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Thursday we went with a group to Santa Prissa for Pazole Thurday.  Here in the state of Guerrero Thursday is the day Pazole is prepared and served in most of the restaurants. Santa Prissa is only open on Thursday and as expected Pazole is the specialty.

.Pazole is a rich stew of hominy and pork or chicken in a sauce of your choice red white or green. Along with the bowl of  pazole is a platter of chile rellenos, taquitos, chips,

guacamole and pico de gillo  We were a group of ten and arrived early enough to ensure a

decent table, not too close to the music and not in the warm sun.

The music of Zihua Juanito was wonderful, the food excellent, even managed to stuff in an ice cream desert and of course the company made the day memorable.

Friday was St. Patrick’s day, but also the birthday of local musician Steve Calvert. Rossy’s, where he performs weekends including this day , was the location of this event. I think almost every musician in Zihuatanejo showed up and joined in at one point or another. We  have been long time fans of Steve and Friends starting back when they played regularly at Pacalos. It was a fun evening crowded with the

local crowd and the snowbirds that haven’t left yet. This is the time of year when the snowbirds start to migrate back north. While the crowd has become quite gray, they still dance with the same enthusiasm they did in there youth. Steve and Friends make us all feel young, at least for an evening.

Saturday morning I decided I would hike up to the “Parthenon”, and abandoned Villa built  by a former Acapulco Chief of Police with embezzled funds.  It was here

he entertained friends and associates with extravagant dinners and parties. It was a 1.5 mile up hill hike only to be told not today but manana. If you have spent anytime in Mexico you have learned  “manana does not necessarily mean tomorrow, it just means not today”. At least I got my exercise in for today, and maybe I will try again tomorrow.  Signing off KO

The Senor and I always enjoy bidding on dinner certificates at the Sailfest Silent Auction with the reason being two fold. Most importantly this insures me of some dinning out which is not real high on the Senor’s priority list as we have a perfectly good kitchen in our apartment. It also means that some of our dinning experiences will be places we have never been to before and sometimes ones we have never heard of and have to search out the location. The searching out is my job as the Senor is still on the mend.

Gourmet dinning is not what we look for. For that matter tiny servings on tiny plates with a squiggle of sauce across the plate is a turn off for the Senor. Our selection of restaurants this year was quite satisfactory, we had 4 different restaurant certificates on Calle Adelita which is primarily a street of restaurants and small hotels.  All were great meals, but my one objection to a couple of the lovely sidewalk cafes on Calle Adelita is the traffic. Exhaust fumes from a constant stream of taxis and even the Modelo truck making deliveries does not make for a great dinning ambiance and conversation.

Tonight was different, our certificate was for “My Sunshine Restaurant” a couple of blocks down from the bridge that crosses the canal. In an out door courtyard off the street where a good dinner at very reasonable can be enjoyed with out the interference of traffic. Charming waiter, great food and they even have their own house mescal that was highly praised by another patron.

Our certificate was for 2 margaritas (I drank both and they were delicious) dinner and desert. We opted for a take home box and didn’t finish all our meal so we  could indulge in the desert which we almost never do.

That was definitely a good plan, desert was yummy ! So a great dinner, enough left overs for lunch tomorrow, pleasant surroundings, friendly service and no exhaust fumes, I’m happy. We will be back. Signing off KO

Tuesday I met up with Roberto at Playa Madera to take advantage of my 2 hour Kayak Adventure I bid and won at Sailfest. This was to be a trifecta of Sailfest events, as we had a lunch, and a massage for the Senor all at the same location. Promptly at 9 am I showed up and set sail on the kayak. Now I’m not entirely new to Kayaks, I have a small plastic one at home I use on our small lake, and I did a major kayak adventure across Puget Sound last summer with kayaks that held camping gear and had rudder pedals and such. But this kayak was of the simple variety, similar to what i use on the lake.  My plan was to circumnavigate the bay, so I headed out towards Playa La Ropa from Playa La Madera and noticed how quiet it was this early in the morning, then on towards Playa Las Gattas, where the water is very green and clear approaching the pier, I chose to go along the outside of the reef and was enchanted by the colorful fish I could see from the boat, almost better than snorkeling, thought of dipping the camera in the water. Headed out along Owen Lee’s property to the mouth of the bay, considered rounding the point and going past the light house,but I’m not an experienced ocean kayak-er  so I decided to cross right at the mouth of the bay to the other side as I waved hello to a fellow kayak-er coming in from the ocean. There were a few fishing boats heading out, but mostly just me, a few jumping fish and the birds enjoying the morning. As I came to Porto Mio I could see the mast of the Picante heading out for a sail, snorkel and ride the Spinnaker adventure, at least I felt no envy as I had done that a few weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely. I had never been beyond the bridge to La Noria so I chose to paddle under the bridge clear to the back of the lagoon where there are many fishing boats and the military boats are moored. Then back around the pier and  along Playa

