Barra for Christmas

12-27-12 – Bahia de Navidad

While most of our family and friends were back in the states spending time together, dealing with blizzard warnings and probably wishing they were somewhere that was warm and tropical sitting by a pool drinking margaritas; we were in Barra de Navidad.  It was 85 degrees, we actually did sit by a pool and we hung out with a bunch of great people none of which were our families, all the while wishing we were spending time with our families, sitting by a fire while it snowed outside.  So be careful what you wish for sometimes…

Sitting at the Sands pool, day before Christmas

 

Sculpture as you enter Barra

Town Square

With that said we had a great time in Barra de Navidad for Christmas.  The first adventure with Barra is the lagoon.  It is well known that it is very shallow and there is only a narrow channel leading into the area where you can anchor in the lagoon.  To make it better the channel is not marked and most of the lagoon is only a few feet deep at best.  I figured that a lot of people make it, and I’m not too worried about going aground in soft mud, so I neglected to enter any waypoints for the channel leading to the lagoon.  As one might imagine the first thing we did once the channel markers ran out was to go aground.  We were able to power out of it and a friendly panga driver, probably amused at all of the gringos who run aground, indicated we should follow him.  Thankfully that mistake only cost me two beers and a Coke for the help.  Once set on our path we successfully negotiated the channel and found a good spot to anchor in 8 feet of water.  One of the benefits of the lagoon is its great protection from the ocean swells and wind.  The down side is that it’s fairly stagnant, probably why they call it the lagoon.  We left Tenacatita with 30 feet of water clarity to find ourselves in the lagoon where you can't see your feet in the water.  That is if you were brave enough to get into the water, which we were not.  But it was a calm anchorage.  Just for good measure I ran aground again on my way out of the lagoon two days later, maybe ten feet off our track in.  Like I said, it’s really shallow if you’re not in the unmarked and ever changing channel. 

One of the great benefits of being in Barra is the French Baker, who trolls the marina and the lagoon every morning around 8:30.  His distinctive little bell rings and you know his panga has pulled up outside your boat and it’s time for fresh chocolate filled croissants and baguettes for breakfast.  They are hard to resist, and once you buy some he remembers you and shows up then next morning, ringing that little bell and you find yourself reaching for some pesos like Pavlov’s dog.

The French Baker making his morning rounds

Despite the lack of water clarity, the cruiser community in Barra is outstanding.  There are numerous services for cruisers and the Sands hotel lets us tie up to their sea wall and use their pool.  All they ask is that you frequent their poolside bar and buy a beer.  Pretty hard not to comply with that request.  Like so many places you tie up your dinghy this one has its own nuances.   At the Sands you tie up to an old sea wall with cut off rusty pipes to tie your dinghy painter to, scramble off onto some muddy rock with little crabs scurrying around and then crawl up the little sea wall.  The second person had to throw out the stern anchor as far as possible so your inflatable dinghy doesn’t scrape up against the barnaclly wall as the tied drops and then scramble off himself.  Really not that bad once you’ve done it once or twice.

Our Christmas mast

Since we didn't have a Christmas tree we decorated the mast below the deck with some ribbon and lights and some local ornaments.  Made it feel a little like Christmas at least.












 

The secret 10th floor pool, hot tub and cabana

After a few days in the anchorage we treated ourselves to three nights in the marina.  It’s a little overpriced and you’re told not to drink the water but it is part of an incredible hotel resort complex called the Grand Bay.  Their pool is awesome with the required swim up bar and multiple levels of water slides.  We were lucky enough to know some people who had heard from some other people who know someone that showed them the top secret and luxurious 10^th floor pool.  As we were led up there it is understandable why it is top secret as it’s almost impossible to describe how to get there and there is no way you would accidentally stumble upon it.  Oddly enough, the 10^th floor pool is almost always deserted along with the cabana with soft fluffy couches and ceiling fans for your use.  It is a mystery to us how this is possible.

Elizabeth in the deserted palapa

Along the lines of stuff that doesn’t make sense.  We went for a long walk Christmas morning to the beach on the far side of the peninsula.  We walked thru a beautifully manicure golf course and many miles of roads surfaced with pavers.  There was not one person playing golf and we saw only three cars in 3 hours of walking?  The beach at the far side had a nice beach palapa with running water and showers and bathrooms with paper towels in them.  But not a person in sight.  Don’t ask me, it was sort of spooky.

Christmas beach walk

 

For Christmas we joined in the cruisers pot luck where 60 cruisers gathered each bringing a dish of some sort to share and swap stories and generally hang out with someone, since everyone’s families were somewhere else.  We ate too much in general between potlucks and street tacos; and found some great margaritas at the Seamaster restaurant.  I had the best bacon cheeseburger in months at Hectors, along with the ever elusive draft beer; not easily found in Mexico.  Elizabeth got her hair cut for 50 pesos or about $4.50 and we generally had a good time hanging out with some of the people we have met along the way.  It was hard to leave 2 for 1 margaritas and cheap street tacos, but the clear waters of Tenacatita and the slow, cheap life on the hook was calling. 

View from the cockpit at the marina