4 April – 31 May 2016. On Mexico’s Pacific coast, eighty kilometres (50mi) north of Manzanillo is Tenacatita Bay. Where the bay meets the sea it is a wide gaping jaw of rugged cliffs and small isolated sandy beaches. The innermost part of the bay, eight kilometres (5mi) in from the open sea, is narrower, a perfectly curved new-moon-sliver of a beach approximately six kilometres long. At the southern end of this beach is the fishing village of La Manzanilla, and on the beach at the southern end of La Manzanilla the fishermen gather with their boats.
Every day one or two of them are there, tending to their boats and nets, working in the hot sun, immersed in their labor, inseparable from sand and sea and salt air.
When they put out to sea inevitably the frigates appear, stalking the boats like shadows, high-flying opportunists waiting for scraps,
and when the fishermen from the co-op throw the fish guts on the beach great flocks of these birds circle and battle overhead, abruptly rocketing down then soaring up again with a victory, fighting for every last morsel.
This is one of La Manzanilla’s two “downtown” streets:
If you walk a little way down it you will find the fishermen’s co-op on the right, a concrete building that is open to the street on one side and the beach on the other. If you walk through to the beach at the right time of day you will see the local airshow of dozens of frigates diving for scraps. All the local fishers bring their catch to the co-op, and on just about any day you can buy fresh fish here. Two or three times a week we pick out a red snapper, have it gutted, scaled and filleted on the spot, and take it home for an easy dinner.
Before you get to the co-op, on the same side of the street, you’ll come to the little heladeria. There’s no place to sit, so after buying our ice creams we walk a hundred yards down the street to an opening onto the beach and sit in a tiny patch of shade on the edge of the concrete platform of a beach restaurant. There is always plenty of seating under the umbrellas at the tables on the sand but we feel awkward sitting there when we aren’t planning to order anything. Sitting on the beach means sitting in the blazing sun. So the edge of the platform it is. Don and I always have our ice cream in cups rather than cones. One day I notice that the cups are Styrofoam. What better to keep ice cream frozen than Styrofoam? So we take to asking for a second cup each, placing it upside-down as a lid over the top of the ice cream cup and walking home with it. There we enjoy our treat in slow lazy shady comfort.
This is the other main street of “downtown”. The two downtown streets form the two arms of a Y and both end at the zocalo or town square.
A little way down on the left is Abarrotes Lidia. Abarrotes translates as groceries and there are several grocery stores in town – Abarrotes Perla, Abarrotes Gloria, Abarrotes Fanny, etc. We almost always go to Lidia’s. She has really developed her business over the years stocking all the usual things, but also things expats might be looking for such as balsamic and Dijon.
Walking to town down this street,
and then turning to go down this street,
we pass the local laundry where clothes are hung to dry right at the side of the road. Given the dust we are glad to have a washer and dryer at the casita. On any given day, walking anywhere, we’ll see exotic birds and flowers.
As soon as we get to the main streets we become aware of the swallows. They flit back and forth across the streets focused and purposeful. As time goes on they get busier and busier. Spring has come and we begin to notice their nests attached high up on the walls and in hidden corners of almost every building. One day I notice the noise, the insistent squeaky chirping everywhere we walk. I look up and sure enough there are chicks in all the nests. Every nest is busy with one parent or another arriving every few seconds to feed several yellow-ringed squealing mouths. Feed me too! Feed me too!
Sometimes we’re at the beach when the pelicans are fishing,
and we often see them as we walk along,
but this time there’s clearly there’s a huge school of fish close to shore. We watch as pelicans, seagulls, and cormorants crowd and squabble, but there is plenty for all. For twenty minutes or more they dive and splash and crash into each other and dive again, following the fish and filling their gullets as the school moves slowly along by the beach. Finally the birds have had their fill, or the fish are all gone or dispersed, and the show is over.
And then there was the day that Linda, a quirky American woman who lives year-round in La Manzanilla, decided we should all play at stick tossing on the beach, and she rounded up some willing participants.
