La Ropa Beach – Zihuathyme

The Fun Begins and The Return of the Cats

Went to lunch with friends at El Manglar a week ago Sunday. The word Manglar means swamp which is part of the charm of this lovely restaurant that is located on La Ropa beach with a stream running beside complete with crocodrillo’s and trees full of Iguanas. It also has a lovely breeze that funnels through the restaurant making it a great place on hot days and very good food.

These were not the friends that I was having lunch with, they just come with the restaurant

Dinners on the beach, fund raiser for the food bank, and pool parties have filled up the rest of the weeks entertainment.

My favorite dinner spot Maderas on Playa La Madera for sunset dinner

I’ve been busy at home also, I hung and hemmed new curtains for my slider. They are sunblock curtains, I don’t need them so much now, but will come winter and the sun hits my balcony right full on. I also installed a great mirror on an expanding arm in my bathroom to give a full 360 view for primping. Took advantage of Buen Fin, Mexico’s answer to Black Friday and went shopping for a new TV that is fully Bluetooth capable. Actually I had a friend who is tech knowledgeable do the shopping for me and I just showed up with the card to make the purchase. That way I know I’m getting a good TV and a good deal. It’s nice to have good friends.

Last year I fed a trio of street/roof cats. I really didn’t expect that they would still be around. But not only did they survive, did they multiplied. Two of them have half grown kittens following them around. One of them wants to be a pet, well he is still skittish and I can’t pet him yet but he likes to sit and visit with me and he is a very good listener.

I hadn’t planned on feeding them this year as I was really thinking of getting a cat of my own, a strictly indoor cat. But them I discovered how thirsty these cats and kittens were as they were dipping a paw in the dish under one of my plants and then licking the paw. So out came the pan of water and I was amazed at how long they would drink and how quick they returned for more. So at least they have a source for good, clean water. The friendly one got dinner last night. We will see how that goes, maybe I am destined to just have outdoor cats. Signing off KO

SALSA AND MORE

While the Senor was footballing again on Sunday, my agenda was to go to El Pirata on La Ropa to listen to the music and watch the salsa dancing. As luck would have it my balcony neighbors were

just leaving for La Ropa so we caught a cab together and headed for the beach. We found El Pirata no trouble, found shady spot to sit and enjoy the

afternoon and watch the dancing. It appears to be the “in” spot for a Sunday afternoon as just about everyone we know was there. Including the handsome cheese vendor from El Mercado. Who knew he dancer! A few drinks, some nachos and guacamole, a lovely sunset and another lovely day has come to an end. We took the bus back, and in the future I would take the bus the bus both ways.

Donna and the handsome cheese vendor Bernardo

Easy enough to do and cheap, 7.5 pesos.

This morning I set out to locate the municipal pool, I had information that it was olympic size and very nice. I used google earth to locate the pool and the streets that I need to walk to get there. I got to the sports park that it is located in, but still didn’t see the pool, a couple of quick questions and the parking lot attendant sent me toward it on the opposite side of the park, as a gentleman passed me I asked if I was going the right way to the pool. He understood my spanish but as luck would have it he spoke a little more english that I do spanish. And as always the mexican people are so willing to help he walked with me to the office/reception area and I checked with the lady as to the time it opens and making sure it was open to the public, and the cost 20 pesos, less than $1.40. I thanked my new friend Deno for all his help and said I would return manana. I checked my phone and it was 1.60 miles, an easy walk in the cool of the morning. (Yes there is an app for that). I can either walk back or take any “El Centro bus” . I’m not sure what bus I would take to get there, and I don’t mind the walk and maybe I’ll learn the bus system yet. At home when I was working, that was one of my great skills, teaching the inmates how to maneuver the county by bus. Kind of excited to be swimming again in nice clean pool. After swimming in the open ocean at Troncones which is clear and clean, I really didn’t want to go back to swimming at La Madera where my suit smells fishy after swimming. Signing off KO

LA ROPA, THEN MUSICA

Friday it looked like it was going to be very hot so the Senor and I decided to go to the La Ropa Beach. Good choice as the breeze kept us cool. While la Ropa is a highly favored beach, is not our favorite beach. And once again it proved so. Now it could be that we don’t know the best place to go, or how to negotiate for what we want. We went to Rossi’s had a nice lunch of fish fillet in garlic. All the lounge chairs were in the sun, and my fair gringo skin doesn’t handle the sun well. The lounge chairs had numbers on the back giving the Senor the idea that they were reserved and or “pay per lounge”. The Senor does well in the sun, becoming a lovely copper color and does enjoy a lounge chair. But for this trip we sat in plastic chairs at a table with a nice umbrella where we watched the parasailing and the Catamaran Picante’s big Genoa giving people ride

high in the sky then dipping them in the water. I like to swim, but I find Las Gatas or Ixtapa Island better for swimming and snorkeling. The waves at La Ropa are a bit tough to get past and then there are a lot of small swells and too many boats that have drivers looking skyward not for swimmers. The Senor is happy to have a couple of beers, wade in the water to cool off and people watch. We had a pleasant but short stay.

The evening found us once again at the Flophouse Bar, which has one of the most interesting music venues in El Centro. And the music comes early in the evening, you

don’t have to stay out late to enjoy. Last night it was Allen Alto, Tim on the Harmonica and Brian Hill also on a guitar. We met new friends and hooked up with our old friends Will and Sylvia for dinner at Don Memos’ and to listen to the great Jimmi Mamou.

Everyone’s meal was great, but I will rave about the fillet in wine sauce that I had. For my tastes it’s about the best fish I’ve ever had. I could only eat half of it and saved the other half for a lunch. Another day another adventure signing off KO