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Been a busy week beginning with the Spring Street Fair in Barra de Potosi, it is a fun and colorful annual event.  It is full of local hand made items for sale, many made by

the village children.  Lots of great homemade Mexican food and drink.  This event helps to support their animal protective society which funds neutering of dogs and cats, help find homes for otherwise unwanted animals. I went with the plan of purchasing 4 kid designed and painted place mats and some flavored sea salts.

A couple of days later went back to Barra de Potosi to

Diana

Kathleen

the lagoon

kayak in the lagoon. Great place for kayaking, smooth water in the lagoon. We did a double, and it was fun.  But I prefer a single, easier to paddle at your own rhythm.

I’ve been to Playa Linda many times, but just as a stopping of point to catch the water taxi to Ixtapa island.  After visiting the crocodile sanctuary, our group settled in at a table at one of the many restaurants and watched the huge waves that day.  No swimming for any of us.  That evening I was on to a cocktail party for Sailfest volunteers at Punto Garrobo,  a new upscale,

small upper level infinity pool

large beach club infinity pool

looking down to the beach club from top of stairs

luxury establishment high on the hills overlooking a small inlet on the far side of the light house, sort of behind Playa Las Gatas.  Lovely facilities, absolutely top notch, but not for me.  Property is on a very steep hillside, lots of wide stairs but of course no railings.  They “vanned” us down to the “Beach Club” which is exquisite, the road is very, very steep with a hairpin turn that takes  two two three passes to complete the turn.  It is walk-able for the young and healthy, but not so much for senior citizens and it is too steep for golf carts to pull.

The beach club  infinity pool in-spite of it’s slightly irregular shape is long enough for lap swimming and is gorgeous as are the views.  It was a very pleasant evening complete with a drinks and tapas.

My birthday last week was perfect.  The concert was a fantastic, wonderful entertaining singer followed by a local mariachi band. Forgot to bring my phone so no pictures.  Signing off KO

I love art galleries, but I view them like I view a museum. A place to visit and enjoy great beauty, not a place to shop.

Suazo Galleria

Suazo Galeria

Suazo Galeria

Art can be found all over Zihuatanejo, in the many galleries, murals on walls, sometimes on gates or doors and even the pole in the laundromat. Many artist display their paintings or crafts in open plaza.

At at the Artist Plaza

There are murals on walls, walkways, all through town.

Even one in progress

I also tour the fabric stores with the same type of mentality as the fabrics here are beautiful and the selection immense.  The difference between the fabric stores and galleries is  I can shop the fabric stores as the prices are extremely low compared to home prices.  What I find odd is that you can buy anything you need for sewing except a pattern, not a pattern to be found. The bottom fabric will be my new curtains.  Signing off KO

I had become lazy about getting to the pool on a regular basis.  So yesterday I bought my monthly pass and have resumed swimming.  I swim 3 days a week and  on the other two week days I have Spanish lessons.  The swimming is going great, the Spanish not so great.  It is a bit  of a struggle for me and I know I should study more and practice more.  I’m finding composing sentences difficult, my vocabulary is fair but conjugating the proper verb in the proper tense just takes a lot of thought.  They say this is good for the older mind as it keeps it active.  If frustrated is active I’m doing just fine.

My friend Vicky had her birthday party last week, really a great party, great band, even a pinata. She had the most

delicious layered cake as each layer was a different flavor. Unfortunately she had to  she had to enjoy it on crutches as she is recover from an earlier fall getting on a motor scooter and broke her leg. No one can accuse us oldsters of not being  active or having fun in Zihuatanejo.

My birthday is next week, there is a big fund raiser concert that same evening for the local Humane Society that does a wonderful job rescuing street dogs and spaying and neutering.  Friends convinced me that it would be a great way to celebrate my birthday as not only is there a concert, but also food, wine and raffles . So I bought a ticket.

