Hotel Plaza Tucanes - Manzanillo

Well we all knew it would happen sooner or later... We arrived in Manzanillo a little after sunset and set anchor just outside Lad Hadas Hotel/Marina/Resort. We spent several days here and decided to leave around midninght or so to make Pascuales for an early morning surf session. About two miles out we heard a loud knock and the engine started smoking and struggling to run. We cut power and ...

... line running from a compressor over to the diver. Not only were there divers to watch for but because of holding pens for shellfish which are on shallow shoals all over the lagoon the channel which goes into the lagoon was EXTREMELY shallow and narrow. We actually touched keel to sand at one point, really, really shallow and narrow ...

... I got some surf in and Helen did a whole lot of relaxing. Our room was literally on the sand. We occasionally had high winds due to a local weather phenomena that happens that time of year. We were only here two full days in this quaint little town but it was long enough for Helen to kick my butt in some pool and take a nap at a table in a bar where we were watching a band. She even forgot I bought her flowers. Some good deeds never go unpunished.

... it was getting dark & I wasn't going to risk hitching & getting stranded in the dark, so I never went - still on the to do list! Another day I went to Manzanillito, the village at the opposite end of the bay & an expat favourite, with nice houses set in wooded slopes overlooking a pleasant bay. The mangroves feed into the bay there in wet season but don't rise above the beach but even so the huge resident crocodile population comes right up to the beach, no doubt ...

... Melaque - A Lesson on "Ejido Land" Part 4 of 4 With our enthusiasm for Barra de Navidad, Melaque became almost an afterthought. Afterthought or not, Melaque nevertheless managed to impress us on several levels. Just to backtrack for a moment, on the map of Mexico it is referred to as San Patricio Melaque because in this area are located the villages of San Patricio, Villa Obregon and Melaque. So when the name Melaque is ...

... we did find a beach that was expansive and almost flat. I started by saying that in Barra de Navidad there is "a starkly contrasting choice of beaches". Should the Pacific Ocean beach be too windy, too steep or you don't like the angle of the sun, there is the alternative of the lovely calm, tranquil beaches along the lagoon on the other side of the malecón. At the malecón the two beaches are literally only about 50 meters apart as only the malec ...

... location of Barra de Navidad was the most unique of all the 23 locations we visited during our discovery tour of Mexico. As we walked around town we were fascinated with a Mexican holiday tradition - the sale of "roscas de reyes". http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2009/01/05 /rosca-de-reyes/ We've have had many glimpses into Mexican culture. The "roscas de reyes" was an interesting addition to this ...

... in Mexico is excellent and that there is nothing to complain about except for the TVs on the bus which are constantly on at a higher than comfortable volume. It definitely grinds on your nerves. But it soon becomes obvious that TV is a huge part of Mexican life. For example it is not uncommon for people to be eating in a restaurant and watching TV at the same time. The front of our bus displayed the name of our destination ...

... sea. It's a welcome change too as it's the first beach that's had waves if a somewhat strong under-tow so Gareth's in his element whilst I'm pretending I'm in a washing machine Every time a wave hits. Feeling a little bit crispy after all the sun and salt we head back to the hotel to refresh in the pool before heading back to the bus station. We've really enjoyed stopping over here, Manzanillo has a great vibe, with friendly people and great beaches.

... to "catch the wave". I ended up aborting the surf mission early on in fear of a collision occuring and the legal implications attached. The girls, however, were successful in dodging the boaters, swimmers, and other boarders for at least a while; ~ the extra 2 hours of light at night that we now have as a result of moving into the Central Time Zone (at PV) and the start (or is it end?) of daylight savings; ~ surviving, for the most part, Semana Santa (Holy Week) when the ...