If you host a "party" - they will come and how I plan to wear red underwear and eat 12 grapes tomorrow

 

For 4 weeks each year, this normally sleepy little fishing village, Zihuatanejo,  hosts a party...it's a party where the national tourists, those residents of inland cities, big and small all head to the coast to frolic and play in the ocean and the sand.  We are nearing the end of the 2 week Navidad vacation and this year, I think the tourist numbers have surpassed last year.  Within the 4 walls of our condominium, albeit in the heart of Zihuatanejo, it's easy to not grasp the full impact of the vacationers on our little town...but one stroll through our carlined streets and down to the waterfront reveals the masses who have joined the pelicans to swim on our main Playa principal...

The next busy period will be Semana Santa and the same thing happens again...but that's the end of my winter here and I dont' want to think that far ahead yet. 

  

So for now we've been focusing on our own little Xmas celebration with Eric, including his preparing me a taste sample of "goose neck barnacles -  a delicacy in Europe selling for 200 Euros/kilo and for 100 pesos/kilo here,  and looking ahead to our week with Kristen and Kyle...but first came my 60th birthday!! 

I've always been a bit conflicted about my birthday...but this past year I've enjoyed the 60th  birthday parties of many of my friends, so this month,  Gene and I decided that we'd plan a small party for me.  As many of you know, I am a big fan of a local guitarist, singer, songwriter who goes by the name of Juanito Zihua.   He has a huge personality and I would like to think that behind that personality and very attractive exterior is also a huge heart.  He makes me feel good and feeling good is all I really wanted for my birthday.  I don't need things, I crave feelings and experiences so when Gene stood up at Pozole at Santa Prisca a couple of weeks ago and asked Juanito to step outside I knew something was up.  I'm glad this wasn't a surprise as I'm bad at surprises and I honestly wanted to host a nice party...so my job was the appetizers, table decorations and the menu and beverage choices for an evening of song at our place followed by a dinner out with friends at Coconuts Restaurant...a longstanding favorite that is attractive, intimate and within an easy walk of our almost downtown location. 

I had fun, I danced and embarassed myself by singing with Juanito...but you know that at 60 you need to do whatever you have the opportunity to do...I guess he may never ask my again, but I did it!!!  I felt good and I felt young, and what more can one ask for at 60!!  Gracias a Dios for this year of my life and for allowing me to spend my birthdays in a virtual paradise...Oh, it's not perfect- I miss my other friends who aren't here and my family, but it's a place where we can be outside, in a tropical garden, with a star filled sky overhead and dance and laugh like we didn't have a care in the world! 

So tomorrow is the last day of 2011, and my birthday.  I want to spend it doing a couple of my favorite things.  I will start the day at yoga.   Yoga has become my "roots"...it's where I go when I need to feel grounded, cultivate my inner smile and acknowledge the value my health has for my life.  Today our teacher was the beautiful Angelica from Zirahuen.  She gave us a class on "Opening the Heart"....I loved it and I want to be that person with an open heart, and a flexible spine to go with it.  Having an attitude of gratitude and energy to live well are my goals for 2012...there, I've said them, now I must live them!! 

Tomorrow, for my birthday, we are going to walk the beach from Barra de Potosi to Playa Larga - a perfect, pristine 10 mile arc of white sand where whales regularly skim through the waves and seabirds dive into the surf, it's about as close to heaven as I can imagine.  Eric plans to do part of his daily workout running while I walk.  Gene will fish and drive to a favorite small restaurant we've discovered enroute called "chula vida"...the sweet life! 

And if I can stay up to midnite, I'm going to wear my "red panties" and carefully make a wish on each of the 12 grapes we will eat as the church bell in Plaza Kyoto tolls to midnite....starting one more year with one of the Mexican traditions that I love. 

The Christmas that never feels quite "right" and giving a "gift"

So for the 4th year since we moved into Casa Ceiba we've celebrated Xmas here.  Lucky for us our son Eric is staying here with us for the holidays, or what he refers to as his "kick off training camp".  We were happy to know that our daughters, Kristen and Amy were each with their partners at their family homes in Canada.  Imagining snowy farm fields in Ontario, and beach strolls on Vancouver Island - I hoped that each had the kind of Xmas that will give their hearts the little "thrill" that Xmases gave me in the past. 

Canada is a country that needs Xmas.  Just when the days are the darkest and dreariest, and the weather is beginning to show what's ahead, the country is transformed into the Xmas's of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Bing Crosby's White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street.   I grew up with every Xmas being a "white Christmas" and tried to pass along the traditions of home decorating, Xmas baking and entertaining to my kids as our Oak Bay home was the base for many happy Christmases.   The happy faces of children who "believed" made the day special for many years.

