It has been a long hot, humid summer and while I have always enjoyed hot weather I don’t do well with high humidity. Those of us that live here year round have complained this was the hottest summer ever. Don’t know how factual that is, but we all find ways to deal with it. My antique air conditioner died and has since been replaced with a energy efficient one which showed positive results on my electric bill.
Dia del Muerto is a big deal here.
Many folks dress Catrina style.
Been waiting a long time for that drink
The kids here are embracing American style Halloween, but instead of running house to house it is business to business shouting “Halloween” instead of trick or treat.
The kids are adorableBut so isn’t this dog skeletonEven I got in the spirit of things
Music is starting back up at many of the restaurants. Had a lovely evening at Tonio’s Porque No restaurant eating his delicious food and being entertained by Rudy Catalan and Patricia Carrion.
Our monthly book club did meet through out the summer as reading is a great hot, humid weather activity.
Alejandra is so good and getting us all in with selfie mode
Even though we are expats we are still vitally interested in what is happening in the USA. We have formed a “NO Kings” chapter and are being active by keeping informed and demonstrating to our Mexican hosts are mutually common interests.
One of our interesting speakers at the last No Kings gathering
A very popular and fun gathering place for music and dancing is the Cuban Bar where you can get the very best coffee mezcal.
Always great musicLots of. Dancing.
The Canadian snowbirds are arriving daily, lots of fun renewing old friendships and making new ones. I was able to put out a patio table and chairs on the roof adjacent to my back porch. Nice place to entertain a couple of friends on these lovely fall evenings. Zihuatanejo is such a friendly place with something always going on. So happy I decided to move here. Signing off KO
In a couple of days I will be embarking on my first big ship cruise. When I say big ship, I mean this monster has 15 decks.
My last vacation was on a small ship with 3 decks and I loved it, and am silently wondering if I should have done pretty much this same cruise but on the small boat. I’m all about new experiences so big boat here I come!
I was my own travel agent for this trip, booking all my flights from Zihuatanejo to Athens and back from Venice where the cruise ends. What a hassle! Nothing is simple. In the future I will deal with our local travel agency and save myself hours and days of juggling schedules that just don’t mesh.
I am taking walking poles that fold down to just over 2 feet and fit in my day pack as I do have difficulty with stairs and some hills. That way it will give me an “athletic” look rather than an old lady with a cane look. Well at least in my own mind.
My day pack will hold my walking sticks until needed
I’ve allowed myself extra days in Athens not only to sight see, but to also make sure with all the recent airport delays that I will arrive well before the time to embark.
I got a killer deal on a cruise drink package so I will be able to finish my list of “Classic Cocktails I have never tasted” that I began at a Cancun All Inclusive Resort a year or so ago where my son got married. I only have a few to go, but will probably revisit the whole list as I have 11 or 12 days to accomplish this.
My semi feral cat knows something is up as she does not like suitcases. I’m really feeling quite guilty about leaving her to her own survival skills as the longer she lives with me she is becoming less and less feral and enjoying the pleasures of being a house cat. Yet she still won’t tolerate the presence of another human in the apartment, she panics, climbs the screens and eventually breaks thru. Therefore I can’t just have someone come in and check on her and feed her. If she panics and breaks out then the neighborhood roof cats can all come in. So I am leaving out side a full bag of cat food and huge bowl of water for her, knowing the entire neighbor hood will share in it. But it will help augment her hunting skills. My only problem today will be getting her to go outside, I’ve had the door open all morning and she just looks at me like “you think I’m stupid”.
My Pearlie Mae, just relaxing
By the 1st of August I will be in Athens Greece, I have no idea about internet availability but will post when I can. Come travel with me. Signing off KO
This is June, the rainy season. For the last couple of years it barely happened. This year we are truly experiencing RAIN. Tropical rain is lovely, it isn’t cold, makes every thing smell fresh and cools the temperature and humidity to something pleasant. Storms blow in full of roaring thunder and flashing lightening. I find it energizing, not so with my cat. She spends storm time under my bed.
Where my apartment is located I don’t get the full effect of lightening as I am surrounded by 2 and 3 story buildings. I see bright light flashes but not the actual lightening bolt. I would like to see the bolts.
We have been under a hurricane watch, with the weather reports predicting it would hit land well south of us, which it did. Hurricanes have hit here, but rarely and partially as we are protected by the bay. But we get the heavy downpours and storm surges that send waves clear in to town.
