Zihua Wed 7.19.6

“Honey, I’m hoooooooooommeee!” I flew in last night from Zihuatanejo.

Zihuatanejo bay. (the places i visited)

(im not going to even start on the airport in mexico city. It’s not me – that place just ‘aint right)

So, do you want to hear about the Scorpion?

On my last day I decided I needed to see La Isla. (the island) little did I know it was so beautiful. (Also I missed the fact that it was over by Ixtapa…. So, back to the bus.) you catch any bus from downtown Zihua to Ixtapa. Get off at the Playa Linda stop. Change busses and go to Playa Linda. (60pesos each bus = 55cents) the entire trip takes about 30 minutes. [Playa Linda is a lovely beach on its own. It sits below the mountain range, lined with coconut trees. Hundreds of families enjoy the many rows of umbrellas, rolling waves and toast colored sand.] just off playa Linda sits the small pier. Little panga’s ferry people across to the island, about ½ mile, for 30 pesos roundtrip. ($2.75)

It’s the crystal clear water, powdery sand and palms which draw people over to the island. There are four separate beaches and lots of little open air restaurants lining the shoreline. I sat in the shade and wished I was hungry! The last ferry’s run at 5pm. I had to leave anyway so I could get home and pack for my return. If I had known I would have gone to the island sooner and skipped Ixtapa entirely. Beautiful.

I got off the bus in downtown Zihua and walked through the market. I picked up ½ rotisserie chicken, rice, bread and a cantaloupe. ($5) each item came from a different vendor/stall. It takes all day to shop. This combined with my bottle of Chilean cabernet made for the perfect dinner. After doing some minor computer work and cleaning the kitchen I was too sleepy to pack. Just set the alarm clock for 6am and handle it all in the morning….

So, now it’s almost 9am Wednesday – day of the flight. I need to be packed and at the airport by 10am. Ive showered and put on my shorts and shoes. (you hold off on the shirt till the last second to keep from sweating on it. Later, at the airport desk I notice I’ve buttoned it wrong and it’s hanging lopsided.) Im gathering everything into the air conditioned bedroom to pack my one huge bag. First you put your flippers on the bottom of the bag. This is when the scorpion jumps out. I have a small heart attack. I have not put anything in the bag yet and the first thing I pick up has a scorpion in it…. Do these travel in pairs? I have to find it and get it outside before I can do anything. This puts a complete stop on the pack. (have I been walking barefoot 10 days with these running loose in the house? Thank goodness I didn’t find this last night right before bedtime) I have to re-group and pack. I shake every item, carefully. (the bag is still sitting in my front hallway unpacked.)

It’s sad to be home. I will miss some of the stuff from the trip.

Xo skip

Zihua Tue 7.18.6

Today is Tuesday 7.18th. it’s my last day here in Zihuatanejo. I fly out tomorrow morning. (this will be my last post from here as my flight departs 11am) It’s been a nice relaxing holiday. I haven’t really tried to accomplish anything and I’ve been able to meet all my goals.

It rained last night, then again this morning. I think it rains every day here, almost always at night, coastal squalls that blow through and then disappear. I just wake up to everything wet and thick. The morning sun burns off the clouds and leaves a nice dense humid skin frying day. (I’ve been wearing 50spf sunscreen)

Yesterday I packed up beach things and took the little panga ferry to Los Gatos Beach. I had a lunch of fish and chips. Sat as far back into the shade as I could squeeze and read my book. (Persuader – Lee Child) I’ll finish it today before dark. At one point I walked out into the surf. I got as deep as my knees. Does that count?

It’s 9:45am and im sitting in my suite overlooking the bay. I am finishing my breakfast: coffee, cinnamon roll-from the bakery yesterday, and fresh mango-sweet and juicy. (this only leaves the pineapple for today, as I ate the peaches the other night. The peaches had a little sticker on them – “produce of USA.” I’m glad the customs inspector who took my banana didn’t confiscate them!) no clue what I’ll do today. The sun has burned away the thick heavy grey clouds to the perfect crisp clear day. Small boats ease across the bay left and then right ferrying happy vacationers from the city pier to the Los Gatos beach.

I’ll pack later, after my nap. (priorities!) another perfect day. Looks like it might rain, later.

Now I’ll stroll down the hill. Turn left at the little grocery stand, right at the bottom of the hill and one block to the internet café. Perhaps I’ll go to the island? Im told it’s lovely…

Happy holiday from Zihua. Xo skip

PS. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Last night I walked 2 blocks past the internet café to Plaza Kioto (the bell tower) and then on up the boulevard 5 blocks to the Taco stand. One chicken, one pork, one beef. $1us each. When I returned back to the hotel I was greeted with the thumping bass of some party music. The neighbors were hosting a party on their roof. (this was 10:30pm – see the kids asleep under the light on the right.) I climed up onto the roof of our building and shot this down at them unawares.