Xmas's here in Mexico never feel quite "right" .  No matter that Mexicans make a big deal of Xmas.  There are lights everywhere and it's apparent that a lot of purchasing, gift giving and visitors arrive here in the days leading up to Xmas.   Specialty foods are prepared, friends and families have parties together and homes are decorated.  But - it's not the same and as usual I had the feeling that it just wasn't Xmas.  We had already enjoyed our Xmas dinner, a frozen turkey from Chile (Amy commented hopefully that Chileans might let their turkeys run free) and the usual trimmings on Dec. 21st just prior to Amy and Pat's departure.  We had celebrated Hannukah, had a penthouse dinner party and spent a quiet Xmas Eve at home, with a delicioius steak and prawn dinner and the most entertainingly complicated movie "Prestige"...so complex that Eric had to explain the rather shocking end and the "trick" to me. 

So yesterday, Xmas Day,  Eric and I decided to go for an early swim at La Ropa beach, and Gene headed off to his bike path in Ixtapa.  Then after a late morning Xmas brunch, we headed to Troncones to meet up with our good friends Iris and Bob to listen to Jimi Mamou play music at Hacienda Eden, a little jewel of a hotel, restaurant on Manzanillo Bay.   Eric and I chose to walk the scenic beach route with Cori who is a huge fan of chasing every sea bird along the way.  

 At Hacienda Eden, we had planned to eat a light early meal as luckily we had already had the full on Xmas dinner.   Mexican restaurants are not known for producing quality food on specialty days and they met our expectations for poor food and poor service by their young staff of smiling, friendly waiters who were completely overwhelmed by the number of persons arriving for Xmas dinner...we were glad we could leave in time to drive the narrow and poorly marked stretch of highway 200 back home before it was fully dark. 

So how did I get my "Xmas on" here?   I thought back to the number of times I have donated to Xmas charities back in Canada.  It was easy, you could donate on line, through workplace hamper drives, school programs or the local food bank....the recipients were usually chosen by a committee or by agencies who held their names anonymously....it made the whole practice of giving to the needy practical, efficient and above all, it means you can do it without ever having to identify yourself or the recipient.  I always felt good about doing something for the many unfortunate who haven't been as lucky in life as I have been.  I want to acknowledge here, that I've always considered giving to others as sort of an "insurance policy".  I thought that by helping others I was, if you will, gaining points to ensure that me and my loved ones would continue to fair well in life.  I know life doesn't work that way, but hey, it's kind of like prayer, you do it when you need to and you do it with a sense of hope that it will work.  

Here in Zihuatanejo, you don't have to look far to see who the people are who are in need of a gift.   So this year we chose to focus on our "family" and  " our neighbours" .   Doraliz and her 2 sisters came for lunch on Xmas Eve.  It was so much fun to take them shopping and watch their faces light up chosing a pinata for their home.  

Our neighbours here in Colonia Madera have been greatly affected by the construction project on Calle Adelita this year. 

So when we heard that "Dona Isabel" the owner of Casa Isabel, a modest guest house and morning juice bar, had fallen and broken her ankle, and at the same time was unable to earn any income due to the road being impassable...well I went with my gut instinct that she was a person in need.  Some of my friends cautioned me that a gift that included money might be an insult, but I thought of how far a local could make a bit of money go and I chose to tuck some away in a carefully written Xmas greeting card.  I took a big risk as I don't know if giving money to a neighbour will be accepted in the spirit it was given, will it insult her, will it create an ongoing expectation???   I will find out in the days ahead as I pick my way through the road construction hoping to catch a glimpse of one of my favorite people, a Mexican senior who unlike residents of other countries, receives no government income or subsidy for the loss of income that the road project has created.  I hope I didn't offend her. 

A month of family and friends and it's Navidena in Mexico

This is the week of the Posadas...the week between Virgen de Guadalupe and Xmas Eve.  The tradition involves families and friends visiting and eating and drinking the special foods of the holiday season.  This is also the week that we are fortunate to have 2 of our 3 adult children here.    

I know that we are eating and drinking well as I am the cook, meal planner, market shopper and my days are full!   I now get why every middle class Mexican senora that I know has at least one, if not two, household staff...this cooking and eating well is a full time job.  Shopping market style is a fun experience and although we definitely have our favorites, the crowds on the streets and the heat make shopping for the best selection of produce an onerous task.  Each store has one item that is clearly superior so with any luck, I only need to visit  5 or 6 shops to fill my fruit and vegetable basket for the day.

