Zihuatanejo

Sorry, I’ve Been Lazy, but also busy

I’ve become quite lazy and have ignored this blog too long. I will try to do better in this new Year of 2025. I think I will work from yesterday and go backwards over the past several weeks, months.

Christmas and New Years were spectacular especially as my eldest son Shawn came to visit for two weeks over the holidays. So I wowed him with dozens of parties, parades, and fireworks. I don’t think any town could decorate better than Zihuatanejo for the holidays, it glitters and sparkles every where.

New Years Day we celebrated with our 3rd annual “Polar Bear Swim“, where the only thing cold is the ice in your Margarita. Each year we get more and more participants to brave the waves at the rousing hour of 11:00 am.

I had decided that New Year’s Eve fireworks might best be viewed from our favorite infinity swimming pool/ restaurant Escollera, so I made reservations for Shawn and I, but before the big night came 4 more friends choose to join us for a full table. The food was excellent, after dinner, while waiting for midnight and the New Year display we enjoyed card games.

Shawn, who is a DJ by profession, treated a group of friends to a karaoke evening at a friends house. Where we soon discovered not many of us are singers, but these gals did a great job on Dolly Parton’s Jolene

Parties and dinners almost every night what a wonderful season of fun

30 friends gathered at Mikes’ Diner for Christmas Eve dinner

We went swimming at Escollera

I even got some work out of him while here, he cleaned my curtain rods, installed a couple of screws and nails where I needed them, helped me with my Christmas lights. Unfortunately he took out my folding step ladder but were able to complete the tasks with the landlords ladder. It’s been kind of nice to have a man around the house.

The city/government has restored the building dubbed the “Partenon” to it’s original glamor from it’s dubious past when it was a playground for a very dishonest Police official from Mexico City. Now it is a lovely event center for the people of Zihuatanejo. I attended a fashion show there and was impressed with the finished project. The fashion show was fun too, but I am amazed that in Mexico they say it will always be a alcohol free establishment. Quite a surprise as everywhere else the booze flows freely. Part of the culture it seems.

Partenon before restoration when the steps (replaced by bleachers) went down to a swimming pool (replaced by a stage.)

I’ve now been a full time resident of Zihuatanejo for just over two years, even in the humid summers when I suffer from heat rash I know this was the very best decision I’ve ever made. Getting to live in this warm friendly place where everyone talks to everyone, friends, shopkeepers, neighbors. It’s impossible to walk a block with out meeting people you know. My son was quite surprised to see when you get on a bus every one greets you with a “buenas tardes” or “buen dia“. Strangers will stop you on the street to pay you a complement. It’s still affordable to live here, but long gone are the days of Mexico being cheap. Somethings are far less expensive, medicine for one, and labor is quite cheap. I have no need for a car here, buses and taxi’s are plentiful an very inexpensive. I live quite simply here after having shed myself of 60 years of collecting stuff, and only have just enough for my personal needs.

I do have some wonderful things to look forward to in 2025. In the spring I am going with friends to ride the train through the Copper Canyon in northern Mexico, about a 10 day trip. Then in late July I am going to take my first luxury cruise on a very large (3000+ passenger) cruise ship through the Greek Islands. Every day is still an adventure here in warm sunny Zihuatanejo. Signing off KO

Cordoba

Here we discovered the Mezquita originally a moorish mosque but later reclaim by the Catholic Spaniards. Instead of destroying the mosque they recognized the artistry and architectural beauty of the building and simple used a part of it for their cathedral. To me it almost the ultimate peace symbol. It is a Catholic Church where mass is said every morning but the lovely moorish arches are everywhere. And as our group exited the cathedral the bell tower rang the angelus. It was beautiful to hear. The bell tower was added on top of what was the original minaret where the faithful moors were called to prayer.

Bell tower built on top of the original minaret

Cordoba is a beautiful city with hidden courtyards and gardens behind closed doors and gates. As people come and go you get a glimpse into these sheltered areas. Here again the streets are very narrow with lovely doorways often decorated with color or plants. The city sponsors cat feeding stations so the feral cats are guaranteed some sustenance while keeping the rodent population under control. (Much like Disneyland does)

Cordoba is where I fully learned the concept of walled cities and gates or doors to the city. One of the entrances to this city you had to pass through a gate house to access the bridge over the river to get to the city gates. There would be several entrances to these ancient walled cities but they would all be closed at night and then reopened again in the morning. The farms were located outside the city walls.

The gate house you had to pass thru to get to the bridge across the river

Next will be a visit to a fighting bull farm

signing of KO

Seville

Our ship, The Corinthian, was waiting for us in Seville on the Guadalquivir River. Being a small ship, only 89 passengers max we could dock right in Seville unlike the bigger cruise ships who have to tender in. I was amazed at how spacious my cabin was. Pure luxury as far as I was concerned.