Zihua Monday 7.17.6

I got on a bus today and went to Ixtapa. (talk about understatements) it’s like a baby Cancun. Toast colored beach with a handful of hotels. Not at all like Cancun with its mile long string of high rise deluxe 5star hotels fronting white powdery beaches and ‘the tourist zone’ for shopping. (the Mexican government built these ‘resorts’ back in the 70’s. – “designed for toursists.”) I have never been a fan of Cancun. It has no actual flavor. It’s been cleaned up and ‘americanized’ for the US. Who wants to go to mexico and see KFC on one corner and McDonalds on the other? Ixtapa, like Cancun, was not what I was looking for.

I started my watch’s timer function to see how long it would take the bus to get there. The bus cost 60cents. They run all over town, you just jump on and go. I got off the bus, walked the entire beach taking all the photos I wanted. It dawned on me I was through and ready to go back to Zihuatanejo. Then I remembered I hadn’t checked the timer. 43 minutes. I had been gone from Zihua for only 43 minutes. (It takes about ten minutes to make the drive.) I asked the bus driver which was the prettiest beach – Los Gatos. (he said that and La Ropa)
from Zihua:
I’m back in my room now watching the light soften and yellow on the bay. You can see the heat melt away. White hot cools to yellow, then pinks and blues, and finally greys to black. It’s 7:33pm and im going to stay in tonight – warm up some leftovers I put in the fridge. Chicken de Mole’ with Spanish rice, bread, fruit salad and an apple turnover, a nice $6 Chilean Cabernet to compliment everything. Vacation.

I’ll either find a great ‘something’ on the TV with English dialogue and sub titles or read my book. Tomorrow… no clue. Maybe I’ll leave the camera in the room and go into the water. Ive still not been in the water. My favorite beach is Playa Los Gatos and that could be where I end up. Bouncing and crashing in the surf. It’ll be fun. You walk out about 20 yards and the waves hit you like a truck. I’ve been watching everyone do this now for ten days. Their laughter is contagious.


I saw another lizard tonight. (Earlier in the week I had an iguana walk across the banister just outside the window. It was about 27” long and had lots of blue in it. Perhaps it had crawled up the face of the hotel which has blue corners? It slowly walked across from one end of the window to the other.) tonight’s lizard was a small 4 inch geko. It slowly walked across the living room wall. This one was off-white to match the wall. I watched it cross about six feet of wall and ease into a crack by the window frame. Sometimes it makes it’s little chirping sounds. A sort of whistle and then some clicks. (my sister jane – the youngest, wrote me last week that the centipede was a great ‘house creature.’ [my word/not hers] it kills insects and is good to keep. I am going on record as preferring the geko over the Centipede. Cute, snuggly and only 4 legs. It whistles and sings. Heck you can almost see it smile….

Hope you are enjoying your summer, that your ant eater has only 4 legs. Xo skip

Zihua Sunday 7.16.6

well it´s sunday afternoon. I did it! I made it to Playa La Ropa. (now the only place I haven’t seen is Ixtapa.)

Being ‘goal oriented’ it was easy for me to (finally after 4 days of trying) – get over to LaRopa. This time I was at the Cyber Café before it opened at 9. I took a Taxi to LaRopa. No sweat. Lots of sitting in the shade of the restaurant palapa taking beach shots. Dined on a Tuna Steak. Walked to one end of the beach and then mostly the other end, till I got hot. LaRopa is a public beach but sits below lots of expensive hotels who rope off the section in front of their property. (they hog the shade) you ‘can’ pay $25 for their chairs for the day. The actual beach has a nice wide expanse of golden sand and crashing waves. Lots of locals stroll down with their coolers and make a picnic. Some tourists, European, North American and Mexicans, from all over the country, occupy the expensive shade. These hotels (look very nice!) are pricey running several hundred dollars per night. Everyone shares the same waves. Lots of banana tubes being pulled behind boats. Parasails flying around overhead. Screaming kids and crashing waves make for quite a festive spot. I stayed till about 2:30, when my nap called.

After my nap I cut up the Scarey/Ugly fruit. It appears ‘similar’ to the kiwi in character. Not as sweet. Sort of bland with a hint of flavor. I served mine with two orange cookies and coffee. This was my dinner after my nap.

After finishing my second book (cat chaser by elmore Leonard) i started Persuader by Lee Child. Things are moving along. The sky has finally cleared. It clouded over last night about 8p and has been raining off and on till 8am. (not the torrential downpour of the other night, just rain) Perhaps today I will take the city bus over to Ixtapa? Haven’t decided. Might go back to the local market. Sunday is a very busy day in the city because all the town has the day off.

Gotta run. Need to get things done to work in my nap.

have a great Sunday. Xo Skip sunrise today