We said "goobye" and they said "hola"...

I have lived 6 months of my life since my last post.  I guess life in Canada, as diverse and exciting and stressful and demanding and wonderful as it is just does not prompt me to write about it.   It was a wonderful summer because our middle daughter, Amy, married her life partner Patrick.  I am sure others say that their daughters weddings were the most beautiful wedding ever, but on every level, I truly do believe this to be true.  It was a country wedding of her dreams and Gene and I were lucky to have the time and ability to assist them with their vision.   But that was July,  and from a weather standpoint we were only just beginning to feel warm.   Luckily, the west coast of Canada smartened up and we were able to dragonboat, kayak, bike, hike and travel with friends and family.  Cori spent his days in the big garden trying to catch the elusive squirrels and deer.  But after a brief trip to the mountains for my 40th nursing school reunion, we hunkered down to the at times overwhelming chore of packing, planning and organizing 6 months away from our home in Victoria.  Our good luck extended for a 3rd year when our winter tenants (who have really become friends) arranged for their third winter living in our home.  We said our last goodbyes to friends, neighbours and left our cars in the capable hands of our adult children who for various reasons could benefit from them for the time we are not using them.   Kristen, if we'd had a third vehicle in Canada..you would've received it too!

Arriving here is a feast for the senses, on so many levels.  It is so amazing to be sitting outside at 10 p.m. in  a bathing suit and not feeling even the slightest of chills.    Humidity although great for the skin is not kind to my hair which becomes immediately as curly as my Mom once wished for -- "the Shirley Temple" curls of the early 1950's.   There is a real sense of coming home as the locals who know us all smile and say "hola" and "bienvenidos".  Rather than this being just a polite formality, I really have the sense it is sincere.   Our presence keeps this town's hope alive...hope that this season will be better than last.  

I always tell people who are newcomers to Mexico that it takes more than the customary 2 week vacation to become adjusted to this combination of third world squalor and paradise.  And it's knowing the people that bridges that gap of reacting to the at times awful display of lack of infrastructure and dirt...to becoming the person I want to be here.   I love the line from the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"..."It'll all be alright in the end, and if it's not allright, it's not the end".   This is tested on a daily basis in Mexico.   And it's the experiences of the extremes of beauty and horror that impact me in such a way that I want to write.  I want to reflect on what I'm seeing, doing, feeling and I've found my blog is the vehicle for this self-reflection.  I feel a committment to honesty in my words that has helped me to ground my thoughts.  If you like this it is great, but I need to do this for my own growth and development.

Within this our first week we have overcome a non-working vehicle, powerless airconditioners, lost cellular telephones, broken televisions, an epidemic of dead lightbulbs, and a 24 hour power failure.   Everyone understands...this is what life in a tropical climate with excessive humidity levels does to anything metal.    So each day we tackle one or two more little problems and soon "it will be alright in the end".

This year, by the lucky combination of a friendship and frequent sewing projects done by Lety and a visit from my friend Dawn, we are launching a small "cottage industry".  The Sol Sisters- Mexican Oilcloth products.  So right now my days are full of shopping for the supplies, measuring, documenting, doing the accounting for and using my Spanish in new ways to give direction to this project.   I'm "in love" with oilcloth.  I could spend hours standing in the material store checking and rechecking the endless patterns and combinations that appeal to me...its' just one more feast for my senses.

We made time to see our sponsored Nino's Adelante student Doraliz who was recovering from Dengue, the endemic fever of the Mexican coastline.   Today was her 16th birthday, although a big deal for Canadian and American teens,...this year was a simple event in her life after the 'quinceanara" of last year.   She is a beautiful young woman and we hope our presence in her life is making a difference.  The challenges for her are huge but with the support of the program and her family, perhaps she will have a better life than her parents...isn't that all part of the optimism we see here every day?   

Yoga class is back in my life.  New teachers, same places.  Same body and new challenges.   Love Yoga!!!

