February 2004
Barra de Navidad, a lovely sunny resort village under a lovely sky. This was an easy check-in for a change and we were actually able to do this ourselves. The vague procedures of checking in and out with the  port Captains are a source of anxiety whenever we enter a new port, at least in Mexico. As it was explained to us, the rules stay the same but are ambiguous enough to be interpreted differently by each port captains office. So in one place you are allowed to do your own check-in and in others you need an agencia (usually US$20 or more  each way, in and out) to do the dance. This lack of consistency is stressful for us and other cruisers as well. We all await the day of a national Mexican cruising permit that would make the check-ins&outs a simpler, more consistent procedure. In any case, cruisers figure it out, help each other, etc.  After a while, we don't even dread it.  Its just part of the life.
Soul Catcher anchored next to Citation in Barra Lagoon. The lagoon is a large shallow basin, but the area available for anchoring is about 50 yards wide and 1?4 mile long. We found a spot about 12 feet deep and were fortunate it didn't blow very hard while we were there.
	Barra had the most beautiful flowers we saw anywhere
This is Eric, the French Baker, delivering chocolate croissants. Just call for French baker on channel 12.  One of our cruising friends thought French Baker was the name of a boat. She couldn't figure out how they could be so popular every morning, when everyone on VHS was calling, 'French Baker, French Baker'
	What a trip to see Camelot in Barra! This is a boat George did a lot of work on in Seattle when it was owned by Joel Diamond. She is a true yacht and it was a pleasure to see her in Mexico cruising.
George is cooking fish for dinner.  For some reason, whenever there is a photo of George, he is wearing that shirt...