|
The
town
of
Barra
de
Navidad
(Christmas
Sandbar)with
a population
of 7000+ is a
small
farming
and
fishing
community
located
on
the
east
end
of
the
Bahía
de Navidad,
60
km
north
of
Manzanillo.
In
recent
years,
the
Jalisco
state
government
has
promoted
Barra
as a
tourist
attraction
of
the
Costalegre.
The
beachfront
fronting
the
sandbar
arks
toward
Melaque
4.5 kilometers
to
the
west.
The
history
of
"modern"
Barra
de
Navidad
dates
back
to
the
mid-1500's
when
the
Spanish
used
it
for
ship
building,
repairs
and
a
jumping
off
point
to
the
Philippines.
The
large
lagoon
behind
Barra
de
Navidad
is
criss-crossed
by
small
fishing
boats
gathering
scallops
and
transporting
visitors
and
locals
from
Barra
to
Isla
Navidad
and
the
Grand
Bay
Hotel,
recently
voted
the
Number
One
hotel/resort
in
Mexico
by
the
Travel
Channel.
These
boats
(panga
taxies)
also
carry
passengers
to
and
from
the
small
Colima
community
of
Colimilla
where
restaurants
line
the
shore. |
