Fun, fun times with my biological family, including our old and new cuñadas (sisters-in-law), and our boat family! Of course, most of our boat family was already here in Barra, but mi familia de los Estados Unidos made a special trip down to enjoy a little slice of Mexico on the Costalegre (Happy Coast) and to witness the union of my little sister, Annie, and her amazing partner, Vanessa, on a beach in Bahía de Tenacatita at a gem of a spot called Chantli Mare. While we missed a few key family members who couldn’t make the trek for the ceremony, it was a magical time of food, love, and muchos abrazos.
(Please note: While the A/V wedding was the impetus for the family’s visit, there will be a separate blog post with all the pictures! It’s on its way!)
But before getting to all the pictures and videos for this post, we want to acknowledge that despite our ever-uplifting blog posts, sadness manages to creep in wherever we are and to give us pause. What we’re feeling now is from the loss of one of my coworkers, Chris, who succumbed to cancer at too young an age; learning of another friend, Camilla’s, recurrence – again, at too young an age; and missing the celebration of life for ML, Flea’s mom, who passed away in November 2017. I suppose this is life in – or, perhaps, out – of balance. But it IS life, so we must bask in it while we’re still here on earth. Our hearts hurt for our dear friends who have experienced crushing losses of late. We just want you all to know we’re thinking of you.
So, what have we been doing for the past month or so since visiting home? Basking in the love of our people in wonderful places like Barra de Navidad, Colimilla, Bahía de Tenacatita, Santiago Bay, and then back in Barra. The Costalegre region of Mexico is definitely one of our favorite areas – no wonder we didn’t mind spending nearly 2 months here! As usual, there are way too many pictures, so we broke them up into separate galleries and will rely on the captions to walk you through our time together. Also, thank goodness for Jeff and Brenda aboard Adventurer! They’ve done almost all of the video work for us! Whoot whoot! Enjoy!
Gallery #1 – Boat Family (plus Sammi and Vanessa before the Biological Family Arrives) in Barra de Navidad
Jason using his brand new Reefs to open his Kiosko-bought Colima
The gaudy statue outside Mariscos La Huerta in Manzanillo
Lunch at La Huerta with Liz, Vicki, and Sotero, our trusty cabbie
Vicki enjoying her pretty drink at La Huerta
Getting into the cab after a little day-drinking
The chef at Miriam’s street tacos in Barra
The boat fam din din at Miriam’s
Jeff and Rand off to surf the Barra break
Sammi arrives in Barra before the rest of the family and festivities
The Barra angels
With Vanessa this time, who arrived early for her Sensing workshop
A tree en route to secret beach – Brenda wondering what it is, Jody not knowing
The boat fam stroll to Secret Beach
Waves breaking over the stairs to Secret Beach
Vicki and Maya enjoying Secret Beach
Molly (the dog), Nancy, and Mike enjoying a rest after a swim at Secret Beach
Jeff taking it in – without taking video!
The Secret Beach swimmers
The boat fam Secret Beach selfie
Jeff and Brenda enjoying Manuel and Emma’s restaurant, The View, in Colimilla
Mike and Nancy, too
The group, including Manuel, the proprietor and super sweet guy
Taking Sammi out for a tour of the Barra lagoon
Carolee and Vicki showing us up on our way out to the Barra lagoon
Maya and Vicki (and Jay in the background) aboard Volaré
A look at Volaré’s ripped up dinghy – ugh
The biggest drink ever, courtesy of Marga and Greg of Dogfish
Dinner at El Rinconcito with Sammi and Vanessa (PC Sammi)
Sammi after tipping the one-man band – he was amazing
Busting Brenda coming out of the French Bakery
Rubber chicken face
Walking the beach between Barra and Melaque (PC Sammi)
The Melaque beach walkers
Happy aunt and niece
Inadvertent photo-bomb by passing cyclist – haha!
Sammi contemplating another tattoo – not
On the bus back to Barra – looks like Sammi is trying to eat Brenda’s paleta
