Zihuatanejo Mexico – Page 11

SAILFEST

Chili cook off

The cactus is made from zucchini, pea pods and rasberries

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Sailfest is the most fun you can have doing good deeds for the kids of Zihuatanejo. The chili cook off is the Senor’s favorite event and he turned out for it happily voting for his favorite chili from “The Captain’s Daughter”. Not being a fan of spicy chili I’m afraid to try half of them. I stick with my favorite, the key lime pie.

The silent auction is one my favorite events. I usually just go after the Restaurant meals. My theory is if I’ve bought a certificate for a restaurant, the Senor will have to go out and use it. And I do enjoy eating out from time to time. But I wasn’t very successful this year, got out bid most of the time. But did succeed in getting the dinner for 4 at Chula Vida out on Playa Larga. We went there a couple of years ago with Will and Sylvia and had a fantastic time. Now we get to do it all over again with them this year. I’m looking forward to it. My only other successful on a bid on a natural beige cotton dress.

The Senor and I along with friends attended the Gala Dinner at the relatively new El Consuelo restaurant located where the old Pacalo’s was. It’s been beautifully remodeled, but an unusual location for dinner for a very large group of gringos with a staff that only

speaks Spanish and isn’t tuned into gringo drinks. I went to the bar to get a bloody mary and a screwdriver and the folks behind the bar had no idea what they were. I’m flexible with what I will drink, but the Senor isn’t and I couldn’t believe they couldn’t do a screw driver. So I explained that it was Vodka and “juego de narnja”. Yes he under stood, then I said I would also like a rum and coca lite. well he fixed the screwdriver, then proceeded to pour diet coke on top if it and would have added rum on top of that if I hadn’t stopped him. Finally we worked out what a screw driver was and I settled for a glass of wine as you just can’t screw that up. The food was good, the music fantastic. The music alone was worth the price of the ticket. A Mexican couple sang lovely Mexican

music to his guitar accompaniment. Her voice is high and clear like Joan Baez. Even bought their CD.

Going out for an afternoon on a sail boat is probably my most favorite activity of all of Sailfest. This year my friend Faye went with me on the Patricia Belle. I can’t get the Senor to go with me. After 22 years in the Navy he sees no reason to get on a boat unless it includes fishing. Thhe Patricia Belle is a 50 foot wood sailboat, built just a few miles from my home in Washington out of timber the Captian logged off his property. There were 27 passengers and every one had a great time especially as we really got to sail, with all sails up and no motor at all. We were

actually going to fast for folks to swim so the crew cut the sails back, slowed us down and about a dozen folks jumped in, including Faye and I. Even slowed down it was tough to keep up with the boat, kind of like swimming in a swim spa where you keep swimming but make no progress. When a took my hat off to swim, the chin strap broke and wouldn’t you know it on the return leg of our journey the wind caught my hat and it went sailing into the bay. I thought it was a goner, but

Hat lost at sea

hooking the hat

the captain and the lovely lady who retrieved my hat

they turned the boat around and after a couple of valiant tries my hat was hooked and back on board. This is the second hat of mine that had to be rescued at sea, last time I was on a different boat but it was the crew of the Patricia Belle that saved it and transferred it back to the boat I was on. Signing off KO

It’s Sailfest and I’ve Been Busy

Super Bowl Sunday the men in our building planned to watch the game at Fireball a newer bar on Ejidio just 2 blocks from our apartment. It was chosen because of its wall projection TV, but also because it was new and maybe not so crowded. Well it was crowded, but they discovered the owner is a very congenial fellow from Minnesota and a nice new establishment. The ladies of Casa del Mar plus an additional friend choose to spend Super Bowl 50 at the beach restaurant Tata’s. It was Myra’s last day in Zihuatanejo and she wanted all the beach she could get. We had a great time visiting, eating and enjoying Mango Margaritas and Daiquiris.

That evening M-Dock band was doing a free concert at the Zocolo that was hugely attended.Since we could hear the music perfectly from our balcony I avoided the crowds and enjoyed it from home. The welcome party was the next evenings event with the Expressions Inmune providing the music.