A few days ago went with a group to Ixtapa Island snorkeling.  The snorkeling was the best I’ve seen in several trips there.  The water was clear, not too heavy of wave action and the fish would literally swarm all around you.  While doing a quick stop to check out the croc’s in their sanctuary I noticed a turtle swimming up on the back of a crocodile and literally taking a ride on his back.  Who knew they were friends!  Signing off KO

My Mexican life has settled into a fairly normal pattern, I usually visit the Eco Tianquis Saturday Morning Market where I can find home grown produce, bread, pastries, hand crafted jewelry, purses, embroidery work and organic foods all done by local folks. Usually there is entertainment, music and/or dancers. There are bins for my recyclables, I donate what I can to the food bank and visit with friends.  It’s a lovely way to start a Saturday.

Friday was the annual street fair on Calle Adelita, with food, auctions and dancing in the streets  I really enjoyed the bands, but was just too crowded for me.  But that’s OK as it was a fund raiser for both the home for the elderly and the orphanage and it raised a lot of money for those worth while projects.

Sunday usually finds me at Escollera the lovely infinity pool swimming with the ladies, when you are single the group dynamics change so I have really enjoyed these Sundays.

The fabric store in Zihuatanejo is one of my favorite places to visit.  I can spend hours perusing the multitude of fabrics they have.  I have never seen such a large display of home decorating fabrics and the prices are dirt cheap in comparison to my
home fabric store I purchased fabric to recover my 2 bar stools at home, total cost is equivelant to $6.37 US at home 2 yards would have cost between $20-40. Now I’m trying to decide which fabric for my table runners.

I had a nice sewing project for my friend Brenda, she needed removable seat covers for cushions for the stools in her bar, aptly named “Brenda’s Bar”.  People will stay longer if they have comfortable seating, so I made 10 of them for her she has another friend who will do the rest.

Monday I’m going snorkeling at Ixtapa island with friends, tomorrow is Spanish class and in the evening a birthday party to attend.  Life is much more social here, warm, relaxing, and friendly.  Signing off KO

I’ve not posted in several weeks as I have been having too much fun keeping company with a charming gentleman from Canada.  He had to return to Canada for knee surgery yesterday.  Now I am back to having free time to explore Zihuatanejo on my own and sharing it with you.

I had a brief episode of extremely low blood pressure and found it necessary to go to the Clinica Maciel one afternoon.  I was impressed with the the doctors, and the level of care.  I would never hesitate to go there again if I felt the need for medical treatment.

Escollera, with it’s infinity swimming pool has become a favorite spot.  I also have spent

quite a bit of time at La Madera beach, easy walk to get to, no water taxi’s or buses to contend with.

Sailfest has come and gone again this year I worked the T-shirt sales desk and enjoyed an afternoon on the Catamaran Viva, a true luxury cat. With all the rest of the sailboats we sailed to Ixtapa but

then went on to Ixtapa island where we

anchored.  Last year only a couple of us swam to shore, this year half the boat opted to swim in rather than use the launch that Paradisio Escondido sent out to transport folks to shore.  All part of the adventure! Also had a lovely evening  doing the sunset cruise on the Picante with friends.

Almost every evening there is a place for dancing, most of it caters to the “grey panther” group that is in the majority here.  But to watch folks dance, it’s with the same energy they always had.  We did have the best music, and it is still alive and well  in Zihuatanejo.

A group of us started a book club,  it fizzled out but not before introducing me to a couple of excellent reads.  Cutting Stone and the Tattooist of Auschwitz.  I highly recommend both, not quick beach reads, but real meaty stories and the Tattooist is a true story of the will to survive.

Still fighting to find and move pictures to where I want them.  I don’t know why it is so difficult.  Signing off KO

Zihuatanejo was host to two cruise ships this week end.  They always add a little excitement to the community with the town making an effort to keep the tourists and their money in Zihuatanejo instead of Ixtapa. I saw one group of tourists being guided through El Centro on their way to the Mercado as they passed through my alley.

Dancers performed at the artist park where many local vendors were displaying their wares.  I’m always amazed at the stamina of the dancers in full costumes and masks that all look to be heavy and hot.