And we are here in time for Dia de los Muertos and our town is embracing the celebration with a renewed fervour this year.   Our Colonia is planning festivities at our local cemetery and in the meantime,...I'm trying to capture this spectacle which combines the beauty of Mexican art with the meaning of devotion to family even after death.    Week 2 is already in sight and is going to be a lot more like the Mexican life I love than our first week was.  

Living a "twins" life....back home to Victoria

I'm sitting in the living room of our Victoria, British Columbia home - having arrived back to our "summer home" 2 days ago.  Our last week or so in Zihuatanejo was spent saying adios and hasta proximo ano to some of our favorite friends, and in some cases, almost family.  Each year it's becoming harder to leave. 

It's funny...after almost 6 months in this seaside village, which has endured such a hard year....saying goodbye to the people who we have come to call "our friends" is hard.   They wish us "que le vaya bien" and "via con dios"...and I wish them the same.  We know that for either of us, a stroke of ill fate or ill health can change this greatly rewarding dual life that we've come to lead.   And without us, and all the other seasonal regulars who call Mexico home during the winter months, their lives would be ever so different.

Adios to:  Vanessa...our property manager and friend who looks after our winter homes 12 months/year and has learned how to deal with the variety of gringos who call La ceiba and Casa Ceiba home.  And enjoyed a small sip of Mezcal at Santa Prisca courtesy of Raul her boss..

 to Doraliz, Lilly and Angela our beautiful Nino's Adelante student and her sisters who we love so much

 To my favorite musician Juanito who has entertained and charmed us with his beautiful voice and strings and his ever present graciousness...lucky Patricia who got to dance with him that afternoon at Santa Prisca

 To my neighborhood esthetician Lilly and to Maria my pedicurist  where a trip to the beauty salon is a rich immersion into the family life of Mexico and to the beautiful Isahrai and her fast growing daughter Ellery who have made Zihua their home.

 To my fabulous neighbor and friend Monica who has taken my idea of a cooking school in Zihuatanejo and has made it into one of the top "must do" activities for firsttimers and regulars too.

 To 2 of my favorite street vendors,  Felix from a small pueblo in the mountains who sells me and all my friends the best baskets and purses at a "special price"......may your smiles never stop.

 To Angelica, a hardworking woman from the mountains who works with her husband Juan at the resort Barra de Potosi and to whom I am committed to support each year...may you always be part of my days in Barra.

And to last night dinners at our neighborhood restaurant Rufo's with our good friends Monica, Iris and Bob, and Jimi and Judy Mamou...two ex-pats who have contributed so much to the music scene and life in Zihua.

With a group of my nursing friends, I once had my fortune told by a woman who predicted that my life would have a dual quality - she showed me my astrological chart and indeed it was "split in two".  Having been born a twin, at the time, I had that feeling like she knew more about me than I had shared...was she really in posession of some magical psychic power that gave her an insight into my life and future?  This year, our return to Victoria has really sharpened this sense that I am indeed living two lives.  I found myself thinking of the term "schizophrenic", but I have always hated it when others have referred to events or people as being "schizophrenic" as sadly, I know too many people who truly do live their lives with the real disease.

I refuse to use the term lightly, but I am experiencing all of the same disjointed thoughts, actions and sensory perceptions that the real illness must create.   I can't find my things, I am no longer sure what I own in what home and when I see my friends, many of whom have visited me in Mexico, I find that I am no longer sure which experience or conversation we had in which setting.   I have caught myself nearly saying "hola - Buenos dias" to the people I pass as I walked Cori enroute to Arbutus Cove this morning....would they hear me and if they did, would they believe that I am really not insane?   If Gene asks for "la cuenta por favor" the first time we go to a restaurant...it's entirely understandable after 6 months of repeating that phrase frequently.  

Our trip home allowed us to have a short visit with 2 of our 3 children and their partners.  |We met our daughter Amy and her fiance Patricks new pups, Yarrow and Laila.  We distributed our carefully chosen gifts to each of our daughters and their partners.   Seeing our children back on their home turf makes me feel better about leaving our other home.   We are hoping Eric will head to our home in Victoria next weekend....I'm stocking up on our favorite foods so we can be sure to have some special treats when our friends and family drop in.

