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This was the view a few steps from our room at Bungalows Calypso. Very nice! |
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The water was a perfect temperature for swimming - about 26 degrees C (about 79 degrees F). It was clear, safe, and not crowded. That evening we ate out at a local al-fresco
restaurant and went for a walk along the beach. The next morning Andrew went for a swim in still, clear waters, watching fish jump out of the water! |
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We stayed at Hotel Sands, which is on the edge of the estuary. It was very relaxing, with a great swimming pool,
garden and bar area - all three were appreciated! It was also largely empty, but still had a few expats there who do various hotel jobs in exchange for accommodation. Andrew used the pool a lot, and took
Mela for a walk around the town. |
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On Sunday, we drove another half hour or so to Manzanillo, the main city on this stretch of the coast, with a large port industry.
After offloading our stuff in a hotel room, we hired a body board and drove to nearby Santiago Bay, the main swimming beach.
We'd been told it was safe to swim there, but we saw a number of small rips along the bay at the time. |
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We had a lot of fun riding the waves on the board, and even riding the same wave in, then out, then in again. Catching the point where the waves coming in and the waves coming out collided was fun
too. Mela was tired after her exertions from the past two days and mainly just guarded our gear. That evening we drove up the Santiago Peninsula separating the two main bays of Manzanillo. There are a lot of upmarket apartments there, mostly holiday homes we assume, as well as a few small bays packed with people swimming there - much busier than the large, open beach where we swam. There is some interesting architecture up there as well, like this lookout. |
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Mela was excited about the new smells and sensations on the beach. We tried to get her to come to us swimming, but even the smallest waves swamped her and this confirmed her resolution to
stay on land! There were some oystercatcher birds that liked flying low across the shallows, and Mela chased them back and forth along the beach. We'd never seen her run so far or so fast at one time.
The next day she was a tired pup! |
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At midday on Saturday we packed up and headed back down the coast to our next stop, a town called Barra de Navidad.
The beach here is more open, and at the time was quite steep and rough. Mela still loved the beach and even found a friend who almost followed us home! |
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The town centre wasn't as pleasant as La Manzanilla, but we had a great find with El Gordito, a streetside
restaurant with excellent meal choices for only 35 pesos each (~$USD 2.70), including drink! Well recommended. Of course, a seaside walk to see the sunset was in order, as was a sleep-in that befitted all the
stresses of lounging at beautiful beaches. |
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Staying clear of those, Andrew tried catching some of the big breaking waves out back. He caught a couple, and got battered by others, and decided that he was too unfit for big surf!
Dave realised that there were parallel sand bars nearer the shore, meaning that waves were rolling onshore, but then regrouping and rolling offshore again. |
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