This is quite some resort and as Marina Guests, we have the run of the place with Tennis Courts, Pools, Beach and Restaurants. On Thursday evenings they host a Harbor Masters reception with hors d’oeuvres and an open bar; it is all very welcoming.

The village of Barra is quite small with some touristy things, probably due to the proximity of the resort but it is easy to walk around.

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There is a water taxi service to take you between the resort and Barra and the same service will pick you up and drop you off at your boat. In the evening, we explored the resort and from there, we could see the back-bay anchorage where I counted about 20 boats.  Here in the marina, boats come and go frequently, and many boats have guests visiting as it is such a great place to stay.

When it first opened, the Marina was expensive, but they have since modified their rates. While it is still the most expensive marina we have stayed in Mexico, it is reasonable given the availability and use of the resorts facilities and its great location.

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Friday, 21 February 2014 – In the morning, we had a visit from the French Baker who does his rounds each morning with fresh French bread and pastries. We bought a couple of Croissants, a Baguette, and a very tasty Almond Croissant.  He wanders about the anchorage and the marina ringing his bell or will respond if you call him on the VHF. The rest of the day was spent cleaning Hilbre.

Saturday, 22 February 2014 – We went into town and wandered around and had drinks at the Sands Hotel. In the late afternoon, we took a water taxi to Fortinos Palapa for dinner. The water taxi takes you a short distance up the estuary to where there are several palapas. We had many Margaritas with our meal and decided to take a walk back to the Marina instead of taking the water taxi. Anita was not too happy with the walk up the hill on the cobbled street which eventually took us to the road leading to the Hotel and then the Marina.

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Sunday, 23 February 2014 – We have explored more of the hotel and it is delightful to sit either by one of the pools or the beach lagoon and just relax or read a book.  The resort is popular with both Mexicans and Gringos who are mainly Canadian. Various events take place during the day and because we are in the Marina, we can join any of these. We spent a leisurely afternoon reading and hanging in the hammocks.

Monday, 24 February 2014 – There are individuals can do work on your boat and this morning, I had the waterline boot stripe polished. Hilbre looked smart after this was done. We also caught up on emails and other internet work. Tomorrow we will have the rest of the boat polished and waxed.

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Tuesday, 25 February 2014 – We took a water taxi to the lagoon palapas and had lunch at Fortinos. While we were there, the high school must have ended as the children all flooded down to the restaurant pier to take a water taxi home to Barra.