia Tenacatita.  There were, of course, a couple of minor boat projects too.

Looking toward Barra de Navidad from the Grand Bay Hotel

One of the hot pools looking over the lagoon

One of the bars

Lunch at Simona's in Barra:  no electricity, so I had a

chicken ceasar salad.

Working to restore the electricity

Arturo, left, buys us a watermelon fresh from the farm

on the way back from the airport.

Jim checking out the breakfast menu at Banana's in Barra

Nice music and a nice view.  Good food, too.

For lunch, we took Tod's dinghy over to Mary's Restaurant.

At Mary's:  Tod, Donna, Terri, Jay and Jim

Evening comes to the lagoon

Sunset on the beach

On the malecon playing dominos (probably

Mexican Train) under the crescent moon.

Barra is lively, fun and safe at night.

This is where the bus stops in La Manzanilla.  Beer on the left,

hardware on the right.

Looking toward Bahia Tenacatita from the

town square in La Manzanilla.

Tod kicking back at Martin's Restaurant in La Manzanilla

The crocodile preserve is at the end of town.

Admission is 30 pesos (about $1.50).

Looking at the jungle and river in the

preserve from a tower.

Jim walking along the raised wooden pathway

that loops through the preserve.

There is a swinging bridge across the river.

You can get quite close to the local residents.

Young babies.

Tod holding a 5-month-old baby.  The big guys are 40 to 50

years old and 12 -14 feet long.

While this snowy egret was looking for lunch,

a 12 foot croc was giving it the same look.

But the egret was alert and aware, and safely got

it's lunch.

Green night heron in the preserve.

Yellow-crowned heron.

Round stingray, washed up on the beach in La Manzanilla

On the lawn at the hotel

New project:  a burst hose.

When you haven't got the right parts and still need to 

fill the water tank:  MacGyver!

A piece of vinyl hose between the pump

bracket and the engine mounting rail 

silenced a loud and annoying engine rattle.