Barra de Navidad on the Costalegre

Ballet Xalixco - Dia de los Muertos

2009-10-31T15:40:00.003-06:00

On Monday November 2, Ballet Xalixco will perform at the Barra stage. Barra will celebrate the traditional (Dia de los Muertos). Dia de los Muertos is a centuries old Mexican celebration. Local schools will prepare the traditional alters for the dead at the square. Come and be part of this ancient tradition. The event will start at 8:00 pm. Please be on time because it will be a short event.

Video is of the Fiestas de Octubre in Guadalajara this past Saturday October 24th.

The Cadillac Ranch

2009-10-08T11:39:00.006-05:00

"The Ranch" located across from the water park on the road into Barra has gone through changes over the last few years. It's been popular with snow birds in the winter months but goes dead in the summer. Early this year with the completion of the pool a groups of people decided to have water volleyball twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It turned out to be the best exercise, way to stay cool and much fun for me over the summer. Now that I've moved from the area I will really miss it ... but you should give it a try. They were putting in a new patio around the pool when I left

The area is growing

2009-05-30T13:44:00.005-05:00

The area is growing, at least on the Barra/Aguacate side. Toward Barra from the old Infonavit homes and across from the cemetery is the beginning of this new development. I've heard close to 1000 new homes but that is second hand and will probably be in stages.

The old main road, which has been almost unusable in the summer rains, now has a new gravel bed and I assume will be paved before long. I suggest you use the dirt airstrip adjoining for the time being - very rough gravel.

Beginning of the possibly 1000 new Infonavit homes

New roadbed for the old Barra Road

Barra de Navidad

The Galleon Trade

2009-04-26T09:07:00.003-05:00

The Galleon Trade
By Floro L. Mercene
April 5, 2009, 9:59pm

More than 40 years after Magellan set foot on the Philippines, Spain sent an expedition to formally settle the islands. The expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, a businessman who made a fortune in Mexico, was composed of about 300 men, mostly Mexicans. It left the small town of Barra de Navidad in Jalisco in 1565 and landed in Cebu three months later. Legaspi later moved to Manila and founded it as a city in 1570.

While in Cebu, Legaspi sent the galleon San Pablo back to Mexico to obtain supplies. It was commanded by his grandson, Felipe Salcedo, with a famous navigator, Andres de Urdaneta, as second in command.

Under Urdaneta’s expert guidance, the San Pablo was able to reach Acapulco in a record 100 days, the first successful crossing of the Pacific Ocean from east to west.

The eastward route pioneered by Urdaneta was to serve as the basis for the establishment of a trade monopoly by Spain in what we now know as the galleon trade.

It was the oldest shipping line that ever existed, traveling over the longest and most dangerous ocean route, from Manila to the Mexican seaport of Acapulco, and lasting for almost 250 years, from 1575 to 1815.

Almost every year, two galleons left Manila for Mexico loaded with exotic goods from Asia, mostly from China and Japan, to be sold in Mexico and Europe and countries in South America, such as Chile and Peru.

Barra before, during and after Hurricane Lane

2009-04-09T14:54:00.006-05:00

Hurricane Lane was the strongest Pacific hurricane to make landfall in Mexico since Hurricane Kenna of 2002. The thirteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season, Lane developed from a tropical wave on September 13 to the south of Mexico. It moved northwestward parallel to the coast of Mexico, and steadily intensified in an area conducive to further strengthening.

These fotos were sent to me by "Barra Jorge" as a before, during and after series of the hurricane and what it's like along the Costalegre in the summer months. The first two fotos were taken at Casa Chips restaurant and the last from the Malecon

Casa Chips Before

Casa Chips during

After - with dirty water and significant loss of beach

Carnaval Costalegre - 2009

2009-02-19T07:41:00.004-06:00

Click for larger copy

Carnaval Costalegre - 2009 - Barra de Navidad

Costalegre Rotary Chili Cookoff

2009-02-11T13:03:00.007-06:00

Last Saturday was the Chili Cookoff for the local Rotary to raise funds for some of their projects. How much they raised and for what is still unknown but it was a fun party with music and performances from the Ballet Xalixco, the local Folklorico group. This was the most gringos I've seen in one place in Mexico.

I took the kids over and they were kind of bored except for the hot-dogs, pop and the dancers. Old time rock-n-roll didn't really do it for them. We bought Mari a 'cookoff' apron with red trim ... that ruined the wash a few days later when the color ran. I wonder if the Rotary fund can replace this Mexican famlies clothes (grin). Just and idea!

