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! 

Bomberos toma siamesa...and how living without a camera has opened my eyes

As many of  you know, I love writing about my life here in Mexico...but as much as I love writing, I really love sharing the beauty, so without a camera, I've been worried I couldn't feel inspired.  How could I write, without a photo to share.  Maybe this period of time, since the "robo" has allowed me some time to practice using my other senses...like my own eyes, ears and brain.  Like this morning...as I walked Cori over to La Ropa beach, I chose to walk along the winding road called "Escenica la ropa".  It truly is the scenic route but in places it runs behind some of the most luxurious waterfront hotels on La Ropa beach.  It was behind one hotel where I saw the sign "Bomberos Toma Siamesa".  Because I'm still very much a beginner with my Spanish, I like to notice words and how they are used...but this one took me by complete surprise.   We are no where near Siam, I didn't see any Siamese cats nearby, and my only other exposure to the word would relate to conjoined twins...and then it dawned on me....this is the expression that allows any required firefighter (Bombero) to double park in a single parking space. 

I've also been noticing some other things since our home robbery...one of the phenomena that I've increasingly become aware of is that Mexicans mind their own business and talk quietly.   Primarily, I realize this is not what I would've expected in a culture where the majority of people live in the same homes for their entire lives, see their neighbours every day, and live without construction barriers of soundproof windows, closed doors and sealed homes.  Life is lived outdoors, each evening, the streets become alive with the sounds of children playing, families chatting,watching TV and listening to music.  But within this apparent "public life", there are unwritten codes of ethics.  People don't ask you why you are doing something, what you are doing and they certainly don't try in any way to limit what their neighbours do on their private property.   A couple of years ago when we experienced the first days of property clearing with large equipment across the street from our condominiums, we were all really surprised when after asking our building's resident owner and developer what was happening that he said "I don't know"...neither did any of the other longterm residents on our street....This is just not the Canadian way...we see development applications posted for months in advance, we call planning departments and we certainly feel it is quite within our right to ask our neighbours and sometimes even try to stop our neighbours from doing something to their property if we feel it would impact us...not in Mexico!

So, when I chose to tell my longterm neighbour and our colonia's local grand dame "Isabel" about our recent robbery...her voice dropped to a whisper, she looked left and right and quietly signalled for me to step closer while she whispered to me her thoughts on who the culprit(s) might be.  This is a small town, everyone knows everyone and I like that, but is this the very thing that has gotten us in trouble?  Is being a little too "loud", telling people what you are doing or are going to do and basically living life not realizing that we may be being watched allowed us to be victimized?    I remember very clearly the advance travel instructions of my friend Monica who warned me to "talk quietly" in Mexico City where professional robbers, who are alerted to English speakers and target them, lurk quietly in the crowds.  

So as my Mom used to tell me my entire life, "think before you speak" and "be quiet"....I've got to learn how Mexicans have learned to live life in public but without attracting attention. 

 Today my new camera arrives with our neighbours and friends from Vancouver who are arriving for "the season".  This is my 3rd version of the same camera...let's hope 3rd time's a charm.   Gene and I are learning to adapt to one computer but having my own camera again....I feel blessed.  Namaste!

When bad things happen - trying to remember "gratitude"

This week, we joined a club.  The members of this club are our many friends and neighbours in Colonia La Madera who have had break-ins and robberies.  Some people still try to call them "crimes of opportunity" and there may be a bit of a tone of  "blame the victim" as,  it is true, we don't always take the precautions that are available.  But when Gene dozed off while reading his Kindle on the outside terrace, and I chose to go to bed early after a fabulous day out on the water with our friends from Calgary, Lynn and Barry

.....well, I just didn't imagine that a robber would have the audacity to sneak past Gene on the fully lit terraza, enter our unoccupied bedroom, and grab Gene's laptop, his digital camera, and my purse with my cell phone and digital camera inside.  It was only the barking of our faithful watchdog Cori who was at my side in the rear bedroom, signalling his bugling type alert and waking me instantly from a sound sleep at 11:53 p.m. that the robber made off into light of the full moon on a cloudless night with our things. 

We searched for a couple of hours, even having the assistance of Raul, the owner/developer of our condominio and our friend.  We called Scotiabank at 2 a.m. to cancel my card, and after a few short minutes of sleep woke early to begin the search of our neighborhood, hoping that perhaps some items might be found. 

I was excited to see my FM3 card behind a chainlink fence in some weeds in a nearby vacant lot, and that got Gene into searching all of the tropical plants around our building,where by the "grace of God"  Gracias a Dios...my BC Driver's license was found. 

One of the things that didn't occur to me when the incident happened was to phone the police...but the next morning our property manager encouraged me to go with her to the "tourist police" station to file our report.  I know this is a necessary step as in a previous card loss, our bank has refused to cover the charges on the card by the thief unless a police report has been filed.   So with a bit of skepticism, we drove over to the police, where once again I witnessed the highly dysfunctional system called policework here in Mexico... After 2 hours, 3 trips to the nearby store to pay to photocopy the police's work and several questions about the beach I preferred and my drinking preferences, we got back into our car accompanied by a police officer and his assistant who wanted to witness the crime scene.  I found myself thinking that perhaps they were imagining themselves in a CSI-Zihuatanejo episode as they carefully measured the distance between the entrance to our terrace and our front door...but the highlight of their visit to our apartment was the demonstration of our dogs electric "fence" and the collar he wears.  I could see the wheels turning in the police officers brain as he imagined what he could do with such a device.  However, it was a bit unnerving to have our property manager whisper to me in an aside "stay with them in your house" while they walked from room to room taking photos of the "crime scene"...I hope their camera doesn't end up in the hands of another robber who might now get an advance look at our property.  