Amy and her partner Patrick arrived on Dec. 11th and have been wonderful and adventurous guests who have an incredible amount of energy to explore and enjoy all that our area has to offer.   We did a whirlwind one day trip to the colonial city of Patzcuaro which provides a diverse experience for Mexico away from the beach side towns. 

Amy spent yesterday morning competing in the local swim competition and like last year was the second female across the line and third swimmer overall.  She could've gone faster but was a bit freaked out on the course when dolphins swam across the course route and she wasn't sure what the big fish swimming just beneath her really were...for the spectators on the shore it was magical, but for the swimmers a bit like being in a remake of Jaws. 

Eric, doing an entirely un-Eric like thing, had the awful experience of sleeping in past his 3:00 a.m. alarm and missed his scheduled 6 a.m. departure flight from Vancouver to LA.  One day later, having endured the pain of a $400 extra charge he arrived after the  red-eye LA to Mexico and Zihua connector. 

Eric hasn't been exercising at all since he finished Kona so this 3 weeks spent in warm weather is his "season kick-off" to his triathlon training yet again.   So while we walk the beaches, fish and enjoy the food at small beachside cafe's,  Eric plans his training to meet up with us in varied locations.  Today Eric swam the bay in the morning, biked for 2 plus hours from Zihuatanejo to Barra de Potosi and back to meet us at Playa Larga and then ended his day with a run on Playa La Ropa...

My friends at home will appreciate this (I've been known to have bad luck with kitchen appliances and have extended warranties on everything)....our fridge is acting up.  So my turkey and other frozen foods are in the neighbours fridges, we are shopping day at a time, and we are hoping against all odds that someone who is working tomorrow (monday) can repair it in time to meet the needs of my highly food demanding family and friends...an unlike the other senoras in the area,....its' up to me to get this happening....I'm tired just thinking about it. 

Luckily, my friend Monica has promised me that I can cook the turkey in her stove as I just don't think I can cope with the heat of roasting the "pavo relleno" for 4-5 hours on Wednesday afternoon.  We're going to celebrate Xmas a bit early with our family and then have another Xmas on Xmas Eve with Doraliz's family and Xmas day with a group of gourmet friends here....a festival of food prepared by women with love for the people they love. 

How to relive your youth Mexican style - our anniversary day in Petatlan

Something occurred to me last night when we joined our neighbours for dinner on the second floor terrace of their apartment that overlooks our beautiful courtyard and lit pool.  I realized that many of the couples who we have met since we started spending more of our time in Mexico are approximately our age and have had a multi-year love affair with Mexico.  For most, like us, it started in the 1970's when as young adults, without the responsibility of children, we came to this country and liked what we experienced.  Life was easy,  people were friendly and welcoming and there was this charismatic draw to a culture of music, laughter, good food and frequent drinks.   In the daytime, we played on the beaches in the warm water with the sun tanning our skin and at night, we partied in bars and discos with locals and other tourists - it was easy to make friends and easy to feel good.  Is this what lured us back??  It reminds me of how I feel when I see aging rockstars performing from their 60's and 70's repertoire to an audience of people who have a hardtime staying up past 10 p.m. 

I love being here and I am sure the reasons people are here are as diverse as the style of our homes, our bank accounts and our lives have been...but perhaps we are all just trying to feel that spark of life and love that Mexico injects into you when you allow yourself to see past the poverty, dirt and crumbling architecture...when you open your heart to it's soul. 

I started today, the 33rd anniversary of our wedding day and the 38th anniversary of the day we met, at a 7:30 a.m. yoga class at Hotel Irma overlooking Zihua Bay.  The cool morning breezes at that time of day are so refreshing as "winter" arrives in the tropics.  Our teacher ended the class with the this message to us "chose between fear and love today and let love be what guides your day."

So promising to try to achieve that...Gene and I set about on a little trip together.  We drove south along Hwy. 200 to Petatlan, the land of "Palms"....this small agricultural town of 18,000 people set a bit inland has been known for it's affordably priced gold market.  Unfortunately, more recently, we hear about it more often in connection with drug war violence but after careful consideration of a mid-day trip to the town's central market, we set aside our recently heightened cautions and I'm glad we did.  

After strolling the tianguis each with signs that promise "buen precios" for "oro y plata"  I chose a small gold starfish pendant as a remembrance for this special day which marks a significant amount of my life together with Gene.  A life where we love the beach and snorkelling together and the ocean which is so close to both of our homes.