The next day an even larger cruise ship , but was only here for a few hours, went down to Playa Madera to get a good look at it, but I couldn’t get a decent photo of it due to the way it was moored.  I thought when we walked down the beach later we would get a broadside view, but then it was gone.  On the walk back to town we saw the ice cream man.   I swear the best ice cream ever comes from the guys with these big stainless steel tubs that offer 3 flavors, coconut, vanilla and lemon.

I’m assuming it was because of the two cruise ships being here, but a real show of security was  seen all about town.  Military, Police and National Guard all highly visible all through out the town on foot, trucks, motorcycles on the beach. Quite impressive!

I’m starting to get the hang of moving pictures around with I cloud, but it’s time consuming process for me, but a least I can do it now.  Signing off KO

I am enjoying myself here in this sunny warm place called Zihuatanejo, I am often alone, but seldom lonely. I enjoy the company of some long time very close friends, but I also enjoy the company of a wide circle of very interesting women from all walks of life and a

variety of provinces and states.  Some are lucky enough to live here full time. We gather at the beaches, lovely pools like the infinity one at Escollera, in the out door bars and restaurants.  Most of us agree if we were back in the cold north we would be huddled in our homes in front of the TV.  Life is bigger and bolder here, more vibrant and colorful.  Lots of energy and few complaints.

I’ve just about finished with redecorating my apartment. Much of it is to simplify life, reduce clutter and rid myself of things that I have no use for or give me no pleasure. I’ve reorganized the kitchen to just the items I need to prepare the kind of meals I like.  I know I need to tackle the closet, but that may wait until the end of the season when I am positive of what needs to go home and never return and what needs to just go away and what needs to stay.  At home I lead a “jeans and t-shirt style life”, with a few rare occasions to wear dresses.  Here I wear dresses regularly as they are so comfortable in this weather.

There is so much wonderful music here, some for dancing other just for listening, and some of it late night.  I’ve had the opportunity to go dancing a few nights and I can still out dance and out last men 10 years younger than me. I’ve always loved to dance and it’s nice to have an occasional partner now and again.

Can’t post the pictures I would like to because they are attached to a different email account that my WordPress account is. I’m looking for someone who is skilled in managing pictures on the computer to teach me. Other than that color me content. Signing off KO

I had a great visit with family and friends over the Christmas Holiday, our first in getting the whole family together in about 20 years, but it is too hectic to travel at that time of year and too cold in Western Washington for me. Hopefully further reunions will be in  the summer and without the need to shop for gifts for everyone.

It was great to arrive back in Zihuatanejo just in time to celebrate the New Year. I hadn’t made any New Year plans before I left and no idea what anyone else’s plans were so I decided to go bar hopping by myself at all the usual haunts. It worked out great I visited with old friends, met new friends and had a fun evening all over El Centro. Didn’t get home until 3AM, surprised myself.

The fireworks at midnight were spectacular, and unlike previous years the band that played at the Zocolo was really good. And their sound system was perfect. Too much of the time all you hear is thumping bass played at ear splitting decibels way too late in the wee hours of the morning. Not so with this band. Sound quality and levels were right on. The Zocolo was so crowded you could hardly walk through it, but everyone was happy, dancing in the streets, just a super way to kick out the old year and start a new one.

I am starting a new chapter in my life, final divorce papers were signed by the judge on December 31st and I am officially an independent woman.  This isn’t where I expected to be at this time in my life, but I couldn’t be happier. My only New Year resolution is to make the most of everyday.

I spent a good portion of New Year’s Day, clearing out cupboards and closets, hung my new hand made bead and cork curtain in the doorway between the living room and bedroom.  Previously there was a bamboo curtain that made noise every time you went through it, this one is quiet and recovered my couch using just a sheet.  It looks better, we’ll see how well it holds up.  Then had lunch with a very good friend. Tomorrow, back to swimming on a regular basis. Signing off KO

PS Have spent 2 days trying to get pictures taken on my new Iphone which has a separate email account attached to it to post to the blog.  Just can’t do it yet.