We made several trips in to Seville, some on our own some guided. We visited the Real Alcazar which is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe today. Fascinating knowing that you are walking the same hallways where Catherine of Aragon played as a child. The gardens were exquisite, and much of the original moorish architecture remain even after being reclaimed by the Spanish kings. The cathedral with it’s beautiful bell tower is the final resting place of Christopher Columbus confirmed by dna in 2006. Here in Europe he is still considered a good guy and revered by the Portuguese and Spanish.

The moors used water features in their buildings

Next Cordoba

Signing off KO

Lisbon, the first stop on my Mediterranean adventure

We visited the tower of Belem, saw the monument to Henry the Navigator and all the other explorers of the discovery age then toured the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon, Alfama. This is the most picturesque place I have ever seen with tiny, narrow up hill winding streets. The buildings are ancient going back to the 1700’s, when this area was devastated by an earthquake leaving only two original buildings. But they rebuilt again in the same location. I am fascinated with the beauty of ancient architecture especially when I consider the tools they worked with to make these buildings a work of art. Here in Lisbon many of the old buildings are faced with beautiful tile work.

Avenida de Liberdad is a beautiful wide street with a park running through the middle of it. In the parks are small garden restaurants, lovely place for a meal or just a glass of wine.

Lisbon is a lovely city and many parts are quite modern. But they are plagued with horrible traffic and rising rents to the point that families have had to move out of the inner city to areas out side of Lisbon and commute to work increasing the traffic situation. While tourism fuels much of the economy it has driven prices up beyond what the locals salaries can handle.

I loved Lisbon, next chapter Seville.

NEW ADVENTURE AHEAD

Lazy August, not much happening around town, not much live music as many musicians still on vacation and and I am taking this time to get organized for my big seasonal trip, this time to Portugal and Spain. In September, I leave Zihuatanejo for an overnight in San Diego then the next morning at O dark 30 I go to Philadelphia and from there on to Lisbon, Portugal. Fortunately I have a friend in San Diego who will harbor me overnight and get me to the airport in the AM. Once in Portugal I will have 4 days, then meeting up with my small boat, (under 100 passengers,) and on to Seville, Cordoba, Tangiers, Gibraltar, Malaga, Cartagena, Valencia, Tarragona and ending in Barcelona, where I will spend an extra 3 days.

While I am in Lisbon I will be meeting up for dinner with a friend from Zihuatanejo who is also visiting in Lisbon. In Barcelona I will be staying with a couple I met in Zihuatanejo. I feel like quite the world traveler having friends in so many different countries.

I’m needing to get organized for this trip well in advance as the week before I leave my youngest son and his wife will be visiting me for a week and I will only have 1 day to actually pack. Now I realize that it only takes a few hours to put things in a suitcase, but it takes a bit of planning as to what it is you are going to put in that suitcase. And with weight limits, and liquid limits it takes a bit of planing and organizing. I try to take only the very essentials of personal care products in the smallest lightest weight containers. This I have learned through trial and error. I once traveled camping on the ferry boat with my backpack, carrying my sleeping bag, tent and clothes for a week and got the weight down to 18 lbs. I did that by weighing every item to discover which hairbrush weighed the least, weighed every item of makeup, clothes, shoes, jewelry, to keep it at a minimum, but still having the essentials. I’m also a list maker. I have my standard packing lists but they always need to be tweaked depending on destination and type of activities. And to top it all off I have to find where in this apartment with no storage space, cabinets or closets to speak of I have stashed stuff. Actually that has been the hardest part. But it’s all part of the adventure and with just one day to assemble everything that I will have to live with for 3 weeks my check lists will pay off.

During my recent trip to Morelia I was able to “field test” my new packable hat. Hats are the hardest things to bag and I’m going with only two, both you can roll up an put in your suitcase, but I do have a small supply of hatbands so I don’t feel like I’m quite so limited. I also learned on that trip to pack a small roll of duct tape. As both my sandal’s heel straps broke I was able to duct tape them back together and they lasted the rest of the week. Back home in Zihuatanejo my shoe man fixed them so they look like new for 150 pesos, ($7.77) They can now go to Europe instead of the garbage can.

I’m very excited to have my son Brian and his wife Nancy visiting. This is the first of my family to visit me. When asked what they want to do they say they just want to have a relaxing vacation. That should be easy enough to have happen as this time of year, not much excitement going on. The beach, a day at Playa Las Gatas, visit the Pyramid, eating, drinking, visiting and catching up. Should be a good visit. Signing off KO

INAPAM CARD

I’ve been hearing of the Senior Benefits card for years and know a couple of folks who have obtained theirs, and was told you get a good discount on traveling on the Luxury buses with this card, but I got a lot of conflicting information as to what was needed and where the office was located. So armed with a little info and directions on where to go I started on my quest.

