Barra de Navidad

Barra de Navidad greets you with a mellow happiness and easy charm that seeps into your bones. It's a pueblo on a narrow isthmus between a lagoon and the beach, boasting excellent sportfishing, bird- and crocodile-watching trips and succulent seafood. Barra first came to prominence in 1564 when its shipyards produced the galleons used by conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and Father André de Urdaneta to deliver the Philippines to King Felipe of Spain. By 1600, however, most of the conquests were being conducted from Acapulco, and Barra slipped into sleepy obscurity.