Cleaning the beach

The opening of the lagoon really made a mess of the beaches around the bay. This is west Melaque and don't know if they are doing everything. Barra had a lot more lirio and that beach may be harder to clean. Then there is the Barra lagoon  that will take a different kind of machine

Nice aerial view of Bahia de Navidad

Barra on the left and Melaque on the right

Nice aerial view of Bahia de Navidad that I don't think I've seen before

Same flight - different angle?

Swim across the bay from Barra to Melaque

Got lots of energy?  Be on the beach in Barra tomorrow morning at 8 AM. I think I've seen a video of the finish line in West Melaque but that's all

6th annual swim from Barra de Navidad to Melaque - Oct. 3rd

Hacienda Agave Reborn

A very nice restaurant didn't make it like many others but the architecture and ambiance are nice. Looks like someone decided to make use of the space. From the sign Ayutla almost looks like a chain but I'm not familiar with them. The menu below looks like only breakfast (desayuno) but the "horno de chivo, res y puerco" looks like other meals too.

Located at the Jaluco - Barra intersection 

Another menu?

Reward for return of stolen chihuahua

Yesterday at 12:30 pm, someone took Darlene's tiny white applehead chihuahua from Luna y Coyote Bar in Barra. Darlene is offering a reward of $2000 pesos for her return. Her name is Lunabella and she is very friendly.
Call 315 109 3235.

The end of an Era

Ava's Bar and Restaurant has lasted longer than any other place that caters to Gringos except maybe Roosters. Ava's was here when I moved down in 2005 but how long before that I don't know. I was a regular at Ava's for few years for music and get together's but didn't care much for their food. Roosters was here in 2003 but they have moved all over the area from Barra to Melaque with sometimes 2 or 3 restaurants at one time.

From what I heard Ava's moved out of their rented property to one a couple doors down last year. They renamed it Antiguo Bar Social which was a little too cute for my taste so I only stuck my head in once.  Nice palapa roof, rather narrow in front and gringos sitting at tables in front watching the world go by.   I have a hard time sitting down with gringos/anyone in a bar watching the world go by like something is going to happen .... unless maybe on the beach (grin).

So Jack is tired and kinda crazy lately.  He says running two bars is hard on the liver.  Liver has to effect the brain?  When asked if Bar Social would be open this summer he claims Ava's never closed.   Jack, Ava's closed every summer I've been here. Why, no gringos!!! Anyway, from a few weeks ago and being open all summer to now ..... Antiguo Bar Social is for sale we see that Jack is exhausted to say the least. Just another crazy old fart who needs to walk home and not drive ;)

Ava's a few years ago

A borrowed foto that I guess is very tasteful

Adios Ava's

Cut throat advertising in Melaque

I used to think La Oficina was a pretty cool place even tho I never went there much because it was in Barra and I live on the Melaque side. Reasonable food, good musicians and a relaxed atmosphere.  I think they did well in Barra because they were right in the middle of the forever wandering street crowds that fill the central 5-6 block area.

When they moved to Melaque they entered a very expanded neighborhood where a business could easily be missed if not advertised with directions on how to get there.   Now that the season has arrived and all the other restaurants and bars are open and advertising .... La Oficina thinks it has to post ads twice a day usually with deceptive headlines or headlines that mock any complaints of their constant SPAM.   The final straw today for me was this person called JULIANA P.C. (La Oficina) jumped in a thread from another restaurant (Bistro Escondido) and posted "imitation is the ultimate flattery, thanks"

Combine that rude - belligerent - behavior with Jimmy's Ribs (AKA - jimmydidit) who will say anything to attract attention as many time a day as he's able .... and TOMZAP becomes a real desert of meaningful information.   Especially for those of us that live here and are not just down for a few weeks.   Not only are these few loud mouth gringos stepping all over other gringo businesses ... but also the local Mexican ones.

I hate to paint the whole message board as useless so if you have the stomach here it is 

TomZap - Barra de Navidad - Melaque   Good luck

Melaque and Barra from the air

Someone on the local forum posted a picture of a flight coming into Manzanillo airport suggesting it might be full of vacationers from up north. The plane wasn't much more than a dot. That reminded me that I had these fotos from my flight down in 2004 when I was still a working stiff. I doubt much has changed except that Barra has a lot less sand now.

That was an interesting arrival as the airport was fogged in and this big loop over Melaque was our third and finally successful try at landing.

Melaque

Barra de Navidad

After Manuel

Thursday we decided to check out the mouth of the canal and see the condition of the beach on the west end of Melaque. Definitely signs the canal was at full capacity with some serious erosion near the two bridges. The beach didn't look too bad but the whole bay is brown from the Barra lagoon and the canal runoff. They have also fenced off the vehicle access to the beach on that end to keep the crazy tourist away.

Fenced beach access

Canal mouth

Looking down the beach

Vivero Arcoiris

Vivero Arcoiris is just towards Barra from the Jaluco junction and is probably the least expensive and has the best selection around. Also small bags of minerals for fruit or flowers for 10 pesos. Have a nice selection of fern and shade plants but my Iphone didn't like the shade that day. Nice family. Arcoiris means rainbow if you didn't know and can see on their sign.

A foto video from Jack Brock

A very nice video of about 200 fotos of the Melaque and Barra area

2013 Chili Cookoff

CALLING ALL COOKS - We are looking for cooks that want to join the friendly competition. The entry form (in English and Spanish) is available on our website at: http://costalegre-rotary.org/ or at MLS Realtors in Barra or Rooster Restaurant in Melaque, Being a chili cook is a great way to put something back - all the funds raised from this event go right back into the local community.

LIVE MUSIC -There will be live music throughout the afternoon and the Ballet Xalixco Folkloric Dancers will be performing as well!

But that’s not all! After the cookoff ends there will be live rock and roll music and Dancing Under Stars well into the evening!

It’s going to be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and evening!

A good Christmas crowd on the beach

Not as busy as Semana Santa but still a good crowd. Beach conditions are good even tho many had concerns after hurricane Jova. Barra may be suffering because of the loss of so much beach but Melaque is doing fine. The streets are lined with busses and cars like a tourist beach town should be.

Beach cleanup in Melaque

After weeks of heavy rain (over 17" in August) they finally opened the lagoon for the first time this year. The lagoon was covered with lirio and resulted in more floating in the bay that I've seen previously. I've also never seen it reach the Barra lagoon the way it did this time. Lots of clean up and of course Melaque started on the calm beach (chicken beach) which is popular with tourists.

Back loader on the beach

Lots of garbage

Loading a dump truck

Enjoy the beach anyway