Musica por nuestra Gente

Musica por nuestra Gente
Benefit concert for Melaque flood victims

The concert was held on the soccer field (cancha de futbol) in Barra de Navidad for the benefit of Melaque flood victims. The 5 'groups' were; Beto Piteado, Paloma del Rio, Azul Violeta, NahUta and Rostros Ocultos in that order. Gates opened around 7:30 but the music didn't start 'till 10 which is pretty normal for Mexico.

The groups were all stripped down for a benefit tour and all using canned recordings to fill in for missings band members. Still the quality was very good. Sadly the attendance was poor and I just hope many more tickets were sold than people who showed up.

Stage

Azul Violeta

Rostros Ocultos


Nahuta

Web page with more fotos

SeaWay Development in Barra shut down - for now

This is a quote from the La Manzanilla message board about a development in Barra de Navidad that is way out of scale for the area and could seemingly care less about the health of the mangroves on the Barra Lagoon. There was not much information given about the group(s) opposing this and other coastal developments but please consider supporting groups that are trying to protect the wetlands of the Costalegre.

Dear Citizens,

Following is an article that recently appeared in Guadalajara´s Milenio newspaper. It describes the halting of a development that was slated to destroy nine hectares of mangrove in Laguna Navidad. In fact, the developer in question had destroyed about 1.5 hectares before they were stopped by authorities. Thanks to the municipal government of Cihuatlán, the Association of Hotels and Developments of the Costa Alegre, the Federation of Regional Fishing Cooperatives of Jalisco, and an army of NGOs (including Tierralegre, the non-profit organization I have founded to protect the natural resources and biodiversity of the Costalegre) this critical mangrove was spared from destruction. A coalition of representatives are currently working with the developer to find a way for the development to continue without destroying crucial mangrove. I see this as a very positive sign for sustainable development of the Costalegre--which is in everyone´s best interests.

Here is a link to their website that gives you an idea of the scale of this thing
Seaway Development Website No longer exists

Odin y Perro

Odin surfeando con su perro en Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico

Rancho La Aurora - Parque Acuatico

After living in the area for over 2 years this is only the second visit to Rancho La Aurora and I'm not sure why. We will definately do it more often from now on. The kids just refer to the place as 'los toboganes'. We arrived about 11am and were only the second group there - by 4pm there were about 15 groups but not at all crowded. Admission is about $40 pesos for adults and $25 pesos for kids. You can either bring your own food and drink - or they have a restaurant and small store. Lots of room and lots of shade - we parked in back next to our tables. The water pumps for the slides are not always on and that may depend on the amout of people there to pay the electric bill. Still - very fun place!




The four Amigos


Water play


Two swimming pools


More fotos of our family outing

Save this Giant Higuera Tree

Note the Se Vende (for sale) sign
The magnificent tree pictured above is in danger because the two lots that it occupies are listed for sale: it would not be possible to build on either lot without destroying the tree or a large part of it. The locals call the tree higuera, and it is the largest of the four big trees left in Barra de Navidad.

Bill and Maureen Conlen, John Perkins, Linda Knipher, and Jessie and Steve Zanjanc are seeking support to purchase the lots at $20000 each, and to do so this season, as property prices in Barra are rising, and we wish to avoid competition with another bidder.

Realistically, we are not going to be able to do this on the basis of $25 donations; we need 40 pledges of $1000. These pledges will not be collected until we have enough to make an offer. These donors will have ownership interest in the lots should they ever be resold (due to the demise of the tree). We will be very happy to accept smaller contributions, but to minimize bookkeeping, smaller contributions will be treated as nonrefundable donations; if it is not feasible to purchase the lots, we will donate such money to a local charity.

As a related issue, the building housing Beer Bob's Book Exchange has been sold, and the exchange will have to move after this season. We are considering the construction of a small, compatible structure on the tree lots as a permanent home for the exchange.

We welcome your ideas and thank you for you support.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
bconlen@hotmail.com 253-752-1358
linda.knipher@gmail.com
jessieandpenny@hotmail.com

Secret lagoon road

We were out looking at lots the other day and came into Barra on the back road that angles in from near Aguacate. I thought of the secret road out to the lagoon near the high school and we decided to take a look. The road is pretty bad and you really should have a truck. It's a narrow two wheel track and you just hope you don't meet anyone coming the other way. It would make a nice country bike ride. There used to be a large catamaran hull sitting on the beach but a few kids said that they finally hauled it away. It was a real eye sore. A few locals have put up a fence to keep their goats together. There's no problem going thru but just close the gate after you in both directions.

The beach at the end of the road


Goats at the gate


I came across this older sunset foto from Barra

Scenes around Barra de Navidad

Some friends were here for 2 weeks over Christmas that had lived in Barra about 5 years ago. We spent the day walking and eating our way thru town. A couple of hours during the long happy hour around the Hotel Sands pool, driving around the canals with all the fancy homes and checking out all the new shops, bars and restaurants. There is much more competition in Barra than neighboring Melaque to make things fancy and upscale and expensive - but there is a lot to choose from and definately more music and nightlife

The lagoon


The canals


The streets


Seamaster at night