The beauty of La Manzanilla

An Oriole in a Hibiscus Tree

Adventures in Wonderland ~ a pilgrimage of the heart.

They are Travelling through the world, and through life, feeling their way by the tips of their fingers: Alison and Don

After the first month when the water has warmed up a bit we’re in the pool every day. I swim a little and dive a lot. I entertain myself in the pool by diving down to collect all the debris from the trees that is blown in by the wind. Don lolls around on the noodle enjoying the view.

Beyond the pool is a view of the tropical garden and the sea.

There are these fabulous long-distance buses in Mexico. The seats are bigger than airplane business-class, and you’re given a drink and a few snacks. Plus they don’t cost much. To get from San Miguel de Allende to La Manzanilla we travel first to Guadalajara, which takes about four hours. We wait at the bus station for a couple of hours then get another bus for the next leg to Barra de Navidad, arriving at about eleven at night. It’s been a long day but it’s not over yet. In Barra we are grateful to be met by Alejandro and his wife. Alejandro throws our cases in the back of his truck and we set off on the one-hour drive to La Manzanilla. When we arrive Alejandro helps us down the stairs with our bags and hands us the keys. We unlock the door, turn on the light and we are finally here – back in the sweet familiar casita that we’d rented for four months three years earlier. I feel like I’ve come home.

The casita is the ground level of a house that steps down a hill. Immediately in front of the casita is a patio, and in front of the patio is a private pool.

It really is this glorious. All the time we were in San Miguel I’d longed to be in La Manzanilla. Sunsets like these definitely had something to do with it.

The birds come every day; the flycatchers:

Source: An Oriole in a Hibiscus Tree – the beauty of La Manzanilla

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.