So at one of my 4 weekly  yoga classes at Zihua Yoga studio, which are a big part of my life here in Zihua, and are even beginning to appeal to Gene who is a regular at Saturday a.m.'s easy does it yoga, I had to dig deep when Ana asked us to focus on something that we were grateful for in our lives.   But then it became clear.  I still have my husband and my dog (in no particular order of appreciation) and even though I couldn't photograph the fabulous collection of flamingoes, ibis, crane, and egrets at Playa Larga today....I could give thanks for my life, the life of my husband, my friends and my health and realize that no theft of material possessions by desperate people has changed that....yet!!

Princess for a Day - and a woman for the rest of her life

Yesterday was Doraliz's Quinceanara and I think I finally get what the event signifies and why it was important to Doraliz's family to have this special day in her honor.   
Last Spring, we were invited to be at the event and our primary gift was the purchase of her dress.  Just finding a "costurera" who could look at the photo of the dress Dora had chosen, and create it using all locally found materials was a feat, in my mind.  I had given Bety, the dressmaker, a deposit of half of the cost in advance, prior to our departure and I had left the remainder of the money in a sealed envelope with Doraliz to be paid when the dress was finished.  Many of my friends cautioned me that what I had done was silly.  I even questioned myself, how could I expect a family of 6 who must have many competing needs for their limited resources, keep from using the money on a different priority, only to ask me for more.  But that didn't happen, and last week, we were given a sneak peek at the beautiful dress, and also shown that Mom had actually had the seamstress use the tiniest of leftover pieces of material from Doraliz's dress to complete similarly styled and colored dresses for Angela and Lilly...making for a total "look" that even extended to Dora's handsome older brother Julio and his "primo".  Both young men would accompany Dora down the aisle for the event.

We were asked to drive Dora to the church, so at 5:30 p.m. with a newly washed car, and us wearing our 'finest clothes"...we headed up to her home, not really sure what to expect...  When we rounded the corner at the top of the steep hill, we were welcomed with huge smiles by Doraliz in "the dress" and her siblings wearing their party dresses, shirts and vests.  I was brought to tears by the shear beauty of our young student and was so very honored to have been able to help her to look like a true princess on this day of her life.  Yes the dress was lovely, but her hair, makeup, shoes, jewellery had somehow miraculously been provided and combined to truly make her into the princess of her dreams. Of course all of this was perhaps magnified by the sharp contrast to the backdrop of the street where some of the poorest residents of Zihuatanejo access the barrio below Doraliz's home. 

With many hugs, kisses, laughter and soon accompanied by the sound of a small Mexican band which had been booked for the occasion,  Doraliz's sat serenely in the middle of the street while the finishing touches were added to her hair and our car!

Gene, after some prompting from Doraliz's 10 year old sister, gave Dora a little twirl around the dance area on the street, and then we struggled to get Dora and her hooped skirt into the car for the short drive to their church. 

We know that the church is an important part of Doraliz's family's life and unlike a Catholic ceremony, this small Baptist congregation seemed more like a group of family members who all knew and loved this family deeply.   Dora was escorted to the front of the church where she remained.  The youth minister started the service which soon transitioned into an upbeat musical concert which Gene likened to Karaoke as the words flashed on the wall behind the pulpit.   The "pastor" made a lengthy and very personal speech to Doraliz where I was able to understand that he was instructing Dora about the importance of honoring herself in her words and actions, and the importance of her parents as she entered into this phase of her young adult life.  She was given a ring which she was instructed to wear until she is married and a white bible.  Although I have become cynical of organized religion, I was struck by the caring manner that the minister chose to deliver to Doraliz the kind of message we want all young people to have...that they are important, what they do is important and the next few years, although a difficult time for most youth, can be successfully managed by remaining true to your principles and the teachings of your parents and the significant people in your community,.....I was impressed!

Together with the approximate 100 friends from the church, we then went upstairs to the party...the appearance of beautiful flowers, a lavish cake, balloon decorations, a hot meal and small gifts for the guests at each table will remain a mystery to me.  I know that Dora and her sisters made the little Barbie doll type center pieces that are the hallmark of quinceanaras, and that the hors'd'ouvres of pastel colored mini-marshmalows and lollipops are the standard for parties in Mexico.   Doraliz's Mom gave a small speech to thank everyone who had contributed to the occasion, and although we were introduced as "the Americano's"  we received a hearty round of applause and handshakes for our role in her life.

I don't think this, my first, quinceanara represents all, some would be more lavish, many would not be as religious, most would have dancing...but all in all, I get it....I get that in this small seaside fishing village where the majority of young women will have babies and small children by the time they are 18 that there is hope for a different future.  I know Doraliz's parents value her education and want a good life for her and there are risks here that she will face.  I hope that as she matures, that she can look back on this one day, and know that many people came together to create a day she was proud to just be herself.  This ceremony which marks one of the many "rites of passage" in life, was worth so much more than money can buy.