Happy Birthday to Me and....a happy end to 2010 for one and all

It's already Friday  December 31st and I woke up today thinking 2 thoughts...I can't believe I'm 59,....and I've been neglecting to write about life here. 

First of all, having a birthday immediately following Xmas and on New Year's Eve is a double-edged sword.  When I was a child, I used to finish unwrapping my Xmas presents and then look to Alex, my twin brother, and say...."don't worry -  we have our birthday presents still."  Nowadays, presents aren't a concern, but celebrating occasions with family and friends and enjoying new experiences are what makes my life meaningful.  So today,...I'm up early to get ready for Gene's planned snorkelling trip to the best coral reef around here on our friends boat...a nice gift from Mike and Dee,  and tonight (after a siesta) we are off to Casa Bahia to dance away the night with Jimi Mamou and to watch the fabulous fireworks that happen around Zihua Bay each "Fin del Ano".  I hope Cori will cope with being home alone while we party away.  

So this morning I got up to read my horoscope and feel inspired.... Your dreams cannot be contained by traditional rituals or rational thinking now. You have a free ticket to ride your magic carpet as the Moon visits your 12th House of Spirituality. Make a serious commitment to honor your ambitions and turn them into positive intentions. This kind of resolution can add meaning to your holiday festivities, while enabling you to also keep yourself on solid ground.

Here's some photos of our Xmas day....a Mexican version of a fireplace with stockings at our friends beautiful Casa...Cori under the Xmas Tree with our new original art painted by our neighbour Lily and my Xmas Turkey's....bobble headed "earthquake alarms"  that caught my eye down Calle Adelita.

 

We've been having fun this holiday season.  My friend Caroline and her partner Dalj have been staying at our apartment and they are the kind of people who make our winter here so special.  They are experienced travellers who can see the beauty in everything and are open to the new experiences of a trip to Mexico.  We have been going to a lot of yoga and have had some incredible classes, including a special class taught on Boxing Day by Sara Ivanhoe "one of the 25 Totems of Yoga" according to Paty's flyer.  She was wonderful, and has given me inspiration to keep active in my practise.  

Oh, and if I needed any more motivation to stay active and healthy,  we've been living with our triathlete son Eric for the past 2 1/2 weeks.  He uses his time here to do a major training camp for another season of triathlons ahead.  Each day we've supported, watched, or simply sat by and waited while he's swam, biked and run his routes around every bay, beach and trail in our area.  He is an inspiration for us to set goals for ano nuevo! 

Oh, and the town has come alive.  In my last blog I wrote that we were worried about the lack of tourists...would they come?  The tourists started to arrive on Dec. 24th and the arrival has been building to a state of high density tourism since.  La Ropa, La Madera and Ixtapa beaches are packed with Mexicans who make the most of every moment on the beach...every family is a multigenerational grouping and every day is lived to the fullest.  We are hoping that the businesses will benefit from this much needed injection of tourism and that this marks the start of a 'good year" here for our friends and neighbours .   The town continues to build while the party is happening as you can see in my photos of Sunday night in the Zocalo...we are awaiting the waterpark that seems to be emerging, complete with carved animals and jungle scenes .....what's next in our Disneyland of Mexico??

 Que tenga un prospero ano nuevo a todos! 

Celebrating Xmas Zihuatanejo Style - or if we build it...will they come?

This year, we've been fortunate that 2 of our 3 children were able to come for a visit in December.  Kristen and a workplace amiga squeezed into the one week we have a vacancy in our rental apartment and Eric, who is in another year of training for Ironman Canada arrived together on December 14th. 


Yesterday we said a rushed but teary goodbye to Kristen who was enroute to PV to visit friends in Sayulita before flying back to Vancouver on Xmas Day....best prices ever!  Eric is staying on with us in our guest room until January 4th and using this as a training camp focusing on improving running and swimming, but still managing to squeeze in a few bike rides like along the beachside dirt road between Playa Larga and Barra de Potosi yesterday...