And today I reflected on what I notice when I come back to this paradise which is our summer home.  Sensory perceptions that our family and friends in Mexico would notice if they saw Victoria for the first time.

1. The air smells like Xmas...pine, cedar and fir trees surround our home.
2. Cori has cold, pink feet here in Canada,...so unlike his hard dry black pads in Mexico.
3. Flowers in Canada are brave...it's chilly, in fact, it's downright cold when the sun is hiding behind the clouds which it frequently does...but somehow, daffodils, tulips, magnolias, rhododendrons, heather and dogwood are all showing their finest colors.   Not tropical, but ever so pretty and colorful.
4. The streets look like someone has taken a power washer and scrubbed all the roads and sidewalks,...it's so clean!!  but the streets are empty of people - when we walk the dog after dark, we are out alone.   Where is the street life we love in Mexico?

I think we are very lucky to have this duality in our lives...and our hope is to be able to do this for a very long time...so this summer....I'm not only going to be preparing for the wedding of our daughter, and travelling to a 40th nursing reunion with my good friends, and training and competing with my wonderful dragonboat team the "Gorge-us Gals" - ...I'm planning to focus on health and wellness and all the opportunities for fun that our summer home provides.   Hasta pronto Mexico...el Fin de Octubre is coming fast!

Easter in Zihuatanejo - Peace, love and a whole lot more

Semana Santa, the two week period between Palm Sunday and the weekend after Easter, appears to be the biggest holiday period in the country.  Mexicans by the thousands flock to the beaches of this beautiful country and Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa are two of the most popular destinations for the residents of some of the largest colonial cities inland. 

This year, due to the combined reasons of a request by our Victoria house tenants to extend their stay in our house, and an opportunity to renovate our small La Ceiba rental apartments' kitchen,  we chose to stay here through the holiday period. 

I am happy to see the multigenerational families arriving, many in their large and luxurious SUV's, others, stepping sleepily off of rented tour buses having spent the night on the road, disembarking without a hotel or place to stay.  They carry most of their food for their vacation and local restaurants are quoted in the press lamenting that there is no monetary gain from the national tourists who come.  

However, I love that all over this country, people have saved their hard earned money to come to this place that we are lucky enough to call "home" for 6 months/year.  But. I have to be honest, this time is not my favorite time to be here in our small coastal town.

Tents line the beaches that are normally empty, and where I like to walk my dog every morning.  The effect on the environment causes me great concern.   Garbage and sewage are not really all that well managed here. 

 Our sister complex, La Ceiba Suites has run out of "agua potable" every day this week, requiring a delivery from a large tanker truck into their holding cistern.  Cars jockey for parking spots on the normally empty streets of Colonia La Madera.   Our fish merchant, Pancho is worried that he will run out of fish each day, as the fishing has been "off" with the cool temperatures recently.  The infrastructure can't support this many people for very long. 

This week is the last chance many businesses here have to make money before the 6 month "temporada baja", the low season, when the fewest visitors make their way in the steamy heat to this coastal resort.  Last summer was a very difficult time here in Zihuatanejo.  Crimes of extortion and kidnapping for ransom were common.  Many businesses closed their doors permanently.   The saving reprieve of the tourist season settled things down.  The US press would have the world believe that being a tourist here is dangerous, but in reality, we are safer here than we are in many other countries and cities in our own country.   The presence of "gringos" and our spending power has been the safety net for Zihuatanejo this season.  We are a valuable asset to Mexico.

But now the locals fear for the coming months.  Will the violence and crime rise again?  Many people here have lost their jobs.  Longtime employees of Raul's construction team greet me with friendly "hola's" when we pass on the street, and when I ask them where they are working now, they smile sadly and say "nada"...there is no work for most people, and no social programs to support them when they lose their incomes.  