This is the young Mexican band that started playing in the street, got their first “professional gig” with Sailfest several years ago and are now playing in many of the local restaurants. I did my third day selling T-shirts, concert tickets and such today. The live auction was tonight, but it has been a little too rich for my blood the last few years. And of course the Senor isn’t feeling up to going anywhere.

Took the Senor to the Doctor again today. Medical practice is certainly is different here. The doctor actually took his blood pressure instead of an assistant. This time the doctor prescribed a series of 3 cortisone B 12 and some pain medicine for his on going sciatica. So we went to the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions, took 2 pharmacies to get both, then went to the pharmacy next door when the shot was administered and where he will return today and again tomorrow to complete the process. So far no fantastic results, but we are hopping. She mentioned that he should get another ct scan, but there is no ct machine in Zihuatanejo. I can’t remember where she said the closest one was.

That really surprised me. Actually I’ve been in Mexico long enough that very little truly surprises me, but so many thing I do shake my head in bewilderment. Signing off KO

Sunday Sweet Sunday, With Nothing To Do

That is nothing we have to do, I don’t swim on the weekends so we had a leisurely lovely breakfast on the balcony while listening to the church bells calling the faithful. Surprisingly this is the first time we have heard the bells. The Senor is always the breakfast cook and this morning he out did himself with this marvelous fruit bowl. It would be such a healthy breakfast if we hadn’t have stuffed ourselves.

Our morning entertainment was watching our pigeon take a bath in the neighbors water supply “tinaco”. This is a daily event that truly amuses me. But I have checked out the tinacos on our roof and know they are covered, no bathing birds there.

another sight that amuses me is a half block away on about the 3rd floor roof is what I believe is an old cement rooftop cistern that has taken on a new life as a swimming hole. Several times I have seen kids whooping and splashing in it.

So much of Mexico is interesting and no matter how frequently I see it it never ceases to amaze and amuse me. Almost every evening there will be a couple of restaurants roasting this cut of pork over an open fire and continuing to

slice little bits. Not being a meat eater I have no idea how it is served, and the Senor is not an adventurous eater this will remain “mystery meat” to us.

A day or so ago I noticed the sail boat the PATRICIA BELLE was anchored in the bay. She was hand built by the captain just a couple of

miles from our home in Washington. I had the opportunity to sail on her last Sail Fest and hope to do so again. She is one of the largest sailboats we see here. Signing off, KO

Living vs Vacationing

It’s so very different when you “vacation” in Mexico for a week or two compared to “living” in Mexico for 3 months. It’s taken us two weeks and at least 6 trips to the Telcel store to get two cheap Mexican cells phones operational so that we can communicate with each other. (We used to bring a pair of walkie talkies.) Unlike the US where all directions come in 14 different languages, here only one and it is not English.

Siestas are now to be enjoyed now, where in our vacationing timeline they were a waste of precious minutes that could be better used site seeing and shopping. I still love to poke around the stores, but now it’s a leisurely activity spread out over our entire time here.

We have a daily morning guest, our pigeon sleeps in our balcony planter and wakes during our breakfast. I’m sure our presence is an annoyance to her. At night we have a very small gecko that decorates the balcony wall or ceiling. The Senor talks to him in Gecko and gets answers back.

The weather has been a bit warmer and a little more humid than usual here according to the locals and the “year rounders”. As it rarely gets lower than 75 all night long, night life is quite lively here. We rarely eat before 7, no matter if it is on the balcony or in a restaurant. And the activity in the Zocolo, which is just a block away goes on many times until midnight, especially during the holiday season.

I took the bus to Puerto del Sol to make our New Years eve reservations, it was early and the cook was preparing a cake in the kitchen while her parrot kept her company. I walked back and as always I discovered many interesting sites along the way.