We are now the proud owners of the perfect ex-pats Xmas gift...a new Kindle.  Thanks kids for thinking of us and how we arent' going to be techno-dinosaurs now that we are retired and living here in bookless Mexico.  Seriously, the access to English literature once we have read the books we arrive with is limited to discarded and often grungy trade paperbacks which I refuse to waste my time reading....now reading Facebook...that's never a waste of time!

So, we've been getting ready for Xmas, which mainly means food stock ups, planning exotic desserts like Vodka-chocolate chiles and baking Polvorones, the delightfully tissue paper wrapped Xmas cookies that I plan to give to friends this year.  We've been to one beautiful holiday party and have plans for Xmas Eve listening to Jimi Mamou playing at La Ceiba and Xmas Day with friends, old and new, feeling blessed to be spending another holiday season in the warm air in good health and without the stresses of Xmas at home.  A long beachside walk and some swims before Xmas dinner seems just a little too good to be true.  We miss our family and friends but we realize these are the years that we can do this, because perhaps if the stars align, someday we may have grandchildren who we could not imagine not being with at Xmas....many of our friends are at that stage, and we have heard that sentiment often. 

We've also been choosing tasteful and appropriate gifts for the numerous Mexican children and adults who are part of our life here.  There is little we need, so it's fun to think of others who aren't able to buy for themselves.  Our Nino's Adelante student, Doraliz grew taller this year, and when we noticed that she wasn't wearing the swimsuit we had purchased for her last year, but her younger sister seemed to fit it nicely, we offered to take her shopping...well, not to be left out, her 2 sisters giggled with glee when they also said they didn't fit their suits, so a shopping trip for 3 was in order.  Gringos get preferential treatment in the local department store Coppel which is Mexico's Sears.  I was escorted to the front of the line to pay cash for my purchase,...unlike the locals who are stuck in long lines to arrange credit. 

But this Xmas we are experiencing a creeping realization that the tourists who normally flock here each Xmas may not be coming..... Zihuatanejo is a major Xmas destination for Mexicans and Gringos, but this year the cafes, streets, beaches, stores are quiet  Oh, there are a few new faces in our condo. complex - lucky ones who ask us " do you really live here?"....but the shopkeepers, restaurauters and vendors look anxious when we walk by.  And this is in the midst of the biggest infrastructure rebuilding that we can imagine here.  The Zocalo, the beachside square/basketball court where we have spent many Sunday nights with the locals has been under reconstruction since October.  The new palm trees and plants are alight at night but the workmen are putting in 20 hour days attempting to finish the square before Navidad, working by full moonlight these days. 

The streets of El Centro and La Boquita have been repaved with center dividers planted with palm trees and grass and the shop fronts have all been given the same tile/wood facade with uniform name signs hanging out front.  The town is being rebuilt....but if no one comes, can it survive?  

I hate that people are afraid to come here but I know that little of what I say can change the perception of Mexico that CNN/Fox/ABC has focused on and the distrust of Mexican officials is sadly founded in reality..  But all I can say is that we are so happy to be here living our life with kind and good people who care that we have a safe and happy holiday season in their country, their state and their town.  We are the guests in a warm and colorful place where music, laughter and families will hopefully fill our town for the next 2 weeks and the people here in Zihua will get the rewards for the hardwork they have endured and done this year.   Feliz Navidad a todos!!

The Mexico we will never understand and how lucky we are to live in Zihua

We have a favorite trip that we take at least annually.  With friends visiting who wanted a reprieve from the hot, humid but relaxed days here in Zihua, the 4 of us eagerly began our journey to Patzcuaro Michoacan, one of Mexico's "Pueblo Magicos", a small colonial city at approx. 2000m elevation in the heart of the artesans pueblos and a shopping destination for those of us who love the art of Mexico. 