To qualify for an INAPAM card you must be a legal Mexican resident. Which means you are either a Mexican citizen or the holder of either temporary or permanent residency and over 60 years of age. This card qualifies you for discounts at various businesses, museums, bus lines through out Mexico.

Some states are no longer issuing this card to temporary and permanent residents, only to Mexican citizens so my suggestion is if you are interested in obtaining this privilege apply as soon as possible as once you have the card it never expires, and it’s not guaranteed to always be offered. What you need as of May 2024 is:

A copy of your curp with a 2024 date on it. If you acquired yours before 2024 go online to FIND MY CURP, enter your CURP identifying numbers/letters and your Curp will appear with that days date on it and print it out. If you don’t have a printer, email it to one of the office stores, or computer places and they will print it for you.
A copy of your CFE bill or other bill showing you receive and pay bills at your current address.
COPY of your birth certificate
Copy of a family members Curp or copies of two friends Curp’s
Two pictures of you “infantile” size.

Bring all this to the INAPAM office which is a card table in the courtyard of FIBIZI located across the street from the Intercam Bank between 9-4. Do not expect them to speak English, so have a translating device or a Spanish speaking person with you to help with any questions. If you have all of the above in order you should be able to complete this in 2 visits. One to turn in all the information for them to process and a second visit to pick up your card.

Me on the other hand it took two and a half weeks and 4-5 visits to INAPAM and one to migration because I didn’t fully understand what was needed, and my Spanish is limited, (even though I am taking classes) But google translate can further complicate matters. When they gave me a list of what I needed to bring back to them they listed “child photo”. What me as a child? one of my children? No it was the size of the photo “infantile”.

I believe the office is staffed with volunteers as I saw different folks there every time I went. They were all very nice and tried to be helpful.

I hope this is of some help to anyone interested in this benefits card. I would be interested in hearing from folks as to where they have used there card for discounts

I hope this is of some help.

Signing off KO

Thoughts on being a minimalist

I’m a minimalist, well sort of. I have never been a “saver”, always quick to get rid of what I’m no longer using. And when you move 2373 miles away with just a few suitcases it gives you a good start on being a minimalist. Of course I was moving to an apartment that I had already spent several years equipping and only had to transport clothes and a few personal belongings.

But once here in Zihuatanejo I have pared down my life to what I consider the necessities for my life style. My kitchen cupboards only houses dishes and glasses enough for 4 as that is the maximum I could possibly host. I cook very little and have no need of kitchen gadgets and fancy single purpose pots and pans. And likewise for supplies, I don’t stock up as I don’t have storage room for stuff I might rarely need.

I read a lot, but now I prefer reading on my kindle. It took me a while to get to that point, but a pile of books which once was a treasure is just dusty clutter to me now. And I love the dictionary feature that my kindle offers, with a touch I can learn the correct meaning and pronunciation of a word I’m unsure of and all my books past present and future are in one small spot. No more dusty book shelves!

I have certain personal care items that I prefer so I have no need of a proliferation of lotions and potions.

Shoes?, well I’m forced into being a minimalist as they don’t sell my size in Mexico.

But clothes and jewelry are my down fall. I am limited only by the size of my closet which is decent size, not the 14 foot walk in with double racks I had back in Washington. Nor do I still have the free standing jewelry box. But I make do and do weed out items that I no longer wear due to condition or are so old I’m tired of them. And yes, I do have dresses that I have had for 15 plus years and am still wearing them. Spaghetti straps just never seem to go out of fashion in sun country.

I have a few necklaces I wear occasionally and same with bracelets, but earrings, well one can never have too many earrings or hats.

Signing off KO

The Cat and I

I’m fond of cats. Well that is a bit of an understatement. I really, really, really like cats. I find them funny, entertaining, and comforting, and enjoy the heck out of all the funny cat videos and cartoons. Most of my life I have owned a cat or two and once three. So when I discovered that the apartment I have in Zihuatanejo came with a contingent of “roof cats” I thought it just added to the charm. My neighbors disagree.

My first concern was where do they get water? So being a kind person I put out a bowl of water on the balcony, upsetting the neighbors as they wanted the cats all gone for a multitude of reasons, but mainly due to the normally fastidious toilet habits of cats. Roof cats can only rely on potted plants in balcony gardens. This upsets the gardeners as the plants do not fair well. And when all else fails they will resort to any place out of necessity, steps, stairwells or anyplace where they don’t linger long. It didn’t take me long to figure out, that crudely put “cats do not shit in their own nest” so I set out to befriend them with occasional food and water and protected my plants with some plastic forks and other pokey items placed in the pots and soon I had no cat toilet issues and a flourishing balcony garden.

