Leaving the land of eternal summer for the city of "eternal spring"

We have been busy squeezing in as much fun as possible into the last two weeks of January - getting ready for our "vacation within a vacation."  This is something we try to do each year as I have a desire to see more and more of the unique places this country has to offer.  It's ironic that we are leaving here just as the nights have begun to cool down...in fact, this would be the time of year we occasionally see the locals bundled in their "winter clothes".  Yes, the nights are now cool enough to enjoy using our top sheet and even a corner of the woven beadspread can feel cozy.  Cori has now decided to resume his position between us and snuggle close to my thighs when the "night chill" is felt. 

We had a last minute surprise guest when one of our son and daughters friends from Vancouver decided to take advantage of a ridiculously low fare to spend a week in the tropics.  Cory is one of the new age of young professionals who could do his job from just about anywhere in the world...online!  So after a week of computer time interspersed with runs on the beach, swims, trips to the mercado and trials of the different foods that are available nearby...he's determined that he could find a place in paradise to park himself each winter to work.  Great idea!

We've read in their blog SV Ideal1 that our Victoria friends who left here on their yacht a week ago are safely in Acapulco and enjoying all that the big city has to offer cruisers.  Well done!

Kyle is also still nearby, having decided to practice being a surfer for 2 weeks in Saladita...so we have gone out with our good friends Mickey and Jane to visit and take him out for a local treat...Pollo barbacoa spiced so deliciously with guajillo chiles, garlic, cumin, oregano and vinegar....hoping to recreate this taste soon! 

Kyle will be leaving on Monday to rejoin Kristen in Vancouver and our friends Linda and Dan will arrive here on Sunday to stay in our little casa while we are travelling. 

At this time each year in Zihuatanejo, the streets are full of middle aged or older visitors from Canada and the US.  We see familiar faces everywhere and are happy for the locals that they have their regular customers and friends returning.  

It's also the height of volunteer festival season with a large fundraiser for Rotary last night and the upcoming Zihua Sailfest in February.   Here at Casa Ceiba, the "pool deckchair wars" have resumed - we've usually managed to be away before there were more people than chairs, so this year, it's new for us to see this phenomenon.   Our local grocery store is no longer the hub of Mexican shoppers, instead we see the gringos searching for familiar merchandise and are always happy when we can offer our local knowledge on where to find what they are looking for.

Our sponsored student and her sisters are now regularly attending English classes with Sra. Sheila and her husband Ross, 2 Canadians who spend a lot of time here each year and are volunteer teachers in the Nino's Adelante program.  We're proud that they stay at our apartment in La Ceiba which gives Sheila an easy walk to her classes in the nearby open air church at Plaza Kyoto. 

So we're heading out at a time when things are just really comfortable here...we are heading out on our version of a little adventure with GPS, Guia Roja and our booking to Villas Bellavista in hand.   Off to see the big city of Cuernevaca, perhaps take some Spanish classes and explore the nearby pueblas with magical names like Tepoztlan, Malinalco, Xochicalco.    And I have a new project that makes the travel to these historic cities even more exciting...we are on the search for the perfect Saltillo floor tiles and decorative accessories for a small kitchen renovation at our rental apartment in La Ceiba.  Just when I thought my Mexican shopping was over!! 

And before we know it...we've finished 3 full months of our winter here...only 2 and a bit left - one month of travel and the month of March spent entertaining friends, enjoying Guitarfest and Carnivale festivities. 

We pray that all will continue to be well at home until we return and wish our kids and our friends an end to winter and a start to Spring perhaps even while we are in the City of Eternal Spring!  Cuernavaca here we come!

 Oh, and this is the "shade side" of our new garden that our neighbours and I designed and purchased plants for...a fun shopping day in Zihuatanejo!

Saying Goodbye in the busy month of January

Today we said goodbye to our eldest daughter Kristen, who has been with us for only 8 days. 

Her boyfriend Kyle, who we have come to know and like during this, his first visit to Zihuatanejo, is staying on for another 2 weeks to hone is surfing skills at the sweet little beach oasis known as Saladita at Lourdes Surf camp and school.  It's a tempting spot to hang out and enjoy the warm waves and clear water when we hear about the snow and cold in Vancouver...winter has finally arrived on the West Coast of Canada.

 
We've had a busy six weeks of family visiting since December 11th and now it's all coming to a close.  Today was one of the busiest days of our winter time here....it started with an early morning walk to the mercado with Cori to get shrimp and fish at Rosita's fish stall.  I love chatting with Pancho, her English speaking husband about all things local while his wife and sister in law clean and cut the fish and prawns to order.  Unfortunately, these days a lot of our talk is about what we know of local robberies or murders in the town and surrounding beach communities....maybe I'm getting too caught up in it...but it seems better to talk it out. 

Then we headed off to our annual Nino's Adelante breakfast at the Fontan Hotel in Ixtapa, where we have a chance to celebrate the program and host the family we've come to know and love here.  Doraliz is our sponsored student but following in her footsteps, her youngest sister Angela would be eligible for the sponsorship next year and the family and we hope to be able to fill her dreams by also assisting her to complete her studies in the secondary and preparatory system and eventually enter college.  The morning included a talk by one of the local "snowbirds" who has her finger on the pulse of the community by volunteering and coordinating a variety of programs...and we bought a book written by someone who has fallen in love with this town and it's people.  The book titled "Journey to Zihuatanejo- from Visitor to Volunteer" promises to be a good read about the projects some people who are devoted to helping locals here are doing.  I found myself thinking how much more beneficial these activities are and the money spent on helping locals still probably falls short of the bar/cigarette bills of some of the remainder of longterm wintertime residents here. 