Normally this trip takes approximately 3 1/2 hours on a toll road that is a safe and scenic route that links the beautiful inland city of Morelia with the coast.  We were surprised when at the second of the 5 toll booths that cars normally proceed through after paying the appropriate peso amount, cones were laid out blocking our passage. 


A friendly and kind taxi driver wound his way over to us, probably sensing our confusion, and explained in his best "Ingles"  that there had been a problem with gasoline, bullets and that the road was closed because it was not safe due to the drug wars.  We were then directed to park off to the side in one of the well laid out rest areas with banos and food vendors.  Luckily, we had packed some drinks and together with Cori, we waited patiently in the shade and watched all of the other travellers, truck drivers, tourists and buses watching for a clue about what to do next.

We soon began to see the traffic begin to move through the tollbooth, so we jumped back in and were instructed by an official to proceed with caution and a quickly explained direction was given.  Tentatively we started out and soon realized we were the only vehicle proceeding onward...this couldn't be right.   Directly ahead, blocking the road was an ambulance, with a couple of vehicles behind it.  We had just passed an exit, so we did a quick u-turn and headed off on the side road which pointed to Ario de Rosales.  This was likely the directions we were given, so with mounting confidence we began a lovely drive through the countryside, climbing higher and higher into the pine forests and poinsettias growing wild along the roadside. 


In the town of Ario de Rosales, we witnessed one of the many displays of force the drug cartel "La Familia" had chosen to use as a message to the federales that day.  A not yet opened Pemex station was smoldering, with the truck which had been used to ram the gates sitting along the roadside, guarded by Federales in full combat gear.  At the next major intersection, we were directed by police to proceed with caution towards Parzcuaro.  We passed over a smoldering tarred road with a fully burned out delivery truck sitting on one side, the fire having spread across both sides of the road.   With these images in our minds, we were very grateful to arrive safely 6 1/2 hours later in our dog-friendly B&B Casa Encantada in Patzcuaro. 

Going to Patzcuaro for me is now like returning to a familiar place one where we have a favorite restaurant, a favorite furniture shop, and most of all some favorite vistas. 

The town is a photographers dream.  However, we had planned to add Quiroga and Tsintsuntsan to our 2 days of shopping and both places provided just the treasures we were all looking for.  Most of my shopping for our 2 apartments is done, but when we found ourselves in Capula the home of clay artists....


Gene and I couldn't pass up a treasure, my new Catrina found on the shelves of the mercado de artesanias of this small village close to Morelia. 

So on Saturday, after checking with our hotel staff and being assured the road was safe, we began our trip home.  We soon realized things weren't normal when we began passing the tollbooths and all were open with no staff collecting the fees.  Traffic was light and we watched truckloads of army personnel travelling back in the direction we were leaving.  We were enjoying the quiet roads but knew we were approaching the intersection for Apatzingan, the home of the druglord "the most crazy one" who was reportedly killed 2 days prior to this.  Sr. Moreno, a modern day Robin Hood with an AK47 had become a bit of a folk hero to the locals and since his death increasingly numbers of locals had expressed anger at the military for making this war in their state.  Todays article in the LA times explains more. 

We faced a shocking sight, no less than 8 large trucks, and other no longer recognizable vehicles lay burned out across the highway, still smoldering.  A civilian waved us down and Gene wisely exited across the highway and re-entered on the other side of the smoldering wreckage.  Our hearts hung heavy thinking of the people who may have been killed or at the very least totally traumatized by their vehicles being commandered for a show of force in retaliation for the druglords killing.  We silently proceeded with our eyes and ears vigilant for any signs of danger, and when an 18 wheeler did a slow pull out across the highway ahead of us, Gene later said he was planning one of the moves seen in a James Bond movie, in case the tanker was firebombed directly ahead of us.  But Gracias a Dios, we drove by and were soon back in our little resort which a friend later told me is the "disneyland" of Mexico...an oasis of peace where perhaps one of our states drug cartels and our local police have learned to live in harmony. 