The Senor suggested breakfast out this morning so I took the bus back from my swim instead of walking as I normally do and on the bus was our favorite waiter from Las Gatas, Jose on his way to work with his handsome 16 year old son Felipe who was going to work with him that day. It was good to pry the Senor out of the room, we tried a new restaurant that served him two of the worst looking eggs I have ever seen. He tried to eat the yolk, the whites were too crisp to try, when suddenly the waiter reappeared with two marvelous looking eggs for the Senor. Nice service like that isn’t forgotten. I don’t know the name of the restaurant but they are at the corner of Vicente Guerrero and the unpronounceable Cuoctemoc or something similar.

After breakfast the plan was to find a white shirt for the Senor, no luck but I ended up the receiving end of our shopping trip getting a lovely silver turtle on a silver chain. With the exchange rate very favorable for the american dollar I’m starting my next years Christmas shopping next week. Singing off KO

Lazy Zihua Sunday

We had a nice dinner last night at the Italian restaurant just down the street, never can remember the name of it, but I get good fish there and OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA the Senor likes the spaghetti. The proprietress is very friendly and always remembers us and treats us like friends. Then on the Flophouse for drinks where we met old friends and made new ones, made plans for Ixtapa Island with Charlie and

Christina and turned in early which is becoming a regular plan as the Senor does tire out more readily now.

I’m an early riser, usually about 5:30 which is just before a couple of the bars in our neighborhood close. They are noisy with loud thumping music, but with the doors and windows closed and the air on they are only a

distant hum. Until I grab the computer and slip on to the balcony, then it gets very lively as the bars close and the young people spill out onto the street, motor scooters starting up, people laughing , yelling as if they were still yelling over the music a veritable feast of sounds. But this morning there was a different sound, anger. Lots of anger, this time people yelling at each other and several pushing and shoving at each other. I was happy to be three stories up and just a silent observer, but I’m wondering if real trouble is about to break out. Then slowly up the street walk two figures in camouflage riot gear holding shot guns and then two more arrive. The crowd didn’t disperse instantly, but with a half dozen more armed policia in the pickup truck at the foot of the street I thankfully knew it was over, and slowly they all went home just as the sun came up. Excitement all over.

The rest of the day was spent with errands to Waldo’s, and laundry. It takes about 2 hours for a load of laundry to wash and by the time you hang that load out your previous load has already dried and is ready to bring in. Takes up quite a bit of time, but not much work, easy enough.

The Senor has taken to watching the football games in our apartment instead of going out to the bars to watch it since we now get channel 13, 4,5 and 7 on cable. I know it’s better for him, but that used to be some of my best movie time. Oh well I can adjust. Signing off KO

The pier, the yogurt and the Christmas Dinner

Christmas morning was very quiet, that is after 6 AM when the last celebrants left the bar around the corner. The streets were empty of people and cars, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this town so quiet and it was like that most of the day. I walked down to the pier, it just reopened after a major patch job. It looks great and lets hope it does the job. Many folks were headed to Las Gatas as the town is full of Mexican tourists getting their beach fix during this holiday time. Coming back from the pier I stopped at the new ice cream shop right across from the Zocolo., well it does have ice cream but what it features is frozen yogurt, which I really enjoy. There were several flavors of syrup, I selected Baileys which he swirled around the bottom and sides of the cup, then added the yogurt and wanted me to select toppings. I’m a purist and don’t want toppings. I guess I had expected the yogurt to be just like at home, why I don’t know. But of course it wasn’t. What came to mind is Al Alto’s song “Con Limon” how everything in Mexico comes with lime. There was just a touch of tartness, but very good. I think I will become a regular there. It has nice seating lacking in other ice cream spots and a great place to watch the daily parade go by.

We were invited to Christmas dinner at friends Joanne and Will’s

apartment. There were eight of us for dinner and we sort of expected it might be traditional Christmas fare. What we didn’t know is Joanne is fantastic creative cook. And yes there was turkey and gravy and wonderful stuffing and the most delightful sweet potato dish I have ever had, all beautifully displayed and served. It was a true feast!

So not only was there this wonderful dinner but stockings had been prepared for each one of us with little treats and goodies and really personalized. I had in mine some of the lovely earrings that Joanne makes The Senor found a carton of the V8 juice he so loves in his. It was such fun, and so thoughtful. A truly great Christmas!

Our bounty from the Christmas stockings, that should keep the Senor in chocolate for weeks to come.