We left the restaurant with plans to have our girls over for a swim/lunch next Saturday....we then headed back to Casa Ceiba to meet with the other owners who were invited to lunch at Vanessa's - our condo. administrator who recently had a new home built for her family.   We looked out from the tiled palapa rooftop over the jungle covered hillside streets and to the bay beyond...what a step up for this poor family to have such a wonderful home that can accomodate everyone for years to come. 
 
We then hurried back to drive Kristen to the airport and then return in time to walk Cori and meet up with our longtime Victoria friends Isabelle and Darcy who are here at anchor in the bay enroute to El Salvador the end destination for this season's portion of a multi-year sailing trip through the Caribbean and back up the East Coast of N. America.    We have met up  with them for pozole earlier this week, and now set a date for a mid-week sail aboard their beautiful yacht. 

Meanwhile Gene and Kyle drove back to the airport to pick up our surprise visitor, Cory, who couldn't pass up the unheard of $99 fare on a one week roiund trip flight from Vancouver/Zihua direct.   It'll be a lot easier on my aging brain to have one name to remember...Cori my dog and Cory my son/daughter's friend won't be surprised when I use their names interchangeably!

Tomorrow Kyle leaves early morning for his surfing destination with our neighbour Mickey, a seasoned surfer from California who regularly spends time at Saladita.  We'll head out with Iris and Bob later in the day to make sure all is well and that he is safely set up for his 2 week stay. 

 

 And finally, this is the week I am saying goodbye to a man who lit up every encounter with his warm smile and gentle, rich melodic voice.  We met Mike and Jo here in Zihuatanejo 7 years ago and immediately knew we would be friends forever.   Yesterday, Mike finally ended the battle he fought without complaint against the terrible illness Multiple Myeloma.  Jo was his advocate, caregiver, lover and friend through the journey.   I wish I was with her at her home in Prospect Oregon to give her the hugs she needs and deserves...but everytime we go boogey boarding at Madera Beach we will think of Mike and his smiles and his humor....Jo...come see us soon and we'll celebrate the life of the man you love!  Adios Mike...you are in our hearts forever too!

In conflict about the conflict - and seeing familiar faces

Today is the last day of our son Eric's 3 week visit with us, that also could be called his "kick off training camp"...he has swam, biked and ran everywhere possible around our bay and the nearby beaches and dusty roads.  We are going to miss his presence, and unfortunately so will his sister and her partner who arrive today.  He is trading places with Kristen and Kyle who arrive on the flight he's departing on...so once again we get to show our family and friends around our area. 

Kristen has been in touch regularly as we remember one more thing she can bring us that we can't get here (Almond butter, mousetraps, Magic Erasers....)  She recently sent a message that Kyle's Mom is a bit nervous about his trip, and we understand.  When I read the news, and we do read everything that we can, including our local daily called Despertar de la Costa, crimes against tourists always take high priority.  I felt sick reading that in 2 of our favorite places, Melaque and Huatulco, Canadians have recently been killed.   Every month since arriving here, we've had regular news of robberies here, and some also accompanied by violence with weapons that in the past, we would never have imagined.  Gone is the somewhat less threatening description of "crimes of opportunity" and instead, there is a new reality.  Some Mexicans are so desperate that Canadians, Americans and any one who appears to have more than they do are targetted for armed robberies.  We have heard of local restaurauters who were robbed by armed robbers and shot when they resisted.  Our favorite fish vendor described a fruit stall that had a robber with a gun threaten her until she turned over her cash...times have changed here.   And what is of equal interest is the lack of response or lack of confidence in the police system here.  When we were robbed, it did not even occur to me to call the police.  The police seem to be a toothless group of gun-toting young men in groups who ride around but what do they actually do?  Recently our new aquaintance who lives along Playa Blanca, a peaceful stretch of pristine beach where Canadian and American homes have been targeted, said she felt that the police are "part of the problem"...and that is the reality here...do you trust them or not?  Who knows.

So although I am aware of these "facts"...why do I continue to feel that this is where I want to be....well, it just doesn't feel dangerous here on a daily basis...  People are kind, there is a calm friendliness in every action and interaction.  People just don't seem as stressed as they do at home...children rarely cry, and if they do, their parents do not react, they simply do what they are doing knowing that the crying will end.  You rarely see or hear people talking loudly or seeming unhappy. 

This week is the start of the influx of Canadian and American "regulars"...folks who we've come to know or at least recognize who spend most of their winter here in Mexico.  It also marked the end of the Mexican tourist season here.  Our local press referred to it as "decembrina".  While waiting at the airport for Kristen and Kyle, I couldn't help but notice the frailty and advanced age of many of the persons arriving... but coming they are.  They are happy to be back in a warm and sunny place that is affordable and friendly.  They are quick to dismiss the rising crime rates with quotes like "well I live in Surrey" or "have you ever been to Chicago?"...I find their comparisons reassuring in a way but I also think that it is sad that what is happening here is being compared to some of the highest crime places I know of. 

So we will continue to be happy here, but are ever so much more wise.  Our windows and back patio have new screens with wooden decorative rods that would prohibit a quick entry.  Our wallets are kept in our safe and we rarely leave home with much money in our pockets.  Luckily, I don't have flashy jewellery but my friends who do, don't wear the real stuff out much anymore.  I am becoming smarter about where I carry my purse or my change purse in the busy mercado.  A group of Mexican women recently saw me drop my small change purse into my bag and they shook their heads and indicated it should be tucked into my bra, like they always do.  I have a lot to learn. 

And in follow up, I didn't offend my neighbour and friend, Isabel with our small cash gift this Xmas - she is as always her gracious self.  Now off to get ready for a day with Kristen and Kyle. 

 

Namaste!