And we arrived just in time to see the final festivities of the Virgen of Guadalupe one more time...the religious equivalent to a Calgary Stampede, the Saanich Fair and the Santa Claus parade all rolled into one...hard to believe that only hours before all of this peace and beauty seemed to have ceased to exist here.  

Mexico is a country with many layers and as an outsider, I will never understand how the peaceful, gentle people we see everyday can at the same time be subjected to the corruption and violence that lies beneath the surface, just inland from our safe home.   Perhaps what we witnessed this weekend  is the legacy resulting from the years of fighting that occured in gaining this country's independence and todays drug lord folk heroes are not much different than the heroes of the revolutions of the past.  So many questions and so few answers! 

But I can't let the thoughts of what we've witnessed preoccupy my mind,  I've got enough to worry about to try to get a Xmas together and entertain 2 of our 3 children who arrive today!  Vamonos!!

Saving Fish from Drowning and there are no "bad days" in Zihuatanejo

We've been busy the last week with playing "tourist in our own town".  We are happy to be showing our longtime friends Daryl and John around.  They`ve joined our other Canadian friends Sue and Paul and we are relishing having 4 of our friends here to play with.  We've been to beaches, shops, restaurants, and wildlife refuges where the sights, sounds, smells, music, colors and people have provided the much needed contrast to grey (or even white) cold, empty streets back in Canada.  John has summed it up with "there's life everywhere"...every home, every store, every car, every cafe is a virtual feast for the senses as our little town goes about the business of life in the tropics while preparing for Xmas.  The sharp contrast with our lives back in Canada can be overwhelming but to our friends it has provided for some wonderful experiences and memories.

So yesterday, we arranged a deep sea fishing trip with John, a keen fisherman, and Daryl on our friends Mike and Dee's boat,  The Huntress.  We met Mike and Dee when we first moved here 5 years ago and we`ve always felt good about our choice of their boat and their committment to `catch and release` in order to sustain the stocks in our ocean.  Captain Francisco is the friendly, smiling Mexican professional boathandler, fisherman who makes the experience so wonderful. 

This is our fourth time on the boat and I was a bit concerned that the day might be too long, too uncomfortable or even a bit boring if the fish weren't out there...cause as everyone who goes fishing knows, you can't always count on them biting just because you throw out a hook....or in this case, 6 of them with a huge variety of bait, lures, depths and equipment to attract the variety of gorgeous fish that live in the warm, blue depths offshore. 

But the fishing gods were with us and immediately we caught a beautiful Dorado, then 2 sailfish and the final strike was the largest fish of the day...Francisco told us it was a Marlin by the way that the fish wiggled back and forth at the end of the line 50 feet or so behind our boat, but on further examanation and after seeing it's amazing beautiful top fin that opened into a full fan 5-6 feet in length, we were told it was a very large and very old sailfish (Pez Vela). 

John had to use all of his strength to reel the magnificent fish close to the boat and we all waited hoping Francisco could successfully get the large hook out of the fish's gut in order to release it back into the ocean.  This wasn't easy and the fish seemed to be likely to not survive.   But after what amounted to fish CPR, a combination of holding it`s bill and speeding the boat up so it was forced to `swim`and Francisco gently moving it`s head in a swimming motion back and forth across the wake at the side of the boat, he picked the moment to release the fish, who sat with it`s fin sticking straight up in the air and then quickly emerged into the `blue water`with a look of thanks in it`s wise old eyes....saved from drowning and left to live as all things so beautiful should be. 

Gracias a dios for people like Francisco and all of the other people who seem to live in harmony with nature that is around us here in our beautiful home by the sea.  

  

But we are soon to take a little holiday from our holiday and head into the mountains to give Daryl and John a taste of Michoacan and our favorite shopping destinations of Patzcuaro and Quiroga and the chill of high altitude in Mexico.  Que vaya bien...may we travel safely and well!

