Gracias por Amigos and La Madera has a Gran Posada

Our son, Eric who is visiting us for 3 weeks is using this as a training venue for Ironman Canada Triathlon which he is registered to compete in August, 2010. On Saturday he decided to swim to Los Gatos beach from Playa La Madera, our local beach. It would be a 2.5 km swim for him and would be perfect for training. I decided to join him, meeting him at the west end of Playa La Ropa, wearing flippers and my mask and snorkel, and being quite positive I could manage a reduced distance. Things started off well, I saw a giant sea turtle slowly floating along on the rocks beneath me and marvelled in it's beauty. I remembered my friend Lillia telling me that seeing a tortuga is good luck. Little did I know how much I would need that.

It was a long swim for me and Eric had to wait for me a few times but we happily swam into Los Gatos beach and walked to our friend Franco's restaurant, Otillia's, with the plan arranged to meet Gene who was walking over accompanied by Cori. He was carrying our bag of shoes, money, cell phone, clothes etc. for a day at the beach. We waited, and we waited....and we knew something was wrong. It is a powerless feeling to be without communication and without a plan....so eventually Eric and I swam back to the East end of La Ropa, where we couldn't find Gene's car and we flagged down a taxi who was willing to take us in our wet swimsuits, without money back home. We used our administrators phone and found out that indeed, Gene had fallen and injured himself while walking along the rocky path to Los Gatos. He had managed to connect with our friend Roger (Rogelio) and being the good guy Roger is, he quickly responded and jumped onto the water taxi with our backpack and my phone to find us and rescue us....a white knight on his cruising bike here in our La ceiba/Casa Ceiba group of ex-pats. Gene had endured pain and suffering and had driven back to La Ropa to find us.....we were gone and back home.....a comedy of errors, but with a good enough ending that no one was dead, no one was in hospital, and the day could continue..

So at 6 p.m. we headed to the 3rd annual La Madera Posada. This event, which we all support both monetarily and in person, is the locals chance to put on a Xmas concert/food and drink event and sell handcrafts, meet local politicians and all in all have a grand time in the "hood". Calle Adelita is closed off to vehicles and the street turns into a grand party for everyone. We timed our arrival to coincide with 3 parrots on the top of a taxi cab! Our friends and neighbours in La Madera do know how to have fun and celebrate the season.

And as our son observed, we are living where the emphasis is on "life"...this place is just so alive be it animal (humans and otherwise) or vegetable...life in all it's pain, glory and beauty surrounds us! Vive Mexico and Vive Zihuatanejo!

The Little Town that Could

We live on Vancouver Island in the summers. A few years ago, the logging industry, fishing industry and mining industry all collapsed and many small towns were left with no employment options. The small mining/logging town of Chemainus reinvented itself as a tourist destination with walls of murals, tourist boutiques and a lively theatre scene. Zihuatanejo reminds me of Chemainus, the "little town that could".

Last year was devastating for this small Mexican town. We were in the midst of a global recession, a violent drug war fought at times locally - too close for many of our comfort levels and enough publicized by a US travel alert about the area; and finally, when things couldn't get worse, H1N1 occurred here first. Needless to say, much of the town suffered and many locals endured financial hardships as their livelihood is tied to our spending habits.

This year, something wonderful is happening here. The new mayor, El Presidente Alexandro Bravo has somehow secured funds to engage each community in a major rebuilding campaign. Everywhere we go signs are hung on lampstandards and bridges with the slogan "No detiene su marcha, vamos juntos" ....or "don't stop your progress, together let's go!". The list of projects that we have been most impressed by are:
1. Major repainting campaign of all the previously yellow/red painted infrastructure which was heavily damaged by graffiti.
2. El Centro is being beautified by a series of scultpures, terrazo tile overhangs and signage and new benches/plantings.
3. A special day "Dia del Migrante" to honor and thank all of us who move here, make purchases and contribute to the livelihood of the community. The evening ceremony was spectacular with our favorite Jimi Mamou as the closing act...Jimi has indeed contributed his talents to this town.
4. The first annual cross Zihuatanejo Bay swim (our daughter Amy, finished second in the female category and won 3,000 pesos).
5. A huge rock concert in the cancha....can't really describe the volume or the sound, but imagine your worst case scenario for ear drum damage and multiply that by 3.
6. A vibrant "Domingos Culturales" program where every Sunday night, locals and tourists meet in the town's basketball court/square La cancha to sample regional food and watch and hear international, national, regional and local arts groups perform.
7. Neighborhood Posadas (but you'll have to wait to read about our neighborhoods recent Saturday night street party!!).

All of these projects and events make me feel proud to call this little town home, and give me hope that somehow these good works will convince others like me to visit, spend some money and get to know and love this area as much as we do. Of course, there is a tiny little voice within that questions where this money is coming from....and the reality maybe that the drug cartels now control Zihua..and will fund it and keep us all safe as long as we don't get in their way. The municipal, state and federal police presence is larger than ever this year...and the fighting is gone! Gracias a dios!

Family es Muy Importante

In the last few weeks, our life has involved regular commutes, both picking up and dropping off travellers to our local airport. Having a car here has allowed us to offer assistance to the many people here who don't have vehicles, so we are always ready to assist folks who are arriving or leaving our little piece of paradise. I often combine the drop off with a beach walk with Cori on Playa Blanca, a pristine stretch of unspoiled sand where the fresh breezes and huge waves seem to cleanse the humid stillness of Zihua from my body and my mind.