Rotary Chili Cookoff poster

Chili crowd watching the dancers

Ballet Xalixco dancers

Ballet Xalixco dancers

Ballet Xalixco dancers

On the Barra de Navidad plaza

Barra from Isla de Navidad

2008-12-21T13:30:00.006-06:00

I drove over to Colimilla for a garage sale at Pizza-Pizza but there was nothing of interest. Poor guys opened and closed 3 stores in little over a year. Anyway, I hadn't driven into the Hotel Grand Bay for a long time and decided to look around. There are some nice views of Barra and the lagoon as you approach the hotel but not much has changed except a fancy house or two up on the hill. Way over my budget with rooms starting at $250 a night and I have no plans to hob-nob with the stars.

Looking at Barra with a litle of Colimilla in the forground

Barra de Navidad and the jetty looking over the Hotel Grand Bay

Hotel Grand Bay entrance

Hotel Grand Bay Marina

Barra de Navidad Lagoon

2008-12-08T15:44:00.004-06:00

These two views of the Barra Lagoon are from Isla de Navidad looking south towards it's head waters. Both Arroyo Seco and the Marabasco River feed into the lagoon. The lagoon is beautiful, a popular moorage but is polluted from mining runoff upstream from the Peña Colorada iron mine in Colima. There is local sewer control so swimming in the lagoon is not an issue - but I would not eat any seafood found there

The bottom foto looks at part of the Playa de Coco peninsula, an area that comes into conflict between the states of Jalisco and Colima because the Marabasco river is the border ... and it changes course between summer and winter. Often in the rainy season the river will enter the ocean near Manzanillo airport because of the large amount of water. During the dry season there is only seepage on the Colima side and the river heads for Barra.

Barra de Navidad lagoon looking south

Looking towards Playa de Coco from Isla Navidad

Barra de Navidad Malecon

2008-09-15T14:38:00.004-05:00

Is it really as white-hot as it looks - well almost. It was a very warm day and this was just after I'd walked the beach from Melaque. This was first day using this camera and all my exposures were off. A little photo adjusting came up with this and I think it's pretty cool but different

Barra de Navidad, Costalegre, Jalisco, Mexico

Barra Lagoon to escape Melaque Malagua

2008-06-17T10:44:00.002-05:00

This Sunday we headed for the west end of Melaque beach and immediately were told by people and even the restaurant the water was full of Malagua (mal agua or jellyfish). This term refers to any sized jellyfish but here they are small and you seldom see them, you just feel the stings. The kids were only in a few minutes and all had multiple small red sting marks.

Marcos showed up about the time we decided to go to the lagoon in Barra de Navidad. Evidently these little drifting creatures end up along the beach due to wind and wave action and don't make it into protected areas like the lagoon.

So we had to rent a table and pay for parking near the Barra swimming beach ... but it's great for the kids and even Mia (3 years) could flop around in the shallows. Bring your own beer and food ... and mangoes on a stick are only 5 pesos.

Barra de Navidad lagoon swimming beach

A drive behind Jaluco

2008-05-13T15:58:00.008-05:00

This is the road to Tequesquitlan with the little town of Almolon along the way. Marcos had not been out in this direction so we were just going to go as far as the new highway under construction and look around. All farmland and even pretty this time of year with irrigation. The highway has not been worked on in this area for well over a year - as you can see.

We were surprised to see a large brick yard just beyond the highway and I attribute it's size to all the construction in the area. At least 8 groups were working on their own bricks and ovens. It's located in a river bed that must have some clay in the dirt used. All materials used are found there except the Cocos to fire the ovens

Road behind Jaluco

The new highway wasting away

The brick yard - building an oven ( horno )

Drying tiles before they are fired

Jaluco, Costalegre, Jalisco

400 Años Centenario del Puerto

2008-04-25T19:43:00.001-05:00

"The new monolith on the Malecon is the old monolith from the Jardin. It was a gift from I believe our sister city in the Philippines commemorating Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's 1564 voyage from Puerto de la Navidad (now Barra) to the Pilippines."

1564 - All the zone between ports of Navidad and Salagua (Manzanillo) (In line for supply routes to; Autlán, Ameca, Zapotlán, Amula, Tuspa, Tamazula, Guadalajara, Towns of Avalos, etc.) existed from the activities connected with the construction of ships for the trip to the Philippines. On November 21st, 1564, Miguel Lopez Legazpi, with the title of "Adelantado," along with the friar Andrés de Urdaneta, sailed from Puerto de Navidad to colonize an archipelago in the Far East. Legazpi named the archipelago FILIPINAS in honor of Felipe II, then king of Spain. In 1571 he founded Manila as its capital.