One of the reasons Canadians move to Mexico - or I can't believe the price!!!

I mentioned I was going to write about being thankful for our car, but in fact , the car was just the prompt to a realization about the cost of life here in Zihuatanejo vs. Victoria.   It's timely as the month we left Victoria in October, Boulevard magazine featured an article about "Living in Mexico"...a trend we see as being more and more a realistic future for retiring baby-boomers. 

The year we drove here in our 1996 Ford Explorer, we had 2 rock chips on the windshield within the last 100 kms. of arriving, both along the poorly maintained strip of Hwy. 200, just north of here.  Over the last 2 years, the chips became cracks that by this year had extended across the windshield at different levels leaving us with a car that looked more and more like a "Mexi-mobil" every day.  The problem, (in Gene's mind) was how could we repair the windshield and retain the very important official sticker that allows the imported vehicle to be kept here legally year around. 

Gene visited the customs officials, who suggested the police would have to give him a letter to take to an auto repair place and then we would have to drive to Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan to receive offical approval again....this is not easily done and would have been very difficult.  So...Gene went to an "autocristales" repair shop, where the owner said "no problemo" and 1800 pesos (approx. $160 Canadian) later, the car returned with the necessary sticker magically remounted on a perfect new windshield. 

On the heels of that good luck, Gene decided to get our car airconditioner repaired and the full cost of cleaning, rebuilding and recharging that unit was 800 pesos, or approx. $70 Canadian.  Now feeling really lucky, we followed up at the carwash, where we regularly get full interior and exterior cleaning for 50 pesos, asking for carpet shampooing to clean out the final residue of a summer left here....the full cost of a complete auto detailing was 150 pesos, or approx. $12 Canadian...Que bueno!  and for this our car is now a thing of beauty again and we hope we have added to the good karma we have had driving here in Mexico. 

So this morning, we awoke to the slight sound of water dripping and within a few feet of our bed, a swimming pool of water had grown during the night....horror of horrors, we assumed leaky toilet, but to our great relief, it was only the water pipes under the bathroom sink.  Now this is not good as all of my bathroom supplies and clean towels are stored there. and if this was Canada, we could anticipate several hours to days of waiting for the plumber to arrive.  But not in Mexico.  We found the construction manager of the property who within 5 minutes had the plumber in with his head under our sink repairing the leaky pipes. 




Oh, and did I mention that at the same time my carpenter was mounting my new curtain rod and tie- back....the total cost of this will be less than $20 Canadian.   My neighbours daughterinlaw was my seamstress for the $5/meter material, custom sewn for $12 ....all done with smiles, promptly, efficiently and with gratitude for their jobs which in Mexico means a lot to themselves and their families.  This attitude of gratitude  is so missing at home and is so great to encounter here. 


Today is November 30th, I know at home in Canada, this is the day when panic hits when I would realize how much I had left to do and so few days to do it.  Here, in the market and the Commercial Mexicana...it's beginning to look a lot like Xmas..... and without the guidelines of a workplace safety board, the elfs are climbing high into the treetops to display the Xmas goods being stockpiled in anticipation of the shopping spree that is soon to begin...

Thanksgiving Mexican Style - and a week of gratitude for all that is good

Yesterday was Thanksgiving for all of our American friends and family.  Normally, we wouldn't feel the need to celebrate again after all, it's really hard to imagine a full turkey dinner here,. However, when we found out Jimi Mamou was playing at the old Rick's Bar now called "Rafa's" and with our Victoria friends Sue and Paul wanting to join us, we headed off to experience a Thanksgiving dinner in Zihuatanejo. 

We entered to the familiar sound of Jimi at his keyboard, with some Ray Charles tunes that immediately put Gene into his full-on dancing mode...and dance and party we did.  It was 4 hours of the most fun Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had, turkey, all the trimmings and Judy's yummy chocolate fudge for dessert.  Not to mention, I wasn't responsible for any of the food or clean-up, and for that I am truly thankful!  

