Barra beach looking good

From Cihuatlan Facebook

Barra de Navidad beach looking very nice for the holidays

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.

Cisco's Amigos - Barra Clinic - Dec 3

Cisco's Amigos will be holding it's first Barra de Navidad free spay and neuter clinic starting December 3rd. and running until December 7th. This will be our 23rd clinic in the area. The clinic will be held at the Campo de Futbol as you drive into Barra.

If anyone would like to help out please send an e-mail to ciscosamigos@hotmail.com or call @ 351-5164 if you have questions.

Volunteering a small amount of time is a wonderful way of not only helping the animals, but it's a way of giving back to our Mexican neighbors.

Cisco's is dedicated to providing the much needed sterilization services to the dogs and cats of the communities of the Costalegre. During our clinics we provide experienced help for overseeing the recovery of the animals after their surgeries and we provide medicines for parasites, fleas, ticks and provide help for any other medical problems the animals might have- all without charge.

Storm in Barra in Grandpa's Day

At least that is what the Facebook poster said about the picture.

Hard to see much except how wide the lagoon opening is.

He also said many people abandoned the town.

I'm sure those two palapa's on the end were vacant!

Barra de Navidad with almost no beach

Some nice Barra beach pictures

A couple of very nice Barra de Navidad beach pictures

These were posted on TomZap a few days ago and are very recent

Looking toward Barra Lagoon

Looking toward Melaque

1st Gastronomico Festival

Gastronomico Dia de los Muertos

This Saturday and Sunday nights (1st and 2nd) Barra will have its first Day of the Dead celebration. Starting at 7:00 p.m., from the corner of the Alondra Hotel to the entrance of the malecon, you will find restaurants offering food samples for $20 pesos each, and small traditional altars honoring the loved ones of the local business owners.

There was talk of fireworks later in the evening, but we're not sure that is going to happen.

Break water or a beach

Well, all the sand is gone but at least the buildings aren't falling into the ocean. Storm after storm this year has been hard on the rebuilt beach. Don't know if they will bring in more sand for the tourist season.That's a lot of work only to have it wash away every year.

Barra de Navidad Beach

Car camping on the Malecon

Some pictures I've not seen before when car camping was allowed on the beach where the Malecon is now.  I can only guess from the late 70's or early 80's with the cars shown.  I don't remember when the Malecon was built. These were found on the Cihuatlan Facebook page.

Barra de Navidad car camping

Barra de Navidad car camping

The fishermen

Barra de Navidad car camping

Barra Beach after Hurricane Marie

Hurricane Marie didn't come very close but it did reach category 5 which produced some of the biggest surf we've seen in quite awhile. The rock bulkhead was only put in from the buildings so out by the malecon it's only sand. We'll just wait and see if the break water (man made reef) will trap more sand sand or will they have to pump more from the lagoon. Summer storm season is long from over.

Fotos by Flick

New Barra Malecon

I found this on Facebook so it's not mine. Really gonna have to get over there to see what is up. Someone tried to post some recent large wave fotos but their link didn't work

New location of the Mer-people 

Paving Nueva España and Coco Cabañas

Went looking for a Vet for my dogs infected foot and all the normal Vets were closed or gone. No Beto in Melaque or Mi Mascota in Barra. Thought I remembered a sign for a Vet on Nueva España but all we found was the paving of the street in front of the schools. I hope they go as far as the Outboard Motor Shop at least. What a mess that street has been in past years.

Just a side note on Coco Cabañas but we went to their going out of business sale last Friday and they later announced that everything was sold.  Don't know if property will be sold, family matters to attend to first.   Never did understand the attraction of that place beyond the restaurant. Little palapas in a desert of sand and a beach you can only look at.  Coco Cabañas is actually on Playa de Cocos and not Barra de Navidad. Wish 'em luck!!

Punta Vela - Marina Residences

This is the new Grand Bay residential and marina project that is very difficult to see unless you are out on the lagoon. Google the project if you are interested in lot prices but they are way up there for sure.

The dredge that has been pumping sand from the lagoon to the beach will be used to maintain a channel to the marina, expand Grand Bay's older marina and keep the main channel open.

Punta Vela

Big changes and hopes for Barra beach

The changes and additional sand does seem remarkable .... especially after another few days of large swells a week ago. It seems this dredge pumping sand from the lagoon to the beach can work 24 hours a day and is bound to make some progress with the amount of sand in front of Barra. There is also the unknown bulkhead and the reef bags just off shore that are contributing to this in their own way

A foto worth sharing from Jack Brock

Then we have this very idealistic video done about everyone contributing their little piece of sand to the project.  Was this done before or after ..... I don't know.  Probably before but great karma and feeling in this Barra community "rebuild our beach project".  Very artistic and maybe indirectly influenced the outcome.

