When I think of the people we've come to know as "regulars", whether they be owners or renters; people who we see each winter during the 6 months we spend here, I've realized that this group is anything but homogenous. Last year I somewhat jokingly wrote that perhaps we were all just trying to relive our youth in this Mexican beach playground, listening to 70's tunes and happily sipping cervezas in the sunset. But as I've gotten to know people better, I realize that their reasons for coming here are as diverse and as changeable as everything else in life is. So, with a license to take liberty with my friends lives....here's a brief rundown on the "who's who" of Zihuatanejo.
Some of our first friends here are a couple from Ocean City Maryland. Mike and Dee met over a shared love of deepsea fishing. And the ocean and the fish are what keeps them here. As well, they have continued to feed their entrepeneurial spirit here by owning and operating 3 rental properties and 2 boats. They house and support a Mexican family who have benefitted greatly by their generous investment in our community. They now spend 8 months each year here, returning to what others would consider an oceanside paradise in the US to reconnect with their large and loving family.
There are a number of people who we know who come for the music scene. In the "season" and year round, there are a number of very talented musicians who make Zihua home and perform in regularly scheduled and ever changing venues. The performers range from talented locals like Juanito Zihua to ex-pats as diverse as Jimi Mamou and Isahrai Azahria. Seasonal performers with incredible talents like a group from Mexico City called "Dos Adanes y Una Eva" (interestingly this is the Spanish translation of Marilyn Monroe's classic "Some like it Hot" ) add to the richness of our music life here. There are regulars who follow this music scene like religion, nightly appearing in a different venue that is showcasing some of these musicians talents. Obscure streetside bars with names like "The Flophouse Bar" or "Barracrudas" compete with more upscale venues like Coconuts, the Inn at Manzanillo Bay or Present Moment who each hope to boost their clientele by featuring musicians performances on a weekly basis.
There is also a diverse but growing group of North Americans who spend their time here volunteering and working hard to address the various un-met needs of the Mexican families who live here in poverty. Some have made this their full time home and have immersed themselves in several of the charitable events that occur here during the season. I think of Carol and Doug, a wealthy retired couple from Canada. Carol is now the chairperson of many organizations who work to benefit the schoolchildren here in Zihuatanejo. Networking with her Rotary friends in Canada and the US, she has been able to hugely increase the profits of regular fundraisers such as Sailfest. Others do their work in a more personal way. Margaret, a retired Navy personnel from Victoria, quietly attends each large fundraiser and photographs the events and people and with her photography skills, the much needed internet marketing of these events is ever so improved.
Our friends Shelagh and Ross are examples of Canadians who return here each winter and spend much of their time with the Mexicans who have become not only their friends, but are "family". Shelagh, a retired teacher, and Ross, a lawyer dedicate 6 weeks of their annual winter trip to teaching English to poor students from the Nino's Adelante program. They have funded schooling for many students over the 25+ years they have come and all now call them friends. Ross and Shelagh's Zihua social calendar is so full, I shake my head wondering how they can go from one obligation of a quincineara, to a christening, to a family dinner and back to a wedding without a rest all day long. But their immersion in the culture of Mexico is what makes them "tick"...it's what brings them and many others back here to use their life honed Canadian skills to do good work here in a town that needs them.
I've become part of the regular "yoga scene" here and as such, know that many regulars are here for their "health". It is true, that in this perfect climate with no stressors such as work, gardens or family issues, it is the ideal time to focus on getting well. Mike, a semi-retired single man in his 50's from Vancouver, is the perfect example of what a winter in Zihua (and one without Zihua) can do. Mike has become a keen yoga practitioner and has made the decision to quit drinking alcohol. When he arrived here in November, he immediately became a beach jogger, yoga practitioner and healthy eater, consuming one freshly made meal/day using fresh local ingredients. He lost 30 lbs. But then a family crisis with an aging Dad brought him back to Victoria..., and almost 4 months in the grey, dark rainy cold has regressed his fitness to where he started. He is back now, trying his best to regain the health he felt here. I've become friends with a world renowned Alzheimer's physician from San Francisco. Dr. Mike Weiner, spends a month here each winter and he makes no bones about his time here being totally dedicated to non stop exercise. Each day he walks, swims, and rests his way to health. Some would say it is an obsession...but what better obsession to people in their 70's need? On a recent evening enjoying sunset drinks with our friends from Vancouver, Anker and Elizabeth; Anker, a remarkable Danish engineer in his 80's, who is the holder of several patents and still works regularly on a highlevel project involving the switch from diesel to LNG, summed it all up..."I come here in the winter for my body's health and I go home to Vancouver in the summers for my brain's health".
So do these wise and varied people make it any easier for me to know why I come here? All I know is we don't do the same things now, 5 years after spending our first full winter here. We no longer feel compelled to be downtown each night, nor go swimming or snorkelling on days when the water isn't clear. We dont' need to try each new restaurant that opens. Instead, we do "life" here. Yesterday we took Doraliz for her "panorex" dental xrays which her dentist needs to determine if she needs major orthodontics. Working in cooperation with Nino's Adelante's director, Jose, we are assisting her family to get her the treatment she needs to avoid a lifetime of dental disaster. Did I ever think I would sit in an x-ray lab in Zihuatanejo during the winter...no...but am I glad I am now part of Doraliz's life...absolutely.
I am part of our neighborhood. Yesterday, I enjoyed a leisurely coffee chat with my good friend Monica, who owns Patio Mexica cafe and Cooking School. Monica is one of the multitude of business owners who has had to learn how to cope with a 6 month source of income and 12 months of living expenses. Budgetting for the future isn't part of a Mexicans' lifeskills. But in this tourist dependent community, where the biggest spenders, non-nationals, generally are as scarce as hen's teeth between May- November, it is increasingly necessary. Monica tells me of women she and I know who have had to resort to sorting through the vegetable disgards at the market for produce for free during this "off season"...it's a heartwrenching tale. By some lucky stroke of fate, I was born and worked my life in Canada where now not only my employer but the government too pays me for being retired and older. I hesitate to say "old" cause I don't feel old...but I do feel grateful for a life that has a guaranteed source of income 12 months of the year. And one where I can spend 6 months in paradise. 12 days from today we will be packed up and enroute to our other home...I'm ready. Cori has lost all but one of his favorite things- balls...its time to head back!
This week has focused on goodbyes...adios to the people who we've come to love in our neighborhood. We think they indeed will miss us as much as we miss their everpresent smiles and friendship here in a land where we are visitors who have become friends.
Lilly and her little Maria Jose say adios