In a heavy down pour we gathered together for 3 kings dayWet streetsPazole Alley in the rain.
In a heavy downpour that floods the streets and exceeds the ability of whatever drainage systems are in place here, it gets quite odorous. Making one wonder how healthy it is to wade through ankle deep water to just cross the street.
Yesterday my friend Marsha and I enjoyed the rain sitting in the open air cafe La Kalle eating lunch and playing board games.
Last night with a soft breeze blowing and a light rain falling, the inside thermometer reading 80f/27c, I found it necessary to turn off the fan. And had a light wrap across my shoulders.
I do thank the universe and Mother Nature for such a lovely way of life. Signing off KO
Or a least the weather is, over the last week or so it has become quite humid and temperatures have been up in the low 90’s. many of the restaurants have closed for the season. But little by little those of us who stay year round are locating more restaurants and hotels that will give us a day pass for use of their swimming pools with purchase of food or snacks.
The construction next door continues. It began about 2 months ago when my landlord bulldozed his small house to the ground and began rebuilding it. Construction starts every morning at 7 except Sunday. (Mexico has a 48 hour work week, but there is talk for dropping it to 40 hours in the next few years.) It is a concrete brick and cement structure about 12×24. All the work here is labor intensive such as the cement is mixed in a wheelbarrow and moved around by buckets, including climbing a flight of stairs with cement filled buckets when they poured the roof. The jefe on the job must be a very contented worker as he sings (quite loudly) while working.
Knocking the house downOne wall at a timeBulldozer in Narrow alley
While this has been a fascinating project to watch it has been a bit difficult to live with. We have electric cords that power their tools draped down the stairs for us residents to maneuver through, but that is minor to living (and breathing) the dust. They are constantly drilling and sanding the cement. There have been a couple of days when the air in my apartment looked like a grey fog. And then that fog settles on furniture, food, the cats watering dish, everything. But I think the end is in site. There is a new toilet waiting to be installed and yesterday the kitchen sink was installed. I shouldn’t complain, I have friends that lived next door to a 3 story condo being built over a 3 year period. I’m grateful that this is a small project and my wonderfully kind landlord will have a new home with his family.
I was worried about the Ceiba tree in my alley. The roots of which are massive and long ago spread out into the alley up rooting some of the paving stones, have been buried under sand and gravel during the construction, but a dump truck came last week and the sand and gravel were shoveled in went away. This tree is massive, looking at it from the alley it is clearly 6ft wide at the base. It has branches larger that most full grow tree trunks. It is truly majestic and this year I think it is more lush and a deeper green than I have ever seen it before, earlier it had a fruit or seed pod hanging from it, only a few. I was told they would open up and a cottony like fluff would blow all around. I never saw that, just one day they were all gone.
Ceiba tree seen from my porchLooking upThe trunk seen from alleyPictures don’t show it’s full beauty
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.
Our group of friendsWe could see some of Ixtapa’s fireworks behind the hillZihua’ s fireworksZihuatanejo so beautiful at nightMe sitting on a crescent moonThe poinsettia martSparkles decorations on the MaleconShawn and I out on the townShawn with a snowman
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
Karaoke singers
Parties and dinners almost every night what a wonderful season of fun
30 friends gathered at Mikes’ Diner for Christmas Eve dinnerShawn doing the butterfly at Tonio’sBoxing Day with a bit of a jewelry showBirthday gatheringLucy’s birthdayMore Boxing DayFun days
We went swimming at Escollera
Shawn at the infinity pool
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.
Shawn doing ladder work for me
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 de Zihuatanejo today
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
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
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.
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.
FriendsLots of lovely friends, will miss you.
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 leavesBuckets of dyesSteamer pot
We each did 3 panels. This one might even become a wall hanging. It was a fun, interesting afternoon.
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.
Valentine Decorations
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.
Champagne BreakfastSunset Music CruiseChili Cookoff M-dock concertCrown worn in 3 K walk Rally round the rock race
The local rotary sponsored a Paella Fest where we sampled many different paella entries.
Paella
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.
Tonio and meOne of the tables of friends
In between all these wonderful and fun events there are dinners and happy hours with friends.
Friends
We were excited to see Escollera with the lovely infinity pool reopen, it has always been a favorite spot.
Escollera
Finished up the month with a trip to the street fair in Bara de Potosí spending the night at the charming Casa Del Encanto.
