with crocodile you get egg roll

My guests always enjoy breakfast at Banana's in Barra de Navidad.

The food is interesting.  But the view of the bay is stunning.  Especially, on a clear day like yesterday. 

Perhaps too stunning.  I got so caught up in looking at the ocean and conversing with Leo that I forgot to shoot what had us so interested.  The photograph at the top of this essay is not Barra de Navidad.  It is La Manzanilla.

When we visited on La Manzanilla on Monday, I proudly showed Leo the main attraction of the village -- its collection of large crocodiles.  The ejido created an enclosure several years ago to keep the crocodiles from wandering the streets. 

It also built a pathway half way around the mangrove swamp -- and, just recently, a new walkway was completed to close the circuit.  We didn't have time to walk the entire loop on Monday, but we did yesterday.

If you are looking for crocodiles, there is no need to pay the 25 peso entry fee.  You can see the crocodiles congregate around the entry point waiting to be fed -- as if they were Costco shoppers crowding around the free sample demonstrators.

But if you would like to see the complexity of a mangrove swamp, the walk is a good introduction.  Red and white mangroves.  Crabs.  Small fish.  Plenty of birds.  Termite nests.  And, my favorite: two suspension bridges that are just flimsy enough to make you believe that it is possible to star in an Indiana Jones catastrophe.

Having spent the day pretending we were once again 8-years old (that would be difficult because I did not know Leo when he was 8), we headed over to one of my favorite classy dining places: Magnolia's.  In La Manzanilla. 

I have told you about Alex's restaurant several times.  Her summer menu offers three choices (a meat, chicken, or fish) for that week only.  Next week, it is always something new.

I primarily like her food because she cajoles the diner into new experiences in learning to appreciate her layers of flavors.  Not to mention the fact that Alex, Leia, and Will always put on a class social act.  They make me feel as if I am coming home for dinner.

Yesterday was no exception.  I had medallions of pork in a curry blueberry sauce.  See what I mean?  The combination is not instinctive, but it was perfection.  True cooking skills are required to pull it off.

On the way home, Leo and I stopped at the shop to see if the lights were ready to be re-installed in the pool.  They were -- and are.  The repair cost was a bit more than I expected.  We will see later today how the re-fitting turned out.

The best thing about the day was that Leo enjoyed every moment of it.  Breakfast in Barra de Navid.  Viewing the bay from the viewpoint above Melaque.  Hunting for crocodile.  Eating an incredibly good dinner.  Even picking up the repaired lights.  As you can see, neither of us are hard to entertain.

I am going to miss him when he leaves on Saturday.  We have shared some mundane activities, but all of them have had an exotic twist.

But, as is true with all good friends, it is not the circumstances that make the day.  It is the relationship.

At least, that is what I once read in a fortune cookie.