Artistic renditions of the Virgen of Guadalupe are everywhere these days and the church stairs lured us to a performance by some schoolchildren practising an intricate performance for the season.  

We wandered the streets surrounding the zocalo and cathedral seeing the sights of Xmas merchandise available.  I love towns with vibrant zocalos and Petatlan has earned a new place in my heart.   Everywhere we looked, school children in immaculate white shirts were laughing and enjoying the end of their second last week of school before the holidays.

Rather than carrying on in our car with our very hot little dog Cori to a point further south known as El Calvario, the viewpoint overlooking the ocean, we chose to drive back to Zihuatanejo to have lunch at Carmelito's, a small local restaurant that Rick Bayliss spoke so highly of last year during the Food and Wine Tour.  We were not disappointed, my attractive lunch of Ensalada Carmelito and Agua de sandia was the perfect way to wrap up a great anniversary day spent with Gene enjoying what we love about our life here...around every corner is a new sound, smell or view that just punctuates life.  

Coming home,I decided that I LOVE may new living room wall colors and that today was a day of love! 

 And only one more day till Amy and Patrick come.....now that's LOVE!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas and a "buen fin de semana"

 The days and weeks and months have a rhythm here.  I guess we have more time to notice things and we have learned to expect the changes that come with the Xmas season to be beginning not long after we arrive in October.   This year has proved to be no different.   We first notice the stacks of merchandise beginning to be mounded in our Comercial Mexicana, then the straw flowers arrive from Chilapa, and finally the poinsettias (Noche Buenas) and the pinata vendors set up their stalls along the shaded grass pathways along La Boquita.   Santa pops up in unexpected places and everywhere homes are becoming decorated with lights and trees...some are very elaborate, and others, like mine are simple reminders of the season we are in. 

Our weekends seem to be developing a bit of a rhythm too....we have been fortunate to have been the Saturday home away from home for Doraliz, and her 2 sisters who love to come to our apartment, and try the foods that they don't have in their kitchen cupboards.  This weekend we were joined by their brother Julio when we took a little trip to Playa los Gatos. It was pure pleasure to see the reactions of Lilly and Angela on their first boat ride to this beach and watch Doraliz delight in the colors of the fish she saw while snorkelling with me. 

Then we experienced our first "callejoneada"...strolling musicians in Cervantes robes that passed by our home enroute to El centro.  It was great fun joining in the parade while traffic police stopped all the cars and we proceeded down the streets, being offered little shots of Mescal as we strolled behind the musicians..what fun! 

Today I put up our annual Xmas tree (thanks Mom and Dad for letting me keep your tree warm here in Mexico) and then joined our friends for Isahrais 33rd and Ellery's 1st month birthday party at Sixtinos Restaurant along Calle Adelita......

This is not a big life here,  it's a small life in a small town, but it is so nice to know we are part of a lovely community of people here.  My early morning walks through the peaceful streets, watching the crowds gather outside Church for Sunday mass, are my time to reflect on why this is  the town we have grown to love. 

Next week Amy, Patrick and then Eric arrive....we hope they enjoy this little spot in Mexico as much as we do.  They arrive at the height of Virgen de Guadalupe celebrations.  It's also the 4th anniversary of when our little dog Cori was found abandoned, running through the streets dodging fireworks and parades...so what is a spectacle of sound and costume for most foreigners, are some of the most frightening nights of his life.   It's going to be a busy week getting ready for our family and a month of visitors. 

Oh, and I may have succumbed to purchasing the Christmas aroma toilet paper (everything in Mexico is scented) but I was not enticed by the poinsettia toilet seat covers for sale along the street last night!

The more things change, the more they stay the same

November has ended and with it has come a sense of clarification about what I'm experiencing this, the beginning of my fourth winter, here in Zihuatanejo.  I came back here wanting things to be the same, seeing the same people, enjoying the same places and things to do, and having the same feelings  -  the "mexican moments" that first hooked me on life here.   And I noticed some changes.  I heard about stores and services that had closed their doors.  I met a favorite waiter who we first met 7 years ago, who had impressed us with his English and his attention to detail on his job.  Martine had been without work and had been reduced to working for "tips only" at my least favorite restaurant....a real tragedy from my perspective.  I had heard that a couple of very successful restaurant owners had resorted to selling their personal vehicles in order to pay the bills.  The tourists that I expected to see in November have been largely absent, only now at the end of November arriving in full airplanes but disappearing and not to be seen in large numbers along the beaches or waterfront restaurants.  We are happy that our familiar neighbours and friends are all returning and evenings are spent catching up at dinners on our porch, around the pool or in local cafes.  We all notice the same thing, the town seems to be slowed down....  Has Zihuatanejo become a kind of "missed opportunity"...can it survive in the midst of a global recession and a very real "drug war" that has drastically reduced tourism and changed the pace of development that seemed to be running wild when we first began spending our winters here?