It was the same evening that all the expats still in town at the end of the season gathered for dinner at Pedro’s and a bonfire on the beach at sunset before they departed for summer further north where there are no lashing torrential tropical rains.
Don and I stayed for another month, luxuriating in our perfect casita, eating great mounds of fresh fish and salads, and bringing our ice creams home to eat sitting in the shade on the patio with our legs dangling in the pool.
Sunset on the beach on a fine April evening:
After two wonderful soul-and-body-healing months in La Manzanilla the day came when we had to leave. On May 31st Alejandro drove us to Manzanillo where we boarded a plane for Mexico City and from there flew directly to Vancouver.
Next post: Five months as nomads in our hometown.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2016.
Oh, God! Your photos are stunning. And make me long to get back to Mexico!
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Thanks Angeline. I’m happy to say we are back in Mexico – Playa del Carmen this time. I understand your pain 😦
Alison
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Have a relaxing time.
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I enjoyed the walking tour very much. The photos as always so incredible. The one with the baby swallows I believe I can actually hear them squawking to be fed!
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Thanks Sue. I was so thrilled to get that swallow shot. I got my camera on the right settings, pointed it at the nest, and waited. I didn’t have to wait long as the parents come every few seconds. I loved watching the squawking chicks.
Alison
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Those sunset photos beginning and end are incredible. I feel like I’m there, taking in the extraordinary colors and the peace of a beach at sunset. I know Vancouver is home, but it it must have been hard to leave La Manzanilla behind!
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Thanks Felicity. It was a fabulous place to be, and yes, hard to leave behind but come mid june the rains start and get progressively worse and more frequent as the summer months go by. It gets really humid and sticky so end of May is a good time to leave. Where are you these days?
Alison
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I’m in Malta! I found a lovely studio penthouse not far from the airport on Airbnb and have been hanging out here for almost a month. I’ve got lovely sunsets from my balcony, but they aren’t the same without a beach.
Headed home to Portland, Oregon in a few weeks. And while I’m looking forward to reconnecting with friends, I am *not* looking forward to winter rains and cold temperatures. I can understand why you headed south for the winter. 😉
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Malta! How fabulous. I’ve heard good things about it. Ooooh Portland in winter, ooooh you have my sympathy 🙂
Alison
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Wonderful photos, Alison and Don, and a stunning sunset. What an absolutely beautiful place, perfect for a healing retreat. Love and blessings ❤
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Thanks Isabella. It is indeed a beautiful place. We feel very lucky to have friends who live there half the year. It’s their house we stay in. Without them we probably never would have even heard of it. Love and blessings to you too ❤
Alison
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Simply beautiful! And I love your eye and talent for photographing the bird life everywhere you go.
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Thanks Kelly. Birds are a bit of a thing I guess, especially exotic birds. I get quite excited about them. They are also one of the main reasons that I wish I had a better camera. I wanna a full frame sensor! One day . . . . .
Alison
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Hello Alison and Don, as many before me I am amazed by your talent in taking stunning pictures. And also so very pleased to see you two going strong. I love reading your blog, looking at pictures and dreaming of places you have visited.
xoxoxo Dana
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Hi Dana! Thanks so much for your compliments. I’m so pleased to hear you’re still enjoying the blog. And yes, we’re still going strong. It’s not time to stop yet.
Alison xox
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I smiled at all the photos here, but I laughed out loud at you crazy people throwing sticks in the air! Everyone looks rapt or surprised or expectant, waiting for those things to rain back down! Beautiful post as always!
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Thanks Lex. That stick throwing was a riot, but I quickly decided I’d rather watch and photograph than throw. So much fun!
Alison
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Lovely shots. I particularly like the campfire on the beach.
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Thanks so much Dave. That was a fabulous fire they built, and it’s one of my favourite shots too. I was just about lying in the sand to get it.
Alison
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I lingered as long
as possible
taking in all you had to offer
and letting the beauty expand
within so that i can remember
it as if i was really there
over a couple
soul-and-body-healing months 🙂
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Sometimes all it takes
is imagining it
for it to be real.
