One of my many pleasures I enjoy in Zihuatanejo, Mexico is the freedom to read. With so little responsibilities here I have no problem waking up in the morning rolling over and grabbing my book and laying there reading for a couple of hours before I get up. But then I am prone to waking up around 5 AM. At home I can’t do that, I have to get up as soon as I wake up. It seems like there is always something to do, places I must go, work to be done, schedules to be kept. At home in Washington I feel like I’m lazy if I just sit around reading. Like wise with the TV. It can’t be turned it on until the evening. Here I no longer feel compelled to be “doing something”. Here the living is easy!
Eating out and socializing friends has become one of my greatest pleasures. There are so many interesting people here from all walks of life and from all over the world who have done so many interesting things and traveled to interesting places. I’m finding I can do more of this since I now check out my books from my home library to down load to my kindle. I to purchase them of from Amazon. Sorry Amazon, but this has saved me a bundle as I read 5 or 6 books a month. And I love the dictionary feature that the kindle offers. I miss that when I do read a “book book”.
Swimming is one of my pleasures. I lap swim at the community pool where there is rarely more that a couple of other swimmers. It’s an Olympic size pool and because it is covered, it is cold in the morning at 9ish when I like to swim. I’m only doing about 10 laps which is about a third of what I used to swim and the pool is laned crosswise. Covid stopped me from being able to swim on a regular basis and now that I’m not training for anything I just swim for the pleasure of it. I also swim in the bay where the water is warm and salty. You just float like a cork.
We know it is time to go as the weather has warmed up, not so much the temperature, but the humidity is rising. This gives us a taste of what it might be like during the summer season. Too much for us, “snow-birding” is the way for us. Most of our “snowbird” acquaintances have headed back already as we will in a week.
Me on board the Picante
The
Senor and Me
Sleeveless again
Since December I have not worn any clothing with sleeves, nor shoes with laces. I have eaten at least two meals every day out side and regularly swam outside. I have become accustom to mangoes and little 3 inch bananas for breakfast and fresh fish for dinner. Life is good! Returning to Washington with it’s dreary spring weather will be a period of adjustment, but we will be busy. Only two weeks to get my tax information together, Doctor, dentist, eye exam appointments for both of us are scheduled as we resume the rat race. I look forward to visiting with my sons, both my girls live out of state and those visits will have to wait. It will be great to see our local grandchildren and of course trying to make amends to Denzel our cat for our long absence, even though he was well spoiled by my oldest son who house sat, cat sat and even took care of our chickens.
Last night we enjoyed Coconuts happy hour, followed by a great dinner at
Paul and Faye
Don Memos with friends Faye and Paul, and new friends Rick and Shelia. We are all headed out to Troncones for a last couple of R&R days before we tackle dreaded job of packing up, what go what stays and saying our last
Shelia and Rick
The girls making my green papaya salad and spring roll
The tamale man
minute good-byes.
Today was my last “Saturday Market” My green papaya salad from the “Eco Tianquis Sanka” aka the “Saturday Morning Market” was the best I have ever had, The Senor always has me get him a Championes Tamale, but today it was Tamales vedura which he ate with no complaint.
While enjoying cold drinks at the waterfront and people watching a young man dressed in medical clothing asked us if we would like our blood pressure taken. We agreed and both of us had low blood pressure.
While enjoying
The young man explained to Doyle that he may not need to take his blood pressure medicine during the months he spends at the beach and he should talk to his doctor about it once he gets home. Of course we gave a “small donation”. A new interesting way to pan handle or was It a young medical student gaining experience? It doesn’t matter it’s all part of the Mexican experience. Signing off KO
When I started this blog I flaunted it as a daily blog, and pretty much it is. But don’t set your clock by it. I’m on vacation, and I write as the mood strikes and events happen. Thus said I headed out on my morning walk at daybreak with a bag of kitchen scraps for the flock I feed. At home the Senor is the “chicken meister” with a flock of about 20-24 chickens, so I am in the habit of saving kitchen scraps for chickens. I have adopted a small flock of chickens just over the bridge to La Madera where the “coco man sets up”. I think they are his chickens. He taught me how to call them, not here chick chick chick, but something like adow, adow adow,. Anyway this morning they were still in bed when I arrived and I had to call them down from their tree limb. I wish our chickens and one rooster at home would sleep in that late! Chicks are fed and I head back to walk along the beach.
Sad eyed dog getting a steak bone
Here I encounter a street dog with big sad eyes. It’s his lucky day I have a steak bone and meat scraps for him. He is very thankful. street dogs in Mexico are sad, but very sweet tempered, they don’t bark or bite and appreciate anything you have for them. I was once chastised for “encouraging their begging. I never see them beg, but just stand around looking hopeful, and my answer will always be. I choose to feed them directly rather than wait for them to root through the garbage that is set out each night
Dad waling sons to school hand in hand
I continue on to the other bridge at La Noria and up the cobblestone roadway, where I encounter a dad walking his young sons to school. This is one of my favorite scenes and it is the way most young children arrive at school each day, hand in hand with one or the other parent. You can’t help but think what one to one special time this is for both.
On to my quest for my morning newspaper, as there is an english language paper produced out of Mexico city which is neither republican or democratic, enroute I see a young boy, he can’t be more than 10 wielding a very large knife scraping cactus thorns from the leaves to be sold in his parents stall. Then on to the Mercado to get 2 avocados “un por hoy un por manana” One for today and one for tomorrow. A good vegetable stall will help you pick them out that way.
Our afternoon quest is to replace our broken micro wave platter and replace my watch battery. With help from the local web message board, I’m off to find the “electric repair shop that deals in ‘Micro ondos”. The senor and I find it and he backs off to let me manage the deal. I tell him I need a microwave turntable. plate, which comes out ” yo necesito un plato por micro ondo” surprisingly enough he dug through his many old microwaves and came up with a turntable plate. I asked how much I was told 10. So I got out 10 pesso ,about $1 no, he said “cien” meaning $10. Now some one else would have bargained, but we were happy and paid and took our prize home.
Now onward to the “batteria” problem. I’ve already been to a half dozen places which all indicate many blocks away at what now seems like a mystical watch shop. The senor and I head that direction and with only 2-3 false stops and inquires we finally reach the “Relojeria” where a young boy about 15 or so appears to be apprenticing a watch maker. That problema is now solved and we are on to cena (lunch) at a new coffee shop that gave us a promo brochures. Good lunch, but too much food for us and we are back to the apartment for a well deserved siesta.
We will dine in tonight with a big chef salad, call it a day while watching the lightening storm that is brewing tonight through the clouds. The senor is insisting I come in off the balcony. I might as well as I’m just not quick enough with the camera to catch the flashes. Noisy but beautiful.
Zihuathyme 