But if I look more closely, I see that this town is still alive.  It has a beat and a rhythm that hasn't changed much for many years.  The locals go about their day to day lives and work in the same way they have since we arrived here 7 years ago.  I can count on seeing the same people in the same places at the same times each day.  My walks give me an opportunity to observe and reflect on what I see. My prediction is that I am observing a cycle of change....there are less tourists coming here for short hotel stay style vacations.  Cruise ships are almost non-existent this year.  Instead, there are people like me who have chosen to make this home.  We don't eat out as much, we don't take banana boat rides, or do parasailing.  But what we do is love this place, it's people and we seek out it's beauty.   We spend our money in the local businesses, we do home repairs, we buy gas to use our car to see places we cannot walk to.   And we try to share our comparative wealth by hiring help to do work we might normally do at home ourselves.  Here it is wonderful to know that the small price tag for buying a custom made chair cover, shoes or custom shelves is really staying in the local economy.  We know our tradespeople, we know their families and we know that their need is real and that the money we spend is their lifeblood.   I am also meeting more and more young Mexicans who speak almost perfect English after a few years of living and working in the US.  They are returning home and hoping to make a success of their lives back in the country that will always be in their hearts.   No longer is the dream of living and working in the US a reality for young Mexicans....the hope they hold for their futures is here.

We see the need for the infrastructure projects like the current re-making of our neighbourhood main street Calle Adelita.  What might have been a small resurfacing has turned into a megaproject, one that has disrupted the lives of all the locals and tourists alike.  However, Mexicans have learned the art of patience and hope and they smile at us as we pick our way past the huge holes for the promised sewer pipes, they are proud that this work will inevitably improve their beloved colonia.   I hope that I can look back on this in a month or two and see that it was all worth it.  As a member of the community I am counting on someone in this supposedly corrupt local government to get it right and complete a much needed sewage line and at the same time re-creating the beauty that was this quaint cobblestone boulevard to town.

  

At least once a week, we like to take a break and drive out of town to get the "big air".  Today Iris and I had the great pleasure of meeting Franca as we walked my favorite stretch of beach between Barra de Potosi and Chula Vida.   Actually it was Cori who prompted our meeting.  His vitality and pure joy was the spark that prompted our conversation.  We were invited to see this artists' home and meet her husband and see the beauty they are creating in their private and tranquil property.  The home is a mixture of her Italian roots and the local beauty of one of the most pristine beaches still accessible on the West Coast.  And the best news of all,....she is a professional chef and is beginning to offer Italian meals in her home and we might just be lucky enough to be some of her first guests.  

We spent the day at one of our favorite spots, the small seaside Cabana "Chula Vida" and indeed it is a sweet life if one can look a little beneath the surface...good things are indeed still happening here in Zihuatanejo! 

Thanksgiving Day - celebrating the Pilgrims Landing Mexican style

Yesterday, the theme of thankfulness was my mantra.  It started at Yoga class where Paty in her very gracious Mexican style, dedicated our practice to this US holiday and the theme of giving thanks.  No such holiday exists in Mexico,but this holiday makes sense to Mexicans.   Mexicans are people who do recognize the value of giving thanks.  They are aware that when you have the good fortune of health, family and a beautiful place to live, there are reasons to honor giving thanks. 

Gene and I chose to spend our day in one of our favorite place, out on the beach at Playa Blanca... and as always my heart soars as I walk the beach with our faithful friend Cori who seems to come alive on that magical stretch of sand as he chases birds skimming along the shore line.    Gene tried his first shore casting of this year, and I think even he was a bit glad he didn't catch any this time.

Later, we met our wonderful friends Iris and Bob for dinner at Casa Cielo Azul, their beautiful home. Isahrai and her new baby Ellery and our new "friends" Peter and Eileen completed the group....all ex-pats, all grateful that this is where we are, in this place and in this time...life is good! 

The thankfulness of yesterday has been extended to today....- for our neighbourhood knife-sharpener who has improved my culinary tools and our local "bolillo" vendor, who although I don't buy her buns (I tell her I'm a poco gordita and no como pan) , passes by our home like clock work every morning.  Tomorrow I promised her photo in print which prompted her huge smile today. 

Now off to my pool,   the outside my door playground where when I'm really lucky, it is empty and waiting for me every morning!