I’m glad you inhaled the
beauty and joy of this beautiful
time and place.
Alison
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I feel recharged just reading this. Thank you! Have fun, John
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Thanks so much John. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It certainly helped us to recharge.
Alison
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what a gorgeous place…the title of your post already had me smiling 🙂
love the stick throwing photo xx
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Thanks Annie. Yes, a gorgeous place. Enough to make anyone smile 🙂
Alison xox
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I believe watching those birds feeding on the fish must have been very entertaining and peaceful, despite the commotion. You took some really nice photos of the birds mid-flight, Alison. Most of the time my bird photos are blurry. That sunset photo is just stunning!
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Thanks Bama. The sunsets in La Manzanilla were spectacular just about every night. And, yes, watching the birds feeding on the fish was a wonderful experience – exciting and very entertaining.
Alison
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I feel relaxed just reading this post. The sunset photos are spectacular!!
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Thanks Darlene. It was a really relaxing time that’s for sure. And the sunsets were amazing!
Alison
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Loved your photos of the brown pelicans Alison. We used to watch them dive for hours and fly in formations of 15-30 at a time when we lived on Padre Island. La Manzanilla looks beautiful and I love the fact that it has still retained its character as a small fishing village. We were so disappointed by our time in Playa del Carmen where we started off our travels in 2012 as it’s grown from the small fishing village we knew in the 90’s to an overpriced tourist and expat haven. I hope your impressions are more favorable than ours and I’m looking forward to what you have to say about an area that we remember fondly, the Yucatan. Anita
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Thanks Anita. I love pelicans – they’re so comical. There are plenty of them, different species, in Australia too, and the Galapagos. We seem to see them in many places. I had to look up Padre Island – what a fabulous place to live. La Manzanilla is quite special really, in large part because it hasn’t been developed. May it remain so. Since we’ve never been to Playa before we had nothing to compare it to so we are enjoying it for what it is. We knew before we came that it’s a tourist mecca, but it’s a slow time for us, and the beach is beautiful, and the weather fabulous of course. I can imagine it would be disappointing if you’d known the area before all the development.
Alison
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You captured some precious moments!
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Thanks Ka. La Manzanilla was full of precious moments.
Alison xo
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Does life come any more laidback, Alison? 🙂 This place should be on a 2 week prescription for everyone. The sunsets and the pelicans might keep me there forever.
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It really was a slice of paradise. I’m sure you can see why I wanted to get back there so much instead of being in SMA with it’s intellectual/cultural vibe with no beach and no nature. The sunsets were heart-openers every day, and the pelicans reliably entertaining.
Alison
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Oh, my …you found paradise indeed. I’m so glad that you are taking us with you and every photograph and in every description. My soul would love to find any excuse to come and be there. Sea Sun and Sand, such a peaceful combination ❤
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Thanks Anyes. Yes, we found paradise. And I’m glad to have you along with us, even if only virtually. Doesn’t it feel wonderful? I hope you get there one day, or somewhere like it. Your soul will thank you 🙂
Alison
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Your photos are simply outstanding. And you take us with you in your daily pleasures so well with your writing, that I really feel like I’ve been there.
It will be snowy in Vancouver now, won’t it? My grandson and his wife and daughter and my daughter and her husband are all going to Vancouver over Thanksgiving. My grandson and his family live right outside Seattle and my daughter lives in Memphis. I am so jealous of them all!
Maybe I will make it to Canada yet.
Thanks for all that you share. It is such a blessing for us when we aren’t able to travel.
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Thank you so much Eileen, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It will be rainy in Vancouver. Vancouver does’t get much snow, and the little it does get won’t be until usually Jan or Feb though I do remember a very snowy Christmas a few years back but it’s very rare.
A Vancouver winter is very like Seattle – all rain all the time.
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the blog – it’s such a pleasure for me to put it together.
Alison
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Now this scene does look a bit familiar..and I try to pretend that you took these photos TODAY on a separate corner of the world. That would be just perfect to imagine we are witnessing nearly the same thing. Fishing village life…IS the life, I’ve come to decide!
