Carnaval in Barra

After two weeks in the Manzanillo area, we turned the boat around for the season, and began the long trek north. But we only got as far as Barra, where we wanted to stay for Carnaval. We love Barra. Here's one of our favorite views - the giant tree outside of the Sambuco restaurant.

Barra is a very small town, but the town fathers have promised a great celebration this year: a fishing tournament, bike race, lots of music and entertainment. Here's Barra from the other side of the Lagoon, on the hill above the Grand Bay Hotel.

The festivities started on Thursday night with the burning of the effigy of "bad humor." A group of so-called "Cannibals" roamed the streets of the town, teasing anyone with a scowl on their face and bringing a few up to the stage as if they would be the ones to be burned (coincidentally many of these were gringos). We got there late, just as the fire was winding down. In this picture it looks like the Cannibals have set an amp on fire - its just an unfortunate camera angle.

Today there was a fishing tournament for kids. The officials repeatedly warned the adults to let the kids do the fishing, but everyone was having too much fun to pay attention to the rules.

We stopped for a mango on a stick at this colorful fruit stand.

After the fishing tournament, a number of amateur acts took the stage on the malecon. In this picture you can see that the wind has started to blow. In fact, it nearly blew some of the entertainers right off the stage!

One of the best groups was this dance troupe from Colima, who did everything from ballroom numbers to folklorico dances from various regions of Mexico.

There was much more entertainment, but the high winds got us worried about the boat. With good reason, as it turned out - at least five boats dragged their anchors today. But everyone pitched in to help. Here, a group of cruisers gather on the bow of one boat whose anchor had dragged, to help him get it securely re-set.

Another boat was unattended, and locked, so there was no way to start the engine or the windlass without breaking in. We did the best we could under the circumstances, but the boat eventually dragged into shallow water where its keel dug into the soft mud. Once aground, the boat stayed put until the owners got back!

When the wind's not blowing, the lagoon is alive with birds. It is always entertaining to watch the pelicans, cormorants, boobies, frigatebirds, terns, and gulls diving for their dinner!

Vicki and I have resumed our early morning walks on Isla Navidad, around the Grand Bay property. Its great for birdwatching and exercise. Here's a woodpecker we spotted this morning.

Here's the anchorage from Colimilla, the small village near the hotel.

And some architectural detail.