Friend Glenn can be seen a number of times in this video.

Don't think he carried a bucket but heart was in the right place

Medical Benefit for Susan Orozco

Take a left on (Nueva Espana), continue until the pavement ends, go one more block and take a right by the school. The road curves and you will see parking on the left. 

Every band in the area (almost) will be playing. It's a "bring your own booze," and potluck party with swimming. 

A PayPal account has been established for donations directly to Susan and Angel to aid in their fight.

Susan Watt - susancrw@yahoo.com

No beach for Semana Santa

Not quite sure where foto was taken

I assume this means all of the central beach, the malecon and the lagoon beach will be closed as it has been for the last month.   I see no way Uretek can pack up all it's equipment and take a two week break.   Barra has to think long term and look beyond this one.

No beach ready for Easter

Mayor Jesús Huerta Aguilar admitted to CANAL235.COM, which will not be ready the artificial beach in Barra de Navidad, for the holiday season of Easter and Passover; Uretek businessman, Francisco Alvarez had anticipated it would be ready by that date.

Since the end of 2013 work to revive the beach in Barra de Navidad and dredge the lagoon which connects the bay has caused the closure of roads to motorists, further impacting on the provision of tourism services. 

With support from federal and state government resources for the sum of $ 166 million invested, however, the delay in the works, apparently not allow vacationers will enjoy the new beach next holiday period.

Notably, the Secretary of Tourism of Jalisco promotes Costalegre area, especially the fate of Barra de Navidad, where free travel arrived in Holy Week and Easter. (April 6, 2014)

Barra beach restoration includes a Malecon

Finally spent a couple hours looking at the new construction along the waterfront in Barra. The most impressive part is the foundation for a new Malecon all along water front. It looks to be 20-30 meters beyond the high water mark in the Sea Masters area which you can see with their elevated porches. Probably have to tear those decks down and start again on a new surface. The hotel Tropical has solid pilings but no sand under the first 5-6 meters of the building.   Not too many entrance points to the beach so it looks like the shovel is moving rocks and dirt up and down the beach from there (Sea Masters).

The two reefs which you can almost see in the long beach shot look to be done but there were 2 guys in dive suits doing something on them.   The idea of the reefs was to fill very large and long bags full of sand and use them almost as a breakwater to defuse normal wave action.

Looks to be be 2-3 sets of hoses heading in the ocean direction but on the ocean side you can only see the one from the dredge. The large dredge hose seems to be relying on water action to disperse the sand. I wonder if the smaller ones were/are being used to fill the "reef bags".   The Malecon is closed to everyone that does not work there ... looks like it may be for awhile.

Pardon the large smudge on my camera lens - didn't check !!

Shovel next to Sea Master

Sea Masters

Malecon foundation and two reefs

Sand into the ocean

Dredge barge and smaller hoses

Mysterious Barra waterfront work

They have been working on the Barra de Navidad beach and waterfront improvements for several weeks with all kinds of large equipment and huge plans but nobody seems to be interested in posting pictures or progress of the project. I can't believe it's not interesting ... but only imagine not much is getting done for some reason. I've only heard of vague street closures and someone recently posted this foto of the Malecon entrance. Wish I had more time to get over there.

Barra de Navidad malecon closed

Barra beach preservation begins

Lots of activity along the Barra waterfront over the weekend. Helicopters landing, heavy equipment and some huge plastic bags delivered to the Malecon Saturday evening. Now the Malecon is loaded with equipment to fill those bags to form an underwater reef to hopefully slow the wave action that has destroyed many of the beach side structures. Suggestions have been to pump/dredge sand from the lagoon over the Malecon and into the bags. Should be interesting to watch and see what successes and or trials they have to make this work.

Barra de Navidad malecon

Carnaval Costalegre 2014

Carnaval Costalegre 2014 Mardi Gras - Barra de Navidad

Carnaval Costalegre 2014   /  Mardi Gras 2014 Feb. 15th  - March 4th. Horse Parade and Farola - Fishing Fair and Tournament - Carnaval Parade - Bull Riding competition and Jaripeos -  Music and Cultural activities almost daily.

Costalegre Rotary Chili Cookoff

The 7th Annual Costalegre Rotary Chili Cookoff January 26th on the Barra de Vavidad Plaza.  This fund raiser is for various community projects around the bay

The Chili Cookoff is an afternoon of tasting some amazing chili all prepared by local contestants who are divided up into amateur and professional cooks. The winners are chosen by votes cast by the cookoff attendees. These contestants donate 100% of their time and all their ingredients for this event. There is no cash awarded to the winners – only token prizes. Why do they do it? Some do it for bragging rights or just for the fun of it, but ALL of them do it to put something back into this community!