Principal and a quick tour of the sailboats anchored and I was back at la Madera where I met up with the Senor for lunch followed by him getting  his Sailfest certificate massage. It also gave us a great opportunity to visit with Dave and Vicky whom our paths have not crossed so much this year. So anyone who ever wants to kayak I recommend seeing Roberto at Playa Madera. Just another marvelous day in Zihuatanejo.   I used my “go-pro” mounted on my head the whole trip and  I still haven’t figured out how to edit or download to the blog, so now video. I expected I might have sore muscles after this adventure, but two small blisters on my left hand are my only complaints. Maybe all my swimming paid off. Signing off KO

We arrived the tail end of December and now it is early March and every day has been 86 and sunny. Not one cloudy day! Coming from the Pacific North West ,where grey is the norm until July 5th, this is absolute heaven. Here in the land of no jackets or sweaters evenings are soft and draw you outside to the myriad of restaurants, bars and ice cream shops. You can go where the music is hot or soft as the breeze, but their is always music in the air. People go for walks to visit and socialize.  We rarely go anywhere with out seeing a familiar face. We have developed so many friendships here as the life style is outside and social. Small wonder we keep staying longer and longer each season

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The Senor is mending nicely from his emergency appendectomy. Walked to Calle Adelita for dinner tonight, first walk of any distance. He visited our local Doctura Olivia Montufur, today and had stitches removed and was pronounced healthy again. She did say how unusual it is for a person of his advanced age to have appendicitis, it is considered a young persons disease  as she remarked having 7 year old in last night requiring the same surgery.  Odd that both the Senor and I had appendicitis at age past 60 for me and 70 for him.  Oh well one less thing to worry about. We do thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes for his speedy recovery.

Life is good, we are happy and hope you are. Signing off KO

The Senor is slowly recuperating from his surgery he sleeps a lot and doesn’t want to walk like the Doctor said he should. So Monday I went to Ixtapa Island leaving him to fend on his own. Sounds a little harsh, but the only way I can get him up and moving is to be gone so he has to get up to fix breakfast and lunch.  It’s not much walking as it is a small apartment, but it is better than none. So on Tuesday I went with friends to the annual street fair in Barre de Potosi again leaving him to fend for himself.  Just call me Nurse Ratchet.

This was my first Barre de Potosi street fair and it was very enjoyable and very well

attended. I wasn’t a big shopper but bought some of the cute fish place-mats that the kids make, they will replace the bigger ones that I have in my RV as they are too big for the table. A necklace and a pair of earrings completed my purchases. We had a nice lunch of sopes as that was all they had left when we finally sat down to eat and some sort of a rum collada drink. Tasted like a milk shake to me. To cool off we headed to the beach for a drink at one of the beach front restaurants and then headed to the pasajara for

Paul sporting a purchase his wife made

Having our sopes cooked

the ride back. Pavement is slowly coming to Barre de Potosi, still a bumpy ride, but not so

dusty. Made perfect connections at the highway for the big bus and back in Zihuatanejo for a short siesta before fixing dinner. And as expected the Senor survived just fine, but wasn’t willing to go for a walk around the block.  Signing off. KO

I’ve always said every day in Mexico is an adventure, well this past week has been quite the adventure, but not one I would recommend.. Monday morning I insisted we call Dr. Monufur. She said we would have to come to her at the Clinical Maciel where she had equipment to run tests.  In no time it was clear he had appendicitis and needed  emergency surgery. Considering his age and health history she said he had to go to the ABC Santa Fe Hospital in Mexico City.

We have travel insurance and were about to find out how good it is. It took the doctor considerable haggling to convince the insurance company to have a Mexican transport come from Guadalajara rather than theirs from the US. At this point time was getting crucial, but she won and I was told to pack very light so I just brought a back pack with bare necessities. That was a mistake I ould have easily taken a roll on carry on type bag and we would have had more than a change of under ware and our sweatsuits for the colder climate. At 6:oo pm we were at the airport and whisked away to Mexico City . The flight was quick, efficient but not a recommended way to visit Mexico City.

By 10:00 the Senor was in surgery, his appendix was removed although it had already perforated. Because of that he has had to stay extra time in the hospital and as of this morning we think he will be released tomorrow. If so we will stay in a hotel one day most likely and make travel arrangements back to Zihuatanejo. Everything depends on his lab results and if he is not ready to travel we might need to stay an extra day or two here to get a final check and the surgical drains removed.

We are so thankful for the excellent care he has been given, almost every travelers’ night mare is the what if something happens and I get ill or injured in a foreign country with a strange language. I believe there is probably excellent care in most large cities, with well-trained doctors and many speak excellant english as is here. Only a few of the nursing staff here speak much english which makes a cell phone and google translate an absolute necessity. Don’t leave home with out it.

We have had plans for my birthday dinner at Senior Pinto’s, on the 26. We may still make it. Will make that final decision in the morning. So if you haven’t received an invite, you are not being ignored, it’s still up in the air. Until tomorrow signing off KO