Barra de Navidad, Jalisco
Nothing and Everything in Barra de Navidad
We like this place. Maybe love it. Could be our favorite place. Might be. Lots to see, yet--but this is a contender. In one way we are sitting still, taking it easy. In another, experiencing a new way of living. I’ll try to describe, stream of consciousness style.
The weather. It has been pretty much exactly the same every day. To those who have said “it would be boring if the weather were the same every day”, I say, “it’s ok to be wrong”. Highs mid-80s, lows mid-upper 60s. Bright sunshine every day. The mornings and evenings, sunrises and sunsets, are glorious, the afternoons just hot enough to tell you to slow down. No need for a second layer, ever. Just a bit of humidity, not oppressive. I call this perfect weather. We are told that April and May are amazing, same temps, less humid. About the only time you might not want to be here is August-October, humid then, and hurricane season.
The town. Small, authentic, unhurried (but in a Mexican way). Though there are many expat gringos here, the services and shops are not manufactured for them. Tiny grocery stores, packed with fresh produce, tortillerías, carnicerías (butcher shop), tiny restaurants galore, which generally are in front of folks’ houses. There is no ATM (need to go to the next town to get that). A market in mid-town every Wednesday with clothes and food, specialty items, and yes, some trinkets. We walk everywhere, no need for a vehicle. If we were going to do anything, it would be a bike with a basket for groceries. Every now and again you probably need to go to the bigger town of Melaque next door. Maybe a small car for that.
We are doing a lot of nothing, and a lot of everything, and loving it.
The people. No surprise, the gringos here are probably 99 percent retired folks. Big surprise--probably 99 percent Canadian! Which makes them as friendly and welcoming as can be. Every night we end up meeting more people, who have been coming here for 10, 20, 30 years. A real community. The Mexicans are, as usual, wonderful, friendly, helpful. There is a strong Mexican middle class here and the sense is that this town is generally doing quite well. Not fancy, but comfortable. There is opportunity here. Pride of place.
Compared to a lot of Mexico this is a very clean town. That said, it’s still Mexico and so not the same infrastructure. Close to us we have been walking Axel into a natural park area that juts out between the lagoon/marina and the ocean, and there is a lot of trash there. Predictable “people partying in the natural park” stuff, but there is a propensity in Mexico to just leave trash. Because lots of reasons. Anyway, we’ve taken to bringing large garbage bags with us on the walk and we’ve been filling them up. It is a large area and there is a lot of trash. But if we do a bag or two a day, we figure we can make a little difference. It’s a little something to give back. Maybe we will start a trash club or something.
The food is predictably fantastic, from the woman making you a taco out in front of her house, to the made-for-gringos hamburger at the classic rock bar. We have not had anything but amazing food, and affordable, of course. You can pretty much eat out for about the cost of the groceries depending on where you go. The peso is a little stronger these days but the prices are right and the exchange rate still good.
The music. This is a huge music town. There are several choices pretty much every night and the talent is fantastic. From blues and rock, to roots and folk, to Mexican music, and acoustic jazz, there are tons of options all day every day. This is a huge plus, there’s nothing like hanging under the stars in a palapa listening to live music in the evening. I have thus far declined to do an open mike night, but here are lots of those. We shall see.
Retired people stuff. We are being tempted into things like Pickleball and games of Mexican Train dominos. And these are worthy pastimes. We walk a lot. We have gone on bike rides. Though not retired yet, we can certainly sample the lifestyle and enjoy!
This is the first place we have been to that has us looking at real estate and rental listings for the future. We have been in some lovely homes, living here is all indoor-outdoor, there is very little separating the two. Our van in the patio is about right, outdoor kitchen and living area, indoor sleeping seems to be the ticket. I am spoiled to have my workstation on the patio and work outdoors all day, under palms and papaya trees. The only challenge is the sun and my computer screens, I have had to rig up some impromptu shade. This is a very tempting place to consider as a most-of-the-year-home.
So we are doing a lot of nothing, and a lot of everything, and loving it. Here’s a pile o’ pics of life in Barra de Navidad. Enjoy!
