To The Beach!

On a slightly overcast day recently, I took a drive down to the beaches to see what, if anything, has changed. With the constantly changing currents and storms, the beach never seems to stay the same. Here is what I found.

This is the side beach to the Hotel NaBalam, across from the Avalon. Notice my beach/water guide, that stick, is now deeply in the sand. I think last time I posted it was well into the water.






Even in the middle of the channel, the water level is low enough that lovers can take a stroll, hand in hand.






The view from the bridge. Plenty of room to spread out your towel. Not many people to see though.






This is the beach on the other side of the bridge. In front of the old Casa Maya, now renamed Villa Kin. One of my readers asked for a picture of the condition of it. As you can see, it is doing just fine.








Here's a close-up of those people out by that rock in the photo above. Loving this zoom!









Now we are over at the true North Beach, at the Hotel Maria del Mar. They have added this new deck off the side of that huge new palapa that they built. Not sure what the upstairs will be used for, but underneath is quite evident.








Even though I personally dislike the swing seats, I am glad to see that they are sturdy.







This beach has always been great for waders, children, people a bit afraid of the water and for just cooling off. It takes a long time to get any depth to it and it is always clear.

This so totally disgusts me that I am almost (almost!) at a loss for words. The Hotel Maria del Mar has the concession for this stretch of beach. Which means that they can set up lounge chairs, umbrellas and those icky, germ infested beds and charge for them. But can they maintain the beach area and make it a pleasant place to be? Evidently not. It would appear that the peso is more powerful than the rake. (not to mention, this stuff stinks!)

Despite the greed of the entrepeneurs, North Beach has always been a bit of a magical place. How much better does it get, sitting under a palm tree with that gorgeous blue water in front of you? Not much.