But this week has again reminded us of why we are so thankful to be here for our 3rd winter.  In September, we were worried, it almost wasn't going to happen as Gene was told he needed an operation on his thigh due to the fall he had here last winter...but after a lot of internet and soul searching, we decided to forego the surgery and head south as planned...and so far, this decision seems to be the right one.  We know that our family and friends back in Canada have been suffering through the worst weather in November . We are thankful that we are missing that onslaught of cold, and hope that everyone back home is safe and warm until the blast from the Arctic moves on.   

Gene and I are enjoying the opportunity to be outside, in the sun, and with the warm ocean breezes on our skin at any time of the day or night.  we are thankful that we have the health and the energy to enjoy this paradise.  Each year I regularly walk the 16 km. beach between Playa Larga and Barra de Potosi...and each time I do, I feel the magic of being in that open ocean air and feeling at one with the beauty and tranquility of the tropics.  Thanks Sue for joining me and that cerveza at the end....that is the best cerveza of the year!

We are thankful that there are people here who are making "paradise" even better. 

One of them is the founder of El Refugio de Potosi.  We have been to the beautiful wildlife refuge and eco-center near La Barra de Potosi several times, but each time there is something new to capture our minds and hearts...this time it came in the form of a golden baby porcupine named Lala.  She was one of the cutest creatures I've ever seen, and seems to be adjusting to life as a star in the foyer of the wildlife refuge. 

I could go on and on, but I think I'll save a blog about being thankful for our car for another time,...and just end this now, before I head off to yoga at Paty's (thank you for yoga on the waterfront in a fabulous environment with wonderful teachers).....namaste!

My neighbour, a modern Mexican woman - and a "show of guns"

One of the first persons whom I met when we moved into our neighborhood was Lily.  Lily and her family live across the street from our apartment and she owns a beauty shop "Liliana's" that is located on the mainfloor of her 3 storey house.  Her husband and one daughter are lawyers, one son is a refrigeration technician and I'm not sure what the other son does...but their lives are intricately entwined and on a day to day basis, they make sure that each of them, together with their spouses, sees, hugs, talks with and eats delicious food together.  Her 5 grandchildren are there each day after school.  

Lily is an esthetician who does hair and manicures/pedicures and a visit to her shop is an adventure in Mexican life.  On my first visit, she and I practised each others'  languages, each time she heard a new word, she wrote it and we practised the spelling and pronunciation.  I learned that she sewed, so she made my first curtains and tablecloths.  Over the years, our relationship has grown...she found Cori, my little Mexican dog who was abandoned...she nursed him back to health and then gave him to me, when she saw my sadness after Robbie died. 

Her shop has expanded, she sells her clothing and each visit is often interrupted by someone wanting to purchase something she has made. She is also a very talented artist, part of a local collective called Arte Nativo and I will soon be the proud owner of 2 of her most recent works, but shhhh...as they are regalos for anniversarios y navidad!   Her house has been under construction for the last 3  years.  She tells me that she is adding  4 apartments so her family can live with her and she may also rent out one or two in the future...she has a fulltime carpenter employed as well as a full time housekeeper, cook so she can pursue her artistic pasttimes.  They come to get direction from her while she works, neighbours pop by, local vendors come in to sell home made tamales, or local herbs...she stops and smiles and chats with each.  She takes "multi-tasking" to a whole new level. 

Today, she stopped briefly to say Hola this morning on her way back from her morning walk with her 3 perros...she is a busy woman with a life full of love and beauty!  Que buena mujere! 

 And Gene and I continued into town to see the morning parade for the 100th anniversary of the revolution...I think every school child in Zihuatanejo was in the parade.  Each school was on display with their students either smartly dressed in the schools gymastic uniform doing intricate pyramids for the judging stand or dressed in traditional revolutionary costumes and showing what makes Mexico famous world-wide today....GUNS!  And if you look closely, you will see the Mexican army on guard with their AK 47's in the background. 