The next two weeks will be spent assembling all the items, some big, some small we want to take back to Canada for ourselves, our friends and our family.  My favorite "cosera", Lety, is busy sewing oilcloth products for me to bring back.  I love the brightly colored cloth that seems to be almost indestructible outdoors.  I hope my friends love it as much as I do.  

This Easter Sunday, our adult children are each enjoying the holidays in different places.  Gone are the Easter Sunday mornings of their childhood, spent gathering homemade and chocolate eggs in the nature park on Beach Drive, Victoria.   Being somewhat of a traditionalist, I couldn't let the day pass without giving someone (Gene) an Easter hen...not chocolate, but ever so much more fun....made even more fun when I think of the women in their pueblas giggling as they created these scenes, and believe me they were not all the conventional style I picked.    It's important to look at the blessings in life, especially when things aren't all rosey here in the land of sun and fun! 

Travel Advisory - The State of Michoacan could be dangerous to your pocketbook!!

Each year beginning on the Friday before Good Friday, the state of Michoacan holds a craft fair called Tianguis Artesanal Domingo de Ramos in the small city of Uruapan.  The fair is ground zero for all the artisans who live in the small pueblos in the areas around Uruapan, Patzcuaro and Morelia and provides a single shopping stop for buyers from all over Mexico who come to the city of Uruapan for some or all of the 15 day spectacle. 

I missed the fair last year because my nurses training amigas came to celebrate our 60th birthday year in Zihuatanejo.  But this year, my ultimate shopping buddy Iris and I decided to return to the fair for the opening weekend again.
 For each of us, it is our fourth time and we have yet to be disappointed.  This year, we decided to treat ourselves with a better than usual hotel experience for our second night in the small city.  Hotel Mi Solar stands head and shoulders above the small selection of hotels that surround the zocalo, which is the location for the majority of the artesans markets.  I had only been able to book a single first night at the affordable Hotel Victoria, a small mexican run hotel that lacks charm but is adequate for a place to rest between purchases.  Thanks to Iris, we looked forward to the second night that included breakfast in a charming antique building with courtyard on the other side of the square, both an easy walk to all things we wanted to see.

The entire event can be enjoyed by strolling around the town's zocalo, the adjacent churches, pedestrian walkways and traditional food market.    It's a pleasant 5 block walk to the Telares Uruapan Textile factory which hosts many events as well as the spectacular 2 day juried craft show where the best of the best artisans wares are displayed for cash prizes and sale. 

Because we have become experienced with the layout of the fair, we tend to use Friday evening to scout out the artisans we know looking for something special or unique to add to our homes here and back in the US, or Canada.  It's fun to recognize familiar faces selling their wares.  And no doubt they recognize us too, as the number of non-Mexican faces in the crowd was small...indeed, this year there are even fewer non-nationals in attendance thanks in no small part to the reputation of Michoacan as one of the most heavily drug cartel affected states in Mexico.  The Policia Federal had a large presence around the square with heavily armed police officers and vehicles posted at every hotel entrance and on strategic entry and exit points to the square. 

Two things stood out for both of us on this trip.  First, we were impressed by the number of women visitors who dressed in traditional blouses or dresses for the fair.   As well as enjoying the artesans who all wear the traditional clothing of their various pueblas, we found ourselves looking enviously at some of the other shoppers who came wearing the kind of clothing we were hoping to buy.   Secondly, we met many Mexicans who spoke to us in English and thanked us for being there.  They were gracious and polite and told us that our presence meant a lot to them - they didn't add "in this difficult time"..but we know that is the case.  One handsome young man who had lived for many years in Chicago summed it up by saying that he had returned to Mexico for the lifestyle...he can live close to his friends and family, his beautiful young wife and son are with him almost constantly, but he can only earn a small amount for the hard work and long hours he spends working as an avocado buyer.  The average salary is $1200 pesos/week - approximately $100 Canadian- and choices are always made between food for the table and some other item that is needed. 

