Barra de Navidad is a 15 minute walk along the beach from Melaque. It is a more upscale town than Melaque due to its proximity to the “Grand Bay Hotel”. Check out the hotel’s website at: http://islanavidad.com.mx/ It trumps any hotel I have visited so far in my life. We took a small panga book to the dock of the hotel and then walked along the paths around the hotel. The marina is home to million dollar yachts and security was evident.
We toured the lobby (over the top with the marble and fresh flowers) and then the kids decided it was time to hit the pool. The pool was actually a series of pools joined by beautiful waterfalls and small slides through little tunnels. It was the most beautiful pool I have ever seen and the kids were anxious to jump in! Just as the kids were preparing to get in the pool, we were greeted by a man who resembled someone from the Love Boat show. He told us it would cost US$20 per person to use the pool. What?? Are you kidding me? We decided to save the $180 (the off season price to stay at the hotel for the night) and take the panga boat back to Barra Navidad for lunch. Happy we made such a wise financial decision, we had a wonderful lunch on the beach which included a few cervecas!
The beach at Barra de Navidad is geared towards surfing and Andrew was anxious to give the waves a ride! He jumped on the $50 surf board Ken bought in California (gotta love Craig’s list) and took off. Not long after being in the water, he stepped on what might have been coral and got a nice size gash in his big toe and was marooned the rest of the day. Poor guy!
After a couple hours of hanging out on the beach, we went into the heart of the town for the 2nd annual Chili Cook Off! YUMMY!! There were about 20 different chili chefs, all vying for our attention! We also had some great salsa, chili dogs, margaritas and more cervecas! Boy, sure does seem like we eat and drink alot! Admittedly, we do enjoy the food and beverages of Mexico!
Andrew entered a raffle for a small kayak so Ken and Andrew stayed at the Cook Off, awaiting the results. After they found out they were losers, Ken and Andrew decided to ease their pain and go out for a “Taco Crawl.” This is such a guy thing! They went to three different vendors, having two tacos at each place. The big rule was that you had to try different meats and you were allowed to repeat. They had a couple tacos of unknown origin (don’t even want to think of what it was) and came back, stomachs full to the brim!
Fun day in the sun!
![Look at all the \"dingies\"](https://miura-adventure.com/wp-content/gallery/barra/barra-25_.jpg "Look at all the \\"dingies\\"")
![\"Laxing\" on the beach](https://miura-adventure.com/wp-content/gallery/barra/barra-19_.jpg "\\"Laxing\\" on the beach")