Entrance to Casa Del EncantoCharming and peaceful courtyard
Somehow I seem to be just as busy as ever. Just not quite so much going out. I”m still working my way through my list of “100 books to read before you die”. Most are great reads, some not so much leaving me wondering how they ever got put on the list. And I get distracted by other books that are recommended by friends or other articles I read so I’m not only working on the list and am reading whatever I want. Several books I have read have referred to two of the classics “Great Expectations” and Moby Dick. I did read Great Expectations and through enjoyed it once I got into the rhythm of the old English style of Charles Dickens. So my next book will be to tackle Moby Dick I read in the daytime and watch TV only at night. I do enjoy binge watching Netflix series.
I”m in the process of breaking my last tie with my life in Washington state, selling my much loved little car. I’ve had many cars in my life but only two I have loved. My very first car of my own a red 64 VW and my last car an 08 Smart Car that I ordered on line with a $99 deposit a full year before they were imported to the US. In selling this car also comes the reality that I’m pretty much giving up my driving privileges. At my age it becomes very expensive to rent a car for the occasional visit home to visit family, but certainly not worth storing a vehicle for a year or two at a time And of course here in Zihuatanejo I have no desire to drive. Taxi’s and busses do me just fine. I guess the good thing about it is I’m making the decision about ending my driving days, not my family or the police telling I am no longer allowed to drive.
My lovely little smart car taken before I headed to eastern Washington for some kayaking.
I have finally acquired a housekeeper thanks to the recommendation of two friends. What a difference it makes to have someone really deep clean every two weeks. Every crack and crevice has been cleaned and organized. Now it is so much easier to keep it up with minimal effort. I don’t know why I stalled for so long. I guess I was waiting for just the right person to be recommended to me.
My attempts to capture a couple of the local feline community and deliver them to Spaz to have them neutered has turned out disastrously. The first kitten escaped while I was trying to deliver it to Spaz but fortunately it ran right into their compound where he still is but still too feral for them to capture. But at least it’s safe and getting food and water and slowly getting socialized. The second one made his daring escape just as I had left my apartment with him securely (?). Then his weight shifted as I started down the stairs and it bumped the back of the trap and little Houdini came flying out the back door running and howling. 2 days later he is back on my balcony sleeping afternoons in my garden under the shade of plants. Mean time my little black momma cat comes regularly for meals. Wanders through my apartment like it was her own. Has even spent whole days cooling herself under my bed. But she still won’t let me near enough to her to even pet her. I really want to get her spade but it will have to wait until I can tame her a bit. She is too smart to go in the trap, I’ve tried that wit zero success.
My moma cat I call Pearlie Mae enjoying a meal in my apartmentLittle Houdini who enjoys napping in my garden
Everyone is complaining about the heat, for some reason I’m not bothered by it. Temperatures are in the 90’s and with the humidity factored in they say it feels like the high 90’s and this has been going on for weeks. I’m managing just fine with my 3 ceiling fans, I have yet to turn on the air conditioner. I also don’t go out from noon till about 4 O’clock unless absolutely have to. I’m not walking any distances as I perspire so heavily that I would be drenched by the time I got to where i was going. Siesta’s really make sense in this weather. Did get an hours worth of rain the other night, or I should say morning as it started about 3 AM. It’s the most rain I’ve seen since arriving here in October. Life goes on as usual during this hot summer, just everything is slower.
Some fun things have been going on such as learning of a fun Pozoleria in the La Noria area. Went there with a lively group and soon our waitress had us up and dancing. House parties with friends to see their new home and even have a July 4th event to attend. Enjoying ladies lunch days at restaurants that have pools. Life is still quite social, just at a much slower pace.
A great fun waitress and a good dancer
I’m still going to Spanish class 3 mornings a week. After todays lesson I finally feel I have made progress. I’m pretty much of the opinion I will not be having serious conversations with Spanish speakers, but what I want is to have enough skills to be able to ask the question and under stand the answer. To be able to read signs and labels, follow basic instructions.
My garden is thriving all except for the thankless tomato plants that I have so lovingly cared for. I nursed them from seeds to seedling to starter size plants, transplanted the 5 hardiest ones to a large trough type pot. Watered them faithfully watched them blossom and then watched the blossoms fade with out setting fruit except for one tiny tiny tomato. Then they quit blossoming, and wilted in spite of the fertilizer I added and on going watering. They drooped until I couldn’t stand looking and the dying mass so I cut them down and disposed of them. Thankless plants. I don’t know what I did wrong. I need to read up on growing things in Mexico.
Zihuatanejo 