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My beautiful new jewelry

What has surprised me this year is that even though we are less than a block from the church, I’ve not heard church bells at all. I miss that!

Signing off, KO

Merry Christmas To All

We had a pleasant Christmas eve dinner last night at Daniels, they had a holiday menu of turkey with an interesting stuffing, I think was mostly

sausage and raisins. We had a wonderful fruit salad and a creamed corn and poblano soup that was just great. Not being one who eats meat I came prepared with a ziplock bag to put my turkey away for the Senor’s sandwiches later

Then we were on to Porto d Mare for night caps.

For 3 days last week my right knee began to bother me, felt weak swollen, stiff and was uncomfortable walking. Some times it felt like it might buckle under me when I would stand up. This knee shouldn’t bother me as I had it replaced several yeas ago, I never have trouble with it but I do know that infections can go straight to it. That’s why I take penicillin before any dental or medical treatment. Also my middle finger or my right had became swollen and sore. The joints ached and I couldn’t make a closed fist, that finger just wouldn’t bend and ached horribly. During all this I still went swimming every morning, but one day I couldn’t get warm swimming and quit after 25 minutes. Which is something I never quit early. All in all I just didn’t feel 100%, napped several times a day, no get up and go, no interest in going much of anywhere that I didn’t have to. Questioned that maybe I was beginning to feel “old”. Anyway to make a long story shorter. I believe I had a mild case of “chikungunya”. I had collected several mosquito bites before we finally got some repellent and I think one of those sucker gave it to me. It seem to only affect my most vulnerable joint, those with previous injuries. I knew chikungunya was in the area, but after I began to feel good again, I looked it up on line and I do think that’s what I had. Certainly not a case of old age.

Merry Christmas from Zihuatanejo Mexico

signing off KO

DAY AT LA PLAYA

We decided we have been lazy long enough and decided to visit our favorite waiter Jose, at Gloria del Mar at Playa Las Gattas.

As we walked through town to the pier we stopped to admire the kittens at the local humane society. This little orange kitty struck me as truly a mexican cat, all relaxed out in his hamock. Since we left a little later than usual, and weren’t familiar with the new little pier set up that is being used while some sort of repairs are being attempted on the main pier, we hit a traffic jam. Incoming fishing boats off loading families with their catches took president over out going beach seekers. The Senor, always the efficiancy expert, still can’t quite relax and just say “It’s Mexico”!

Playa Las Gattas was busy and Jose told us it would get busier towards the

end of the week. Many Mexican nationals are here from the interior to enjoy the fresh air and warmth of the beach. A couple of drinks, swim a little, vist with folks around you, watch the sights and enjoy the beach sales people. I bought an ankle bracelet from Juanita, I have so much of her jewelry that I really don’t need any more. A short visit with we learned that she is sad as her mama has passed away and now it is just her and her sister.

I did get a nice pair of silver hoops from Jorge. It always amazes me that the silver sales men have a credit card machine with them. But for every one else its cash only and exact change. As no one ever can change a large bill. And all the ATM gives out are large bills. We start to hord our small bills and change because if you run out you are SOL. The cambio across the street from us will usually change a 500 once a day, but if I start going there everyday they soon tell me no, no change. Maybe that is why there are these huge line ups to go into the banks, folks just needing change. Signing Off KO

White crane seen from the "little pier" — Beautiful white crane greeted us on our return.

A LAZY ZIHUA DAY

We went to the movies in Zihuatanejo it’s just across the street from us. It is always an experience. First we have to determine if the movie we want to watch is in english and at what time it will play. If we plan it right we can go on the 2 for 1 night, but last night it was full price 40 pesos each. WE opted to see Navidad del Coopers, a light hearted funny movie with Diane Keaton and John Goodman. To get to the particular room it was showing in, it’s like climbing steps to a tower. Up is not so bad, but down is a bit scary especially in the dark.