Some morning I wake up to this outside my bedroom window with her wondering why the heck I am not up to feed her.

I became particularly fond of one small skinny black cat who soon became pregnant, and then became pregnant again and again. I decided I would attempt to tame her and make her a pampered pet. She would come into my apartment, prowl a bit and stretch out sleep on the floor. The tile was cool and the summer was hot and she became quite comfortable. I always said said she really liked my apartment, me, not so much. I eventually was able to trap her and get her spade. Which was another whole story I wrote about earlier

So now she comes in twice a day to be fed, she is healthy, plump with a shinny coat and is a bit resented by the rest of her roof mates. I can not afford to feed all the Zihuatanejo cats, which would happen as the word spread of free food. So selectively I chose one cat to make happy and healthy and hopefully will be returned with a little affection from the little beast. She still won’t let me touch her, such ingratitude!

Her roof mates are aware of her source of bounty and keep trying to push their way in and have just about destroyed my sliding screen door. The big male is truly pissed at me as she is no longer part of his harem and has showed his displeasure by spraying through the screen door. I would love to trap him and get him fixed.

Over the last few weeks my cat, Pearly May, has not wanted to leave as it becomes my bedtime. So one night I explained that if she needed to go out during the night she would have to yowl loud enough to wake me up and I would let her out. Woke up the next morning with the cat still in, opened the door for her and she still wasn’t ready to leave. I gave her her breakfast and about an hour later she left. So over the past few weeks we have had several sleep overs with no problems. But I did buy a cat pan and litter and she has trained herself.

She looked at the pan like “What the hell is this, but soon learned what it was for.

I would love to pet her and comb her silky fur, but she jumps like I pinched her every time I try. I began to think “I’m just her meal ticket” but then she started “petting me”. By that I mean she rubs up against my legs while I prepare her food or when ever I am standing in one place. I know she loves me and appreciates all that I have done for her. Still hoping she’ll become a lap cat some day.

Signing off KO

Goodby Season and Ecco Dying

It’s that time of year when the seasonal visitors are packing up and leaving for their home bases. It seems like just about every evening there is a “last supper” or a good bye party. A little bitter sweet as I will miss my many friends, but at the same time just like the change of any season there are things to look forward to. Un crowded beaches, no need for reservations at the more popular restaurants, more personal time, more time to read, and time to spend with folks you don’t see as much of during the high season.

I signed up for a workshop in “Ecco-dying” at Bara de Potosi, a lovely little Mexican village about 40 minutes from Zihuatanejo. It was my first venture into fabric art other than sewing. Our teacher Laurie had pre prepared fabric panels of natural fibers such as cotton and linen to be ready to accept the dyes made from extracts of plants. We each selected our first panel of fabric which varied in color from a very light beige to an almost brown, then laid a sheet of plastic down for a work space placing our fabric on it and began collecting various leaves and vines.

We artfully ? arranged the leaves and vines veined side down on the fabric and took another piece of fabric which we soaked in a dye of our choice laid it on top completely covering it and took a dowel and rolled it firmly to make sure the leaves were in direct contact with the fabric. Next we rolled the two pieces of fabric with the leaves sandwiched between tightly around the dowel and bound it tightly with strips of cloth, placed it in a pot to steam.

One hour later you get to see your results. The dye changes the background color, but also interacts with the tannins in the various leaves and vines selected to leave not only an imprint of the leaf but a variety of shades of color, some very dark others quite light. A very interesting process.

Dowels with tightly bound fabric and leaves

We each did 3 panels. This one might even become a wall hanging. It was a fun, interesting afternoon.

Signing off KO

A Very Busy But Fun February

As I turned the calendar page to March I noticed there wasn’t a blank day in February. Every day had something scheduled and some days more than one event. I love being busy and enjoy being out with my friends. I didn’t move to Mexico to just sit in my apartment.

Valentines Day is a very big deal In Mexico. The February full moon is called the moon of love and friendship. In celebration of this I did my first painting at our monthly Full Moon Fiesta. My painting style is definitely “Grandma Moses primitive”

Titled “A boy and a girl in a little canoe with the moon shinning all about“

February is Sailfest time where volunteers provide many activities to raise money to build schools for children in needy areas. Just a few of the activities are pictured below.

The local rotary sponsored a Paella Fest where we sampled many different paella entries.

I celebrated my 80th birthday at Tonio’s Porque No restaurant where my friend, chef and owner put on the best spaghetti feed and made the tastiest cakes for me a large group of my friends.

In between all these wonderful and fun events there are dinners and happy hours with friends.

We were excited to see Escollera with the lovely infinity pool reopen, it has always been a favorite spot.

Finished up the month with a trip to the street fair in Bara de Potosí spending the night at the charming Casa Del Encanto.

Signing off KO

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