Recently, we've been fortunate as our family, two daughters and their boyfriends and our son have all chosen to spend time here with us. We faithfully tracked their flights to ensure that the stormy weather at home had not delayed them, and we arrived early at the frigid air conditioned airport arrivals area catching glimpses through the waiting room glass of the pale and tired folks arriving. We chuckled at their long pants, sweaters and boots and watched their expressions as they step out into the heat on the outside of the building.

This last week has highlighted a phenomenon here where Mexicans make their annual pilgrimmage back home from the Estados Unidos to Mexico. These proud and successful immigrants come home to be with their families for the important holiday season. Well dressed, and equipped with the latest in electronic travel aids, they arrive with suitcases overflowing with presents and household items for the locals. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings many from small rural communities in this agricultural state of Guerrero, wait in the waiting room alongside us seeking the first glimpse of long separated family members, some arriving with new babies to proudly show off at this Christmas family time. We laugh as the idea of 'travelling light" is not a value here. The porters and taxi drivers, finally have the customers they have waited for while us frugal ex-pats arrive with our limited baggage, no gift rule and our own vehicle to drive back into town.

When we arrive in our little colonia, La Madera, we have our opportunity to proudly introduce our family to our friends and neighbours. Our Mexican neighbours greet them with such warmth and love we know they share our happiness that at last we are a true familia!!!

The Virgin of Guadalupe - a busy time in Zihua

For the past week the locals, with many of us as interested onlookers, have been partaking in the celebration of the religious holiday that culminated yesterday, December 12th. This is the anniversary of the day when the Virgen de Guadalupe made an appearance to a peasant near Mexico City. Ever since then, Mexico has been honoring this religious icon in favor of Jesus Christ who the remainder of the Roman Catholic world idolizes as the icon of it's faith. Some how this seems right in Zihuatanejo, named originally Zihuatlan, or place of women.

All year long, jewellery, tee shirts, pins, paintings, lacquer wear, plastic bags and statuettes are on display all with the characteristic sunrays radiating from around the image of the beautiful virgin. But it is in the first 2 weeks of December when the whole country seems gripped by all things related to the Virgen de Guadalupe. The image appears everywhere and on everything!

Each night, processions of faithful of all ages, grouped together by neighborhood, family or employer carried beautiful floral displays in honor of the Virgin. Chanting the same song with accompanying music, and carrying candles the processions all walk slowly through town to the church where the floral display is left.

We live only a block away from the church where the ultimate celebration occurs, so last evening, before supper, we all headed over to watch the event unfold. We are drawn by the song, the fireworks and the families, each with their children proudly dressed for the occasion in traditional peasant garb. Each little boy has a tiny mustache and sideburns proudly painted on and each little girl is the epitome of beauty with long braids and ribbons, earrings and necklaces of shiny beads.

The final hours of the celebration build to a crescendo when the giant firecracker laden pinwheels are lit and the city is shaken by one blast of fireworks after another.

This also coincides with the start of the busy season, it marks the final days before the hoped for onslaught of tourists from the north begin and it is as if the town is saying "Wake up...we're ready" bring on the season!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Xmas

At home in Canada, December used to feel like my busiest time ever. I was never an organized shopper, baker, decorator but I still felt the pressure to have my home, my gifts, my kids and my husband all ready for entertaining and participating in all the season has to offer. I hated missing anything and tried to build holiday traditions that would endure.

Moving to Mexico for the winter has greatly reduced that pressure. I now treat our Canadian Thanksgiving as our immediate family's Xmas and have had 2 years of everyone coming home for the "holidays". I have purchased small gifts to be opened in our absence by kids and their partners who cannot be with us on Xmas day. I don't decorate in Canada. I compose a Xmas email to friends and family...and smile and enjoy the peace that this place brings me.

That is not to say that there is no Xmas in Mexico. Here in Zihua, the Xmas season is building. We see the towers of merchandise in the Commercial Mexicana, our largest Costco affiliate grocery and retailer. We hear Xmas carols on the radio and see lights being strung everywhere. The giant green plastic Xmas tree is in the square and the Coca Cola tree is in the CM parking lot. Poinsettias (nochebuenas) are for sale everywhere, and we have put up our decorations carefully selected from the crafts available locally. So was it any wonder that we recently decided we needed to go shopping.

We wanted to show our friends Paul and Sue the wonders that are just inland from Zihua, so last Friday we headed to Patzcuaro and Quiroga. These 2 historic mountain cities are in Michoacan and together offer shoppers a selection of locally made merchandise not seen elsewhere at sometimes unbelievably good prices. Our friends Iris and Bob and Roger decided to join in and in Roger's 7 passenger van (we fondly refer to as the Shag wagon)...we drove for 3 1/2 hours to Patzcuaro. After enjoying our favorite lunch of Tarascan soup at El Patio, we headed out to the shops....and shop we did. Each of us found treasures of great charm ranging from lamps, to masks, to chairs. The next morning, we loaded in the van one more time and drove the 30 kms. to Quiroga,....my friends fondly called the "Winners" of Mexican handicrafts. Put it this way, in between mountains of junk, great treasures can be found. It was my kind of shopping - no malls, no Chinese imports, no hordes of other shoppers and no Xmas grinches to spoil the spirit.

We even treated ourselves to street food in Patzcuaro - accompanied by the local Mexican musical troop and happy customers who know the value of good, honest food and fun.
We are doing our very best to help the Mexican economy...we shopped till we dropped and came back to our little piece of tropical paradise a happy lot - fondly carrying our Xmas presents to ourselves.