Alison, I admire your prose and your photography so much! I can’t thank you enough for the inspiration you give to me, and for the make-believe mentor-ship I have concocted here between the WordPress words we exchange. I find myself looking forward to your comments the most, in response to my latest posts. And indeed, yours in the only page I go directly to, to catch up on my reading. I don’t have the patience to sift through my Reader in search of your work. I must go right to the source.
Cheers to you, wherever you are on this November night!
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Fishing village life is wonderful! Thank you for your wonderful compliments! It’s very encouraging for me to hear when my work “lands” somewhere to give some inspiration. I think it’s amazing, and very brave, what you and your family are doing.
Re blogging – just keep at it, and read lots of other blogs. I can’t express how much I’ve learned from reading others’ blogs – about both writing and photography. It seems like there is this whole huge school available for any of us to tap into whenever we’re inspired to. I love it.
Alison
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You’re welcome, and thank you as well! I don’t know if we’re really brave…or just crazy! Haha! And I agree completely about the blogging community, so many supportive and knowledgeable people in this industry. I honestly feel that in the last 9 months I’ve gained infinitely more from being part of this community, than I ever did in my numerous failed attempts at college! And so now I’ve finally figured it out, that seeking a title was not nearly as important as finding a “calling”. Life is so strange and beautiful!
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the blues are soft and fresh…and of course the birds feeding as wonderful…i also love to linger over my tea today and read your words…such a wonderful fishing village…makes for a nice place to imagine even if only over a cup of tea…thank you Alison for sharing your travels…always lovely. ~ smiles hedy
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Thanks so much Hedy. You inspired me to do the whole fishing series – to look at a ragged bunch of boats and fishing gear in a new way. Thank you!
La Manzanilla is a lovely place to linger – in real life, and virtually over a cup of tea.
Alison
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Hi Alison, I really really like your blog and your writing is simply amazing.
I want to discuss something, so can you give me your email address? or send me an email if you could (laura.vesya@gmail.com).
Thank you.
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Thanks so much Laura. Um, can you give me a hint?
Alison
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So beautiful. 🙂
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Thank you so much Dani. Yes, very beautiful.
Alison xo
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That looks like a wonderful way to spend a couple of months. That is the joy of being retired and on an extended trip!
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It was pretty wonderful, and so’s being retired. Aging bodies not so much 🙂
Alison
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Wait, what…there’s an airport in Manzanillo now?? Wow. You’ve got some great sentences, again, in this post…you’re creating your own style in writing as you did in photos!! I love the photo of the wheel and the out of focus guy behind. And the fishhooks on the board–whoa, a real winner. And the fire shots, those are just plain cool. But I just don’t know how you get all those wonderful shots of animals. I simply cannot take a good animal shot. You get them standing still, closeup, or diving into the water!!
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Thanks BF. I do think my writing has improved over the years, thanks to being inspired by people like you and Ra and many other bloggers I read. At the same time this post I think is a little thin – I didn’t have that much to say, unlike Egypt for example where I had plenty of meat to chew on. And that’s okay too. La Manz was a soft mellow time and I hope I conveyed that, and I had some nice pics to share. I was inspired by https://sloppybuddhist.com to take the photos of the fishermen/boats/nets. I love her work. Animals – often not enough patience, always very high shutter speed and shallow DOF. Oh and endless repetition. I’d have been a useless film photographer, but with digital I can just keep going ’til I get the shot. I must have ditched dozens of shots of pelis diving.
Alison
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Alison, well, right…your writing has developed into your own style, just like your photos…you’re a quick learner, or disciplined, or something! And talking about laid-back Mexico should sound a whole lot different than an ancient Cairo…totally different vibes and feeling. and right…thank god for digital cameras, eh!
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What a beautiful place Alison!
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Yes indeed. We (obviously) loved it there.
Alison
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I believe your photos are lovelier than what I saw with my own eyes during our visit to La Manzanilla…exquisite!
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Thanks so much LuAnn. La Manzanilla’s a pretty special place that’s for sure.
Alison
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