I'm a traveler, not as frequently as I would like , but I plan on doing more. After working full time at Mount Rainier National Park during the summer of 22 I have decided to retire completely and forever. Prior to that I was semi retired as a Wedding Officiant I officiated at about 20 weddings a season, and with my small delivery service I handled the distribution of a local high-quality Home and Garden magazine .
Prior to my "semi retirement" I was in corrections and before that I owned and operated a bail bond agency.
I now plan to travel to new places and exciting places, getting ready to do that as a solo as the Senior is no longer with me, his choice, and I am OK with that. For hobbies I'm a reader and love my kindle. And I enjoy writing.
The Poinsettias are back and in their rightful place at Kyoto Circle, but not the Piñatas. The couple in the top apartment were kind and thoughtful and brought me a poinsettia. Nothing says Christmas like these gorgeous red flowers that are indigenous to Mexico.
Poinsettia Market at Kyoto CircleChristmas Pinsettia from my NeighborsDinner at La Principal
A couple of nights ago I had dinner here. What attracted me was the beautiful table settings that absolutely sparkled. They had a menu exactly to my liking, lots of fish entrees. I will have to go back often and try their many interesting dishes. I’m feeling a little guilty that I may not have their name correct, but if you continue to the beach from the Artists market, cross Juan Alvarez, they are on that corner.
And why are they doing it is a big question. The basketball court is gone, the artist plaza is torn up, there is a huge ditch in which they are building a rock wall through Casa Arcadia. No one seems to have any information on what the end result is supposed to be. I think it is good there are so few tourists here to see this heart breaking mess.
I planned to post several pictures, but I’m not able to post pictures today. I wish I knew someone who is a word press expert or just someone who is more skilled than I to tell me why I continually have such trouble with pictures
No more basket ball court
This is the only picture that I can get to post today. Will try again later. Signing off KO
Folks here have been busy choosing which restaurant to try for as near as possible traditional Thanksgiving dinner, a meal dedicated to Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. None of which I like or eat. And usually the next day you hear about how “they just don’t know how to do it right”.
While I’m sure some places “did it right” but I opted for a different “Thanksgiving meal”, I headed to Las Gattas for an afternoon of swimming snorkeling, reading and getting some sun on this lily white body. Topping it off with a fantastic meal of coconut shrimp, with dipping sauce, guacamole and chips, rice and fruit.
The perfect Thanksgiving dinner
Las Gattas has always been a favorite place for me to swim and snorkel. I enjoy seeing a few colorful fish and on this day I even saw a spotted sea snake. The beach is so protected that it is easy to get in and out of, no sneaky waves to make your loose your balance and knock you flat. I really don’t do waves any more, just don’t have the balance and grace required to keep on my feet. Then when I get knocked down, I’m like an upside down turtle, hoping some kind soul will rescue me.
This pandemic has brought a few changes to Playa Las Gattas. Number one the price of the water taxi ticket has jumped to $80 pesos. The new pier is lovely, but I don’t understand why they couldn’t have made the stairs go clear down to the water, the tide is such that the return trip requires stepping higher than my artificial knees permit and I’m always afraid the skinny little man who is hauling me up won’t be strong enough. I alway tip good and am great full that I have never been dropped.
The beach restaurants have to keep a 10 ft wide space with no chairs or umbrellas between them and the water line. No lounge chairs are permitted, and the crowds are so sparse that there is no problem with social distancing.
For me, shrimp to eat, a good book to read in the sun, some time in the water is a perfect day. A perfect Thanksgiving Day. Signing off KO
I never tire of sounds of Zihuatanejo. It’s music to my ears. There are the sounds one would expect in a beach side community, like the crashing waves which on a very still night I can hear from my back porch although I am a good block away. There is the sound of music coming from the neighbors back yard or the restaurant across the street, but my favorite sounds are the songs of the street vendors. Each of these have there own song. The loudest is the propane truck that announces his presence in your neighborhood with a horn that plays “the charge sound followed by “gaaaaz”.
Bolillo Man hawking his wares
First thing in morning one hears the call of the bolillo man calling “boy-lee-yos” with a basket on his head filled with just baked, warm, crusty buns from the oven of the bakery 1/2 block away. I put a few pesos in my bag, lower it down on a string from the back porch. He takes the pesos and puts a fresh bollio in my bag and I pull it up. This is so much more efficient than looking for my shoes, purse and mask and keys to go down stairs out on to the street and hope he hasn’t moved on. It save both he and I time and is more, fun and more Mexican.
The knife sharpener is another of my favorite mini merchants. He pushes his sharpening wheel through town to the tune of a high pitched penny whistle. Fruit carts of every size and shape are pushed others are powered by bicycle. The coconut man cry’s out “cocooo, cocooo” and then with his machete he will wack out that coco nut, put a straw in it and you have a delicious drink. The candy man is strangely quiet as he moves from one location to another pushing an enormous wooden wheelbarrow filled with the most beautiful array of candy. Ice cream carts have the sound of a tricycle bell, or a clown horn depending on what type of ice cream. I still prefer the home made ice cream that you get from the big metal tubs. They usually sell 3 types from their divided tub, vanilla, lemon, and coconut, all really yummy.
Come evening you hear the hamburger carts getting pushed across rough streets to their corner locations where folks say you can get the best ever hamburgers. And listen for the steam whistle of the “comote” man selling his hot roasted sweet potatos with a sweetened canned milk drizzled over them, one of my favorite dinners. So much of life here is just as it has always been from the earliest times, the fishermen selling their catch on the beach and carts being pushed through the streets.
And yes there are still tiny children selling trinkets to the tourists at the bars and restaurants while mama watches from a distance, frequently with this years baby wrapped up in her shawl.
Still having trouble getting pictures placed where I want them, and some just won’t up load. This iPad is quite the learning process. Signing off KO
Zihuatanejo 