What a lovely day we have had. We are staying in a new beautiful hotel for the weekend... the Grand Isla de Navidad. It is the resort that Manzanillo District President, President Rios has recommended for months now for us to try instead of Las Hadas. We have stayed in Las Hadas probably 90% of the times we have come to Manzanillo during our mission. The other times we stay in the Camino Real where the waves come crashing in something fierce, which we also love. To be honest, Las Hadas feels like home, we have stayed there so many times.
This Grand Isla is just outside the small Puebla of Barra de Navidad and you can see Melaque, another small fishing village just across the bay, maybe just a few hundred yards is all. At first we thought it was silly that they had not build a bridge over to those little places. Anyone wanting to go into those villages, or to come over to the resort has to either take a water taxi or drive all the way around and then take the long entryway drive to get to the resort.
But then, probably those folks who live in Barra and Melaque don’t frequent the resort.
Both Barra de Navidad and Melaque are little port cities…little fishing communities. They are very old and a bit run down, and slow moving. We love them! There are lots of beach shacks and broken, worn out boats, little markets and older folks with stories to tell.
Anyway, this resort is beautiful with stunning architecture and a sprawling design. It’s grand entryway, like so many things in Mexico, just says big!
The drive into it is maybe 6 miles long.. it is a gorgeous drive, beautifully landscaped, with a huge golf course along both sides of the drive with gorgeous lakes, ponds and bridges, with 3-4 guard shacks along the way that stop you to take your name and log your car information.
The resort sits on probably 500 acres, and was built in 1992. There are buildings that are yet to be built on the drawing boards, and there are buildings that have been built and used for a time, that have been abandoned and now stand empty, like a huge convention center and another boutique hotel the owner had built for his wife, outdoor arenas, walking paths and outdoor restaurants and pools and fountains.
This resort is set along the Lagoon de Navidad bay with a breathtaking marina housing probably 50+ gorgeous sailboats of various sizes docked there. The bay is on three sides of the resort, and the ocean side has gorgeous views that go on forever.
Anyway, since this resort is in Barra de Navidad, which is probably 30+ minutes outside of Manzanillo proper, and closer toward Autlan, where our branch conference is this weekend, Bob made a reservation for us to stay there this weekend.
We had to attend Viviana and Ricardo’s sealing in the Temple on Friday afternoon at 5:00 pm, we left for Barra right afterwards and didn’t arrive at the resort until well after 10:30 pm. It was tricky for Bob to navigate the drive into it in the dark, but we made it.
Again, it is beautiful. We spent the entire next day.. our pday, relaxing in the sun, strolling along the marina, swimming, napping in the hammocks and unwinding. It was a lovely day.
We ended our day walking over to the ocean side of the resort and watching the sun go down, and then having a quiet slow dinner. We saw the magical fireflies all over the grass on our walk back. What a perfect day we have had.
First, here is Viviana and Ricardo. What sweethearts they are. They have dated for 10 years, waiting and hoping that Ricardo's mother would soften and accept his desire to be baptized and his love for Viviana. She has done neither. It was a very difficult decision for Ricardo to move forward and be baptized, and to be married without his mothers approval and blessing. They have been courageous and faithful, and have remained virtuous. We are very proud of them, and we love them so much.
We were honored to have been with them both last week as they took out their endowments, and on this day as they were sealed for all eternity. The memory of this special moment is locked in our hearts... oh, we love them!
We had to leave for Manzanillo before they were ready to come out of the Temple, but here they are! What a memory it was to be with them on this special day.