So on Saturday as we stood on the street side watching the fabulous, colorful, musical spectacle of the parade of artesans pass by, there were a mixture of emotions.  I was proud of Mexico for showcasing their indigenous people and honoring the heritage of people who have become experts at producing such beautiful items from the environments that surround their pueblas.   Iris was saddened to think that we were witnessing people without a future, poor and without education, their art would not carry them through a world that demands skills and abilities that are beyond their means.   Our neighbour John and his wife Wendy who witnessed the parade for the first time and as an excellent amateur photographer captured  approximately 350 images of the people, their faces and their emotions felt a sense of sadness among the artists...he did not see happy faces on the majority of people.  I know I will never fully understand the lives and the emotions of people who seem to be a century behind the rest of the world...their lives seem simple on one level, but incredibly complex on other levels, living without assurance of a paycheck, retirement benefits, health care or homes...

I know I'm just one of many ex-pats who enjoy some or all of their time in this country.   I'd like to think that my little shopping extravaganza, modest in scale to some of the other purchasers I witnessed, helped to make a few families a little more prosperous for a while.  As long as I am able, I vow to spend whatever little money I can to support these artists and to enjoy my purchases with the memories of their faces and our conversations in my head and my heart.  

Final thoughts are that I will go back,  stay at our little gem of a hotel and explore some of the surrounding areas near Uruapan, only 3 1/2 hours from Zihuatanejo, but a world apart!  Another very do-able trip on my ever expanding bucket list!

They came, we saw, we played, we did...in "the little town that could"

On Vancouver Island, our summer home, there is a little town called Chemainus that, several years ago, reinvented it's former identity as a logging and shipping terminus into a small tourist oriented destination of theatres and shops.  It's been nicknamed "The Little Town that Could" which pays homage to the guts and determination of the locals who, when faced with the imminent demise of their home due to changes in the forest based economy, re-branded themselves into just what tourists want.  

This last month in Zihua reminded me of just that.  Locals, who have endured the effects of the ongoing drug cartel violence, mafia type extortions leading to business closures, cessation of cruiseship visits, a shrinking Mexican peso, declining numbers of tourists, poorly managed infrastructure projects that have resulted in major access problems all rallyed, put on their "game faces" and threw a month-long party that has left all of us, locals, ex-pats and all my friends who came to visit, smiling with the good memories of all they saw and did.    

We have had a lot of visitors who came for the month of March.  First, 2 friends from Victoria, Irena and Rosie arrived for Guitarfest.  They were joined the next day by Jane and Joe and Stan and Marianne who came for the sun, the fun and guitarfest.  Then when Marianne and Stan left, Dawn and Yves arrived for a little taste of everything.  So when we get to play "host and hostess" to this many friends here we did our best to squeeze in the experiences, sights, sounds, places and foods that makes this place so special....

In no particular order of importance, here's what's been going on this past few weeks.  

Guitarfest 2012

Santa Prisca for Pozole - and a chance for Irena to sing with Juanito

The Mercado for fresh fish and all things local
A dog walk/run to raise funds for the local SPCA

The Cooking School at Patio Mexica where Monica taught Dawn and Jane how to prepare mole

Troncones

El Refugio de Potosi

Chula Vida on Playa Blanca

A private concert with Juanito Zihua at La Ceiba - the perfect Mexican evening!

 Yoga on the waterfront

Los Gatos Beach for snorkelling and pampering massages

  

Carnavale

Gourmet dinners shared with friends at home and in restaurants

and to top it off today was the start of the Food and Wine Festival in Zihuatanejo!   But all good things must come to an end...and the countdown to leaving Mexico and returning to our Canadian home is beginning.

But first we have a little kitchen renovation to do on our small apartment at La Ceiba Suites.  I'm excited to see what can be done on a small budget by the Mexican workmen who have worked with Raul to build our homes.  Handmade, handbuilt and handcrafted to be unique...and just the way I like it! And having the extra 2 weeks here before we head home allows us to squeeze in one more trip to Uruapan for the Tianguis Artesanal Fair held each Easter - it's been called "the largest craft fair in Latin America"...who knows, but it is also one more example of the guts and determination of talented people who have chosen to strut their stuff in the midst of a tough time here in Mexico! 

