Here I sit on the beach in La Manzanilla, Mexico, attempting to read my book, a Sue Henry mystery novel. Knut, I am taken again and again by the sounds and activities of the beach, and just had to stop reading and describe what I see and hear!
This is a small town, off the resort path of Mexico, but definitely on the radar do ex-pats mostly from Canada and the U.S. It is also a beach spot for Mexican families from inland, mainly Guadalajara.
A scream from the shoreline takes my eyes to a Mexican family with little girls playing in the surf. One runs up the beach to her mama sitting at a table under the palapa with a shell or rock to show her. As she runs back down to the water, her grandma calls out something and the girl does a couple of cartwheels an her way back into the surf.
Walking by is a gringo couple, with a dog bounding along with them. The man throws a ball and the dog runs and jumps and catches the ball in the air.
My eye following the dog, I see another family sitting on the beach above waterline, with vendors of jewelry and beach clothing moving in. Right behind them is the ice cream vendor, ringing his bicycle type bell and calling out "helado".
Movement from the water catches my eye, and I see a swimmer out past the breaking waves, swimming the crawl parallel to the beach. Not far past the swimmer, is a sailboat slowly coming in under motor power. There is a catamaran and another single hull sailboat at anchor close in to this area of the beach. In the far distance at the north end of the bay, I can make out the masts of many sailboats, anchored at Tenacatita, a favorite anchoring spot in the bay. I wonder if Nicki and John have dropped anchor yet there from their morning jaunt from Barra de Navidad.
Two jet skis go by with two people on each. I no longer see the swimmer--have they come to shore, or is my view of them blocked by the sun umbrellas on the beach to mt left?
Just in my view under a palapa to my left, I see a local fisherman, tossing a net into the surf, tryi g to catch bait fish. He and another fisherman provided entertainment for me while I ate my breakfast on the beach a couple of hours ago.
I'll continue to sit here, book in hand, but I don't know how much I will really read today when I have such a wonderful live show in front of me! It's the weekend at a family friendly Mexican beach.
This is a small town, off the resort path of Mexico, but definitely on the radar do ex-pats mostly from Canada and the U.S. It is also a beach spot for Mexican families from inland, mainly Guadalajara.
A scream from the shoreline takes my eyes to a Mexican family with little girls playing in the surf. One runs up the beach to her mama sitting at a table under the palapa with a shell or rock to show her. As she runs back down to the water, her grandma calls out something and the girl does a couple of cartwheels an her way back into the surf.
Walking by is a gringo couple, with a dog bounding along with them. The man throws a ball and the dog runs and jumps and catches the ball in the air.
My eye following the dog, I see another family sitting on the beach above waterline, with vendors of jewelry and beach clothing moving in. Right behind them is the ice cream vendor, ringing his bicycle type bell and calling out "helado".
Movement from the water catches my eye, and I see a swimmer out past the breaking waves, swimming the crawl parallel to the beach. Not far past the swimmer, is a sailboat slowly coming in under motor power. There is a catamaran and another single hull sailboat at anchor close in to this area of the beach. In the far distance at the north end of the bay, I can make out the masts of many sailboats, anchored at Tenacatita, a favorite anchoring spot in the bay. I wonder if Nicki and John have dropped anchor yet there from their morning jaunt from Barra de Navidad.
Two jet skis go by with two people on each. I no longer see the swimmer--have they come to shore, or is my view of them blocked by the sun umbrellas on the beach to mt left?
Just in my view under a palapa to my left, I see a local fisherman, tossing a net into the surf, tryi g to catch bait fish. He and another fisherman provided entertainment for me while I ate my breakfast on the beach a couple of hours ago.
I'll continue to sit here, book in hand, but I don't know how much I will really read today when I have such a wonderful live show in front of me! It's the weekend at a family friendly Mexican beach.