I didn’t sleep to good last night, have a joint on one finger that is plaging me and my “good knee” is sore and stiff. That shouldn’t happen in this lovely weather. I still walk all over town and find lots of pretty flowers over hanging the sidewalks

Walked out to the pool this morning and was informed that since I am over 60 I do not have to pay to swim, one of the grounds keepers with passable english informed me. He says the lady has just been pocketing my 20 pesos each day. I got there a little earlier than usual and the water seemed cold, I never quite warmed up. With the new cover on the pool the water is considerable cooler in the morning. Tomorrow I will not pay!

Bought a mexican phone today, but neither Doyle or I can figure out how to make them work. We never had this problem before. I’ll go back to tel cell for instructions tomorrow. Unlike everything in the US that comes with directions in a half dozen different languages, here it is strictly spanish.

With my achy bones and joints I’ve been pretty lazy to day opting to take advantage of the mexican custom of siesta. While the Senor has his TV I have my computer,my kindle and a whole passel of movies my daughter put on a hard drive for me so it’s been real easy to be lazy. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get ambitious. Signing off KO

Getting Organized

We seem to be slow to get our selves organized this year. We’ve all ready made 2 trips to the Comercial making sure we have enough items to fully prepare a meal, at least 2 to Waldo’s,(mexican equivelent of a dollar store) and several to the ATM to amass 24,000 pesos to pay our rent for the season. I’m still having a period of adjustment with the peso system, I’ll get better as time goes on. On this morning’s trip to the ATM the line was reasonable, only about 15-20 people, but while waiting we notice a little dog laying right in front of the door to the ATM. He would lift his head

20141231_162010 — Pup catching a breeze from air-conditioned doorway

every time the ATM door opened, at first I thought he was wary of being stepped on, but no he was just catching the air conditioned breeze that comes out every time the ATM door is opened. Very smart pup!

I have spent much of the last two days trying to get my new smart phone up and running here only to find out my phone isn’t international compatable. My old phone was, all I had to do was put in a mexican chip. So now I have no app for translations and or a money calculator to carry with me. Bummer! The only thing the phone will do is take pictures and then I can transfer them to the computer.

I’ve been walking to the swimming pool each morning and I’ve decided to walk back also. That old song “keep on the sunny side of the street” does not play well here. You learn quickly to always take the shady side which caused me today to see some wild life, well more like barnyard life. At an old dilapidated building that looks like it could have been a new car show room at some time in the didtant past minus all the glass and a parking

lot gone to weeds I spotted a small flock of big turkeys with tailsfanned out and on closer look there were also 2 goats. Then I saw a dad in a hammock with a toddler on his chest along with a few old broken downown cars and assorted other castaway junk it looks like this family has found a way to subsist. I just wonder if those turkeys will still be there after the Christmas holiday!

Yesterday in order to absolve some of the frustrations over getting phone service setup I decided to take my computer to the beach and start on this blog, but better yet ran into a group of old friends and sat with them over a couple of mango margaritas and visited and caught up a bit.

Once again we ate in on our balcony, Doyle taking it very easy after one night of over doing it. I’m learning to be more accepting of his need to rest and relax. It’s helpfull that this year the TV has 3 Seattle stations and FOX news to which he is addicted. Signing off KO

PS still can’t find spell check

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Our morning entertainment was watching our pigeon take a bath in the neighbors water supply “tinaco”. This is a daily event that truly amuses me. But I have checked out the tinacos on our roof and know they are covered, no bathing birds there.

another sight that amuses me is a half block away on about the 3rd floor roof is what I believe is an old cement rooftop cistern that has taken on a new life as a swimming hole. Several times I have seen kids whooping and splashing in it.

So much of Mexico is interesting and no matter how frequently I see it it never ceases to amaze and amuse me. Almost every evening there will be a couple of restaurants roasting this cut of pork over an open fire and continuing to

slice little bits. Not being a meat eater I have no idea how it is served, and the Senor is not an adventurous eater this will remain “mystery meat” to us.

A day or so ago I noticed the sail boat the PATRICIA BELLE was anchored in the bay. She was hand built by the captain just a couple of

miles from our home in Washington. I had the opportunity to sail on her last Sail Fest and hope to do so again. She is one of the largest sailboats we see here. Signing off, KO

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