A week of living dangerously in Zihuatanejo

It's a little over a week since we arrived back in sunny, hot and tropical Zihuatanejo.   A lot has happened...and not all of it good.    And to top it off...CBC decided to do a special on the crime and safety, or lack thereof in Mexico.  I'm beginning to believe some of our locals who claim that the press is owned by US travel interests and is trying to nail the last spike into what could be the dying year for tourism here.  Thank goodness for such fun events as Guitarfest which clearly demonstrates people love Zihuatanejo and Mexico and will continue to come here for all the right reasons!

Our little travel mate Cori, a macho poodle/terrier cross likes to think he's top dog in the hood...and can be a little bit of a show off when it comes to ball chasing,  fast running and looking cool.   But he was no match for our neighbor Lilly's Rottweiler "Pancha" who, after a month of not seeing Cori, decided to grab hold of him and toss him around a little on their first encounter.   After a few visits to the vet, multiple applications of Crazy Glue to hold his skin together...he's looking almost back to normal...except for wearing baby t-shirts to cover his wounds. 

And when, if  people think it is dangerous driving the back roads in the state of Morelos, or even the notorious stretch of highway 200 South of here, it was no match for the adrenalin produced when Doraliz asked us to take her and her 2 sisters to the local fair.   It would've been OK if we had stuck to the bumper cars because, after all,, we are pretty good at driving cars in close contact after our months of living here in Mexico...but riding the roller coaster, the Galaxy and the pitch black Time Tunnel produced more fear than I have known for a long time!

 

And then there was the baby shower....  Maria works for my neighbour who owns the beauty salon across the street.  Maria and her young husband came here from the US after jobs dried up in recent years.  Born in Mexico, it has taken Maria over a year to adjust to life back here in Mexico after a chance to live in a Mexican neighbourhood in the Southern US.  






This year when I returned, she announced she was expecting their second child...without her Mom to help her, this young mother, and wife who works daily as a manicurist for my neighbour needs a lot of support.   So when she invited most of her customers for her baby shower we were happy to be able to give her some of the things we know she needs.   Sheila who is my "go to person" for all things Mexican culture wise explained the variety of games we would be likely to encounter and gamely volunteered to be "baby" in the standard "blind Mom feeds baby" game that she won hands down...good for you Sheila!   I needlessly worried about not including a card to identify the gift that we put together....silly me, one of the games is for the Mom to be to identify the gift giver for each unmarked present...if she's right, you get marked with lipstick...if she's wrong,  you get to decorate her!  And on and on it goes...nothing is too ridiculous to make into a game for when the women get a chance to play without men....mayhem and laughter rule!  Luckily I left before things got really crazy, like drinking cervezas from baby bottles, and feeling the Mom to be's inner parts - blindfolded touching something wet and slippery... not identifiable to most gringas. 

 While we were away for a month, there were a few unhappy encounters between renters and owners at our condominium Casa Ceiba...and just cause I like to see things work out well and for decisions to be made that are fair and just, I volunteered to sit on a small working group to redraft the rules for renters....silly me, I should've known from my past worklife in VIHA that when you try to bring together two very disparate points of view, things do not go smoothly....the emails are flying and I'm playing duck and cover to avoid the inevitable ill feelings that come out of some of the exchanges.   Time will pass, memories will fade and the sun and good times will overcome  - at least that's what I hope.  I think we are making our administrator's job very tough and I shake my head in wonder how a small group of Canadian/Americans can make life so difficult on each other here.   No one is shooting real bullets, but the sideswipes and glancing blows still hurt!

And now we are waiting for our good friends Dawn and Yves to join our other friends who are here for Guitarfest and a chance to see sun in the month of March!  We want everyone to be safe and have fun in our winter home and so far no one is disappointed by what they are doing, seeing, hearing or tasting.  Mexico is a sensory experience that we are lucky to be part of each year!  Let the fun continue but with a little less fear factor por favor!