Rebuilding

Finished product

View from the jetty

Costalegre Jalisco Mexico

Tianguis day in Barra

2008-04-01T13:37:00.000-06:00

Thursday is Tianguis day in Barra following Wednesday in Melaque. Dora bought the wrong sized pants in Melaque so we went to exchange them and she ended up with two more things. That gave Ron and I time to wander around and get a beer. Later visited Armando and picked up Mike for an early dinner. Ron and Dora's last night in town before heading back to Seattle.

A Tianguis is a traveling market and pretty interesing if you've not been much. I'm kinda worn out on them. The have more tourist stuff over winter but get back to basics in the summer.

Barra de Navidad, Costalegre, Jalisco, Melaque

Ballet Folklórico Xalixco de Barra de Navidad

2008-01-23T15:10:00.000-06:00

Saludos desde Barra de Navidad Jalisco!
Nuestro ballet folklórico se inició apenas hace dos años. Somos un grupo independiente sin padrinos ni patrocinadores, por esa razón, notarán que a veces usamos vestuario improvisado. Sin embargo, no nos faltan las ganas de aprender y de tratar de bailar a la pefección. Hemos participado en las Fiestas de Octubre de Guadalajara dos años consecutivos y nos ha ido de maravilla.

Greetings from Barra de Navidad Jalisco!
Our folkloric ballet group was founded two years ago. We're an independent group. We don't have any sponsers; consequently, you will notice that sometimes we use improvised outfits. However, we have the desire to learn and dance close to perfection. We have participated two consecutive years in the October Festival in Guadalajara and we were successful in both ocassions.

*** This week only ***
When: Saturday January 26th
Where: Barra de Navidad square
Time: 7:00 p.m.

What: A festival to benefit the “Ballet Folklórico Xalixco de Barra de Navidad.”

This dance group needs your help to buy a wardrobe from the State of Chiapas. As you know the “Ballet Xalixco” is an independent group that survives with the efforts of the parents of the young members as well as with the good will of people like you. You see them at the Barra square at least 3 times a week putting their heart and effort in learning dances from old Mexico. In spite of its financial limitations, the group is now considered the best in the region and one of the best in the State of Jalisco. Don’t let the ballet remain stagnant with a reduced number of dances with the limited wardrobe that it currently owns. There will be typical Mexican food, beverages and we hope to sell beer and shots of tequila. Of course there will be dances performed by the members of the ballet. Come and enjoy Mexico as it is intended to be enjoyed and while enjoying the performance of these great dancers you help the group buy new outfits.

Email:
ballet_xalixco@hotmail.com
ballet_xalixco@yahoo.com

More Folklórico Xalixco on YouTube

Musica por nuestra Gente

2007-11-17T17:40:00.000-06:00

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

2007-08-16T19:45:00.000-05:00

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

Odin y Perro

2007-06-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

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

Rancho La Aurora - Parque Acuatico

2007-04-08T06:47:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-12T06:49:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-15T16:42:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-02T10:13:00.000-06:00

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

The Beach and Surf in Barra de Navidad

2006-05-14T08:29:00.001-05:00

Summer Surf is coming
It's getting warmer and the waves bigger. Very few gringos around but still plenty of Mexican tourists on the weekends. Can't wait until we have some weather move up the coast and see what the surf is like then. Last summer I spent most of my time in the cooler climates of Patzcuaro and Cuernavaca taking Spanish classes.

Umbrellas on the Beach

Statue marking the beginning of the Costalegre

A couple of good surfers out

15 people out in early afternoon

Surfing - Barra de Navidad

2006-02-26T13:26:00.000-06:00

Surfing off the Barra de Navidad Jetty
From time to time in the winter the surf is pretty good in Barra but some days there is nothing. This day in Feburary 2006 the surf was some of the best winter surf I've seen there. I can be much larger during the summer season. Go through town to the Malecon that goes out to the jetty and harbor entrance. Easy water entrance from either side of the break. There is a rental shack on the Malecon that also offers lessons. During the summer you'll have to rent a board in town at one of the few shops

Rental Shack on the Malecon

Town of Melaque in the background

Even winter surf can be fun

Pulling up?

Colimilla by Water Taxi

2006-02-07T19:29:00.000-06:00

We were going to go over to the Grand Bay Hotel to look at kayaks but the water taxi guys tried everything to dissuade us. Too expensive and there might be a problem walking from the hotel to Colimilla, which is very close. So we decided just to take the taxi directly to Colimilla, have a beer, lunch and walk around a bit. We ate at Restaurant Colimilla and could have done better. Prices were a little high, food not special ... and no options other than seafood.

Leaving the water taxi dock

Passing the "Mexican" side of the Barra beach

Passing by a few small boats in the Grand Bay Hotel Marina

Restaurant Mary on the south side of Colimilla

A young salesman working tourists in Restaurant Colimilla

Relaxing in Restaurant Colimilla