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!