For a long time I'd been hearing about Barra de Navidad and the adjacent lagoon. Mostly from friends who were cruising Mexico's Pacific coast. Since I had arrived in Puerto Vallarta, Barra was high on my list of places I wanted to visit. After my short stay in Chemela, I thought about going straight to Manzanillo , staying there a month or so, then work my way north as the season wore on. But Barra was to tempting, and Manzanillo and Tenacatita are really close. I figured I could make this area my home till it was time to find a place to summer over
Barra is an amazing place on several levels. First, the town is my favorite so far. Very cruiser friendly. It's very clean and the entire town is situated on a peninsula with easy access. There is a hotel on the water (The Sands) which lets cruisers dock their dingys near the pool. This a convienient place to get into town.
Getting into the lagoon is a different matter!! The main entrance is well marked and deep. There is a marina ( the most expensive in all Mexico) a few hundred yards inside the jettys. After that it opens into a huge lagoon with a very narrow, unmarked channel. The channel is about 50' wide with shoal water on either side.
I came in with eyes glued to the depth sounder and found 16' at the entrance to the lagoon. As I entered the meter went quickly to 3 feet, with mud churning up in my wake.!!!! I backed off and called the anchored fleet on chnnel 22 (this is the cruisers channel) A fellow cruiser answered and gave me directions. I move over jsut a few feet from where I had been and saw 10' and moved ahead dead slow untill I was in the anchorage area. It seems a lot of boat go aground using this channel, so I did'nt feel too much the bone-head. I anchored among the sailboats and had 6' of water under the keel. One has to leave or enter at low tide to best be able to see the shoals. That way, if you get stuck in the mud, the tide will soon rise and release you. If you try on a high tide, you'll be stuck as the tide falls. Since I got here I have been mentally marking all the channels for when I exit.
Every morning about 9am the French Baker (Henri) comes around in a small boat selling things he has baked that morning. Fresh bread, pastires and anything you have ordered from the day before. He has a bakery shop in Barra and has been a wealth on information about where everything is in town.
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| At anchor in the lagoon |
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| The Sands Hotel and cruisers hang-out |
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| Lagoon beach |
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| Downtown Barra de Navidad |
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| Henri, the French Baker |
So far , with the exception of a few generator issues, my boat has preformed really well. Looks like all the work I put in before I left has paid off. Not too bad for a 32 year old boat.
