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.
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| Looking toward Barra de Navidad from the Grand Bay Hotel |
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| One of the hot pools looking over the lagoon |
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| One of the bars |
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Lunch at Simona's in Barra: no electricity, so I had a
chicken ceasar salad.
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| Working to restore the electricity |
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Arturo, left, buys us a watermelon fresh from the farm
on the way back from the airport.
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| Jim checking out the breakfast menu at Banana's in Barra |
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| Nice music and a nice view. Good food, too. |
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| For lunch, we took Tod's dinghy over to Mary's Restaurant. |
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| At Mary's: Tod, Donna, Terri, Jay and Jim |
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| Evening comes to the lagoon |
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| Sunset on the beach |
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On the malecon playing dominos (probably
Mexican Train) under the crescent moon.
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| Barra is lively, fun and safe at night. |
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This is where the bus stops in La Manzanilla. Beer on the left,
hardware on the right.
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Looking toward Bahia Tenacatita from the
town square in La Manzanilla.
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| Tod kicking back at Martin's Restaurant in La Manzanilla |
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The crocodile preserve is at the end of town.
Admission is 30 pesos (about $1.50).
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Looking at the jungle and river in the
preserve from a tower.
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Jim walking along the raised wooden pathway
that loops through the preserve.
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| There is a swinging bridge across the river. |
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| You can get quite close to the local residents. |
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| Young babies. |
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Tod holding a 5-month-old baby. The big guys are 40 to 50
years old and 12 -14 feet long.
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While this snowy egret was looking for lunch,
a 12 foot croc was giving it the same look.
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But the egret was alert and aware, and safely got
it's lunch.
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| Green night heron in the preserve. |
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| Yellow-crowned heron. |
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| Round stingray, washed up on the beach in La Manzanilla |
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| On the lawn at the hotel |
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| New project: a burst hose. |
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When you haven't got the right parts and still need to
fill the water tank: MacGyver!
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A piece of vinyl hose between the pump
bracket and the engine mounting rail
silenced a loud and annoying engine rattle.
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