Barra de Navidad - Wow! Did We Like This Place
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2008
1
163
235
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Hotel Posada Pacifico
Barra de Navidad, Pacific Coast, Mexico
Monday, January 5, 2009
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www.youtube.com/user/travelswithlobo
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First Time Reader? ......here is the background to this series of blogs
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/9/1233502800/tpod.html
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Click on SLIDESHOW and then the rectangle in the bottom right corner to see photos in full screen format
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Mexico: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months
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Barra de NavidadNo. 10 of 23 Destinations (this is not a ranking)
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State: Jaslisco
Population: 5,000
Location: Costa Allegre on the Pacific Ocean, 200 km south of Puerto Vallarta and 30 km north of Manzanillo
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Barra de Navidad - Wow, Did We Like This Place
Part 1 of 4
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This destination was particularly sweet because our coming here was not based on any list found on the Internet. It was selected as the result of a conversation we had with Bob Pattison back in Ajijic. Bob is a veteran expat from Victoria, British Columbia. I call him a "veteran" because he has been going to Mexico for quite a number of years.
His words "you have to go to Melaque and Barra de Navidad if you go anywhere along the coast" were music to our ears because they were pointing us in a new direction.
Come to think of it, a unique way to explore Mexico would be to talk extensively to the "locals" and based on these conversations plan your route. That would break the mould of looking at guidebooks, websites etc. to produce a unique serendipitous experience. The problem with that approach is that it would be very time consuming but I think it would produce a great blog.
Can I do it? No, I have too many other plans to pursue in the near and distant future that I can't wait to get started on.
Getting back to Bob for a moment, since he was a man who seemed to have the look of experience imprinted on his face, I was determined to get a few "bons mots" out of him before saying good-bye.
Among his musings:
Many retirement destinations have become "Gringoland" and as a result have been spoiled.
Don't sell everything and come down here.
Rent and try it out for four months. Don't buy right away. People come and buy but often they want to return to the USA or Canada because of: one of the couple is missing the grandchildren, illness or death.
The biggest problems are owning a house and a car. Both can get you into legal problems that make life difficult.
It was with great eagerness that we headed for the bus station in Puerto Vallarta to start our six-hour bus ride to San Patricio Melaque. Come to think of it, there was nothing unique about that. We headed for every bus station in Mexico with great eagerness and anticipation of a couple of kids opening their Christmas presents. We perceived every new destination as an opportunity for finding something new, having the potential of being surprised, or a possibility of finding the destination that would put an stop to the endless search for that elusive goal which does not exist - the perfect place. Yes, it may not exist but the process of trying to find it certainly is a worthwhile endeavour.
As the bus wound its way south through Puerto Vallarta we saw more of a beautiful city, spectacularly blue Banderas Bay and above all, the impressively developed coastline that cannot escape comparison with the Cote d'Azure or French Riviera. It was hilarious watching Barbara's reactions of frustration as she tried to capture the beautiful coastal scenery from the speeding bus. The pictures were mostly out of focus. Nevertheless, she showed the kind of determination she normally only shows when she is trying to get the best sunset photos; the only difference was that this time very few of the photos were publishable.
When travelling in Mexico by bus, make sure to pay the little extra for a first class bus if for no other reason than to have a toilet on board. Stops on long-distance buses are few and far in between so the thought of having "Montezumas Revenge" or "La Turista" while on a bus that does not have a washroom (like all the other buses) is a thought that I don't even want to contemplate. Other than Barbara's one-day bout in Ajijic we suffered no such symptoms during the entire trip. However, we were very careful with what we ate and we only drank bottled water.
Our bus line on this trip was Primera Plus which is actually a little more than first class which means that you get a bag of chips and a bottled soft drink for the trip. Suffice it to say that bus travel 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 - Melaque, the full name of which actually is San Patricio de Melaque, a name that no one uses.
During the last hour of our six-hour trip I struck up a conversation with a gentleman from Montreal, Quebec who identified himself as a Moroccan Jew. My original reaction was to place the comment into the category of an oxymoron - a Moroccan Jew? I couldn't have been more wrong for the following website declares that Jews have been living in Morocco since Antiquity.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/morocjews.html
While I have spoken of our enthusiasm and anticipation at the prospects of going to a new place, there is no denying that at the same time, there is a sense of apprehension that I feel. Funny, I have never even asked Barbara whether she feels the same way. In any case, I felt reassured by the comments of the gentleman from Montreal. He had been to Melaque 15 times over the years and he very much liked the whole area. We fully intended to make Melaque our base for the 2 or 3-day stay in the area. When the bus came to a stop in a place that I believed to be Melaque, I was surprised to hear that we were in Barra de Navidad. At that moment I had the presence of mind to ask one more question of the gentleman from Montreal - which is the prettier place, Barra de Navidad or Melaque? His answer, Barra de Navidad, had me running for the exit of the bus with a short comment over my shoulder - c'mon Barbara, we are getting off here.
As it turned out, that was a good move as Barra de Navidad proved to be a place we much preferred over Melaque for reasons that shall be discussed in following blogs.
From the moment we got off the bus, we were enchanted by Barra de Navidad. It was warm, it was tropical, it was a cute town, it had a beautiful beach and above all it had a superb geographical setting that made it unique on the Pacific coast.
We also felt at home at the Hotel Posada Pacifico as the owner was very welcoming and we ran into an extended family from British Columbia who had made the hotel their choice for repeat long-term stays over several years.
The rest of our evening was spent in exploring this charming little town and checking out the beautiful sunset on the beach. We had found the perfect fit - this place just felt right.
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Comments: travelswithlobo@yahoo.com
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Coming Soon:
Barra de Navidad - More of the Town - Part 2
Barra de Navidad - The Beach and the Malecon - Part 3
San Patricio de Melaque - Some Prefer to Stay Here - Part 4
Comments
Words of inspiration
Hola Lobo from Oaxaca! We are soon leaving to visit Colima, Comala, and Barra. I think your blogs are wonderful! Your words below have been our guideline for the last 13 years of our ex-pat life. I couldn't have said it better. May I quote you? Gracias, Laura
'We perceived every new destination as an opportunity for finding something new, having the potential of being surprised, or a possibility of finding the destination that would put an stop to the endless search for that elusive goal which does not exist - the perfect place. Yes, it may not exist but the process of trying to find it certainly is a worthwhile endeavour.'