Dia de la Revolucion...or how I got fired up this holiday weekend.

This is the 2nd day of a 3 day holiday in Mexico.  For Zihuatanejo, that means that many people from the already frosty inland cities come out to the coast to enjoy the sun, sand and ocean.  The buses line the streets, the Mexicans arrive in coats, carrying most of the food that they will need to enjoy a full day at the beach.  They get in the water just shortly after sunrise and they leave the beach after a long and happy day - it is fun to watch and always reinforces the great value that Mexicans place on family and leisure time.  


So, we decided to go with the flow and take a small lancha to one of our favorite destinations...Los Gatos beach.  A little tropical paradise with one of the best coral reefs for snorkelling in our area.  I had thought the day would be a "lucky day", as on my morning walk with our dog, Cori, an excited crowd stood by on guard watching a huge tortuga work her way back laboriously from her night time journey to high, dry sand to lay her eggs.  I watched in awe as the first waved lapped against her shell and she easily slid off into the waves, with her head popping up twice as she effortlessly glided back to safety in the ocean...aaah, what beauty!  So, a couple of hours later, while snorkeling the coral reef at Los Gatos, feelings of anger and outrage overtook me as we floated over plastic bags caught on the coral, and watched them floating freely just above the reef.   I know that Mexico is slowly developing a culture of environmental awareness, garbage cans and signs remind us at every corner to "not throw out garbage"....but this was terrible, and with outrage I wrote a note on our local website 's message board asking for help to clean up the reef.  So far, I've been promised that the local dive clubs do indeed do this and a major cleanup is scheduled for January, but I am saying the time is now...let's go, let's do it.  


I've also decided that as owners in the original complex we purchased we have a right to expect certain standards for maintenance, and when we don't see the results we need, we do not need to sit back and wait for someone else to do the job...we can do it ourselves.  


So today, Gene met Roger over at the pool, they donned their masks and snorkels and cleaned our pool to a standard that is acceptable to our fussy gringo tastes.  These small revolutionary acts make me feel more powerful....we don't have to sit back and feel like victims, we can and will do what we can to make sure paradise isn't lost for us here.  Like the dog in the window, we can be on guard for what we know is right and make it happen!












Oh, and just when I thought that I was going from bad to worse,....I happened upon the prettiest refrigerator I've ever seen. Who could imagine a nicer to look at kitchen appliance...way to go Maralyn - a woman with taste.   Another revolutionary.....in kitchen design!  Viva la revolucion!  

Boys and their toys.....and the colors that make me happy

So we've been working hard to finish our painting project on our one bedroom rental apartment, and we're almost there.  I love the colors of Mexico - they make me happy.  I wish they were colors that I could use at home in Canada but people would object, they aren't considered "liveable" and are far from the neutral that is so recommended in order to decorate and safely re-sell your home...but I don't care. 

Here my eyes which seem to never have enough light at home see the sunshine and the brightness and we decided to paint with the colors we love...they are the colors of the flowers, the ocean and the wildlife...hence we've used paints named "Gardenia, Jamaica Bay and Parakeet"....and I feel happy to be finishing.  Gene has done a great job...I'm sure our Mexican friends and staff wonder why we choose to do it ourselves when labor is so reasonable...well, they just don't know Gene, the original do-it-yourselfer and the fact is, I think he kind of liked the whole project. 

Meanwhile we have taken some time to play at the local beaches....I love walking by the big Intrawest resort on my way to Yoga classes at La Ropa...and seeing Canada on display.  By the way, that Carnival Cruise ship made it safely in and out of Zihua and is not the one that has customers stranded....but cruise ships and the type of clientele that emerge from them is a whole other blog someday.

And a day at Playa Larga made me smile...boys and their toys...Cori and the Mexicans playing with balls, big small and anything in between if it moves and is round, there is always a game to be played.