Mexico 2010--Zihuatanejo I

Mexico 2010: Zihuatanejo to Oaxaca - First dispatch

Saturday afternoon in Zihuatanejo. We have 3 more days, but while I have good internet access, I'm sending this. Link to the photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/ZihuatanejoI#

I'm stuck with Wordpad on this laptop, without Spellcheck, so I apologize for the typos I don't catch.


Mexico City Airport.

Familiar Sala B for domestic flights. I've hung out here in the past with Mary, waiting for a connecting flight. And, the gal who sweeps the floor every few mintures is still here too! I've still got 3+ hours before catching a Mexicana flight to Zihuatanejo, where Deanna promises to be waiting with a guy in a white VW bug, just oustside the airport (To avoid lining the pocket of an airport taxi dirver). She's been in Ixtapa for a couple of days, getting a headstart on vacationing. Mary and her friend Claudia are due in tomorrow afternoon.

The only causalty I'm aware of so far is my 2006 Lonely Planet Mexico guidebook. 'Good thing I didn't spring for a 2010 edition. Mary has a current Foder's Mexico we can consult. I think I left it on the floor under my seat on the plane here in DF (Distrito Federal). I was focused on filling out the immigration forms, which I didn't do a good job on--when I got to Customs I was sent to the side to fill in about 6 spaces I hadn't completed. Those Mexican customs forms have hard-to-find signature lines.

Decision: do I set my phone alarm and try to catch some sleep, drapped over my carry-on & computer bag, or not? I got some sleep on the leg from LA. 'Had a few tense minutes, standing in the looong security line at Bradley International (part of LAX)--very reminiscent of the lengthy wait Lucy and I had, to get thru security on our way to Australia several years ago, not long after 9/11. They saw that my boarding was underway and shuttled me to a shorter line. Those who allow plenty of time get punished--left in the regular line, which can take an hour or more!

Here in the airport, I changed $20 at 11.60 pesos to the $. I hope banks will give a better rate. Consulting on line before I left home, I saw the peso has been strengthening against the $ in recent months. First liter of water, 25 pesos! I 'spose a bottle of water in a US airport would be somewhat more than a couple of bucks.

Room 401, Villa Vera Puerto Mo, Zihuatanejo

'Got up this morning, eager to catch up on emails. Last night I agreed to a 200 peso enrollment fee to use the resort's web connection for the week (At 12 pesos/$, less than $17 and about $2.40/day--I'll try to censure some of my deal-making thinking here...!) Deanna went to bed too early and had trouble sleeping, so it seemed like a good opportunity to sip coffee and respond to online messages. After searching all compartments of my new laptop bag, I came to the frustrating conclusion that I left the power cord to the laptop at home. So much for Mary's gift of St. Anne, the saint of lost objects. And her checklist to not leave things at home (of course, I only crossed off the clothing items on the list--I didn't allow enough packing time to get down to "computer & charger").

I called Raul, our cabbie that Deannie found yesterday--to pick me up just outside the airport. He took me to the electronics store and loaned me 50 pesos--I figured 700 would be more than enough, but the price was 750 pesos. I'll be repaying him momentarily, when we go to the airport to pick up Mary and Claudia.

...Thursday morning. Coffee's on. Claudia's trying to get some sleep, after being awake during the night. I am back from the lobby, where strong internet signal didn't help me get to my email. Oh well, hopefully later.

...Friday morning. 'Been too much going on to find time to blog. We'll be doing breakfast soon, then the gals are heading to town to shop, without me. I see an opening to catch up here. . Tuesday arrival of Mary and Claudia went smoothly. They also got "green" lighted at customs, which meant no bag searches. Their room is just down the hall from Deanna and mine. 4th floor, no elevator, so exercise doing stairs is the order of the week. But, our view is even better here on the next to penthouse level, looking across Zihuatanejo Bay towards Las Gatas Beach. Claudia & Mary have a suite with big jacuzzi tub with a view & a balcony, so we'll be spending more time there, as our room's view is thru a picture window.

Wednesday we caught a small launch to Playa Las Gatas. Recently I have been in email correspondence with Scott. He lives south of Mexico City and we had hoped to visit him during this trip, but it turns out he is traveling too & won't be home to drop in on. Scott, an anthropologist, was studying the Cofan of the Ecuadorian upper Amazon basin when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the late 60s. He was one of the 10 of us who bought Hacienda Buena Karma. When Scott learned we were coming to Zihua, he said we must drop in on Owen Lee, his buddy who lives at the far end of Las Gatas Beach. So, we did, catching Owen just after his morning shower. He graciously gave us drinks and led our snorkel around the point. At 82, he has been retired a few years from his nature study center next door to his beach house, which I will learn more about when I read his A Prisoner in Paradise--I got an autographed copy from Owen. His adventurous life includes diving for Jacques Cousteau.

The snorkel with Owen was brief and not memorable. We were coping with some waves. I hope for better snorkeling success at other places. While we immediately got on a boat on our return to the wharf, the skipper decided he wanted more passengers before embarking, so he idled around the dock, with engine fumes waffing up. Mary was struggling to breathe. After cordial requests to leave were ignored, Mary approached the skipper, demanding he return our boarding pass and let us off, whereupon he did depart--despacito--He crossed the bay at about half the speed of the other boats, perhaps in an effort to get back at us, but we enjoyed the view and lack of waves.

A dip in the pool here at Villa Vera Puerto Mio was most welcome. Ideal temperature, about 4' deep, a trickle of a waterfall from a viewing pool above, great view of the bay (Check out pics on Picasa, link above & to follow). We survived on drinks and appetizers at the restaurant next ot the pool, befriended by Dianna and Bill, guests from Minnesota, with a room next to ours.

Internet access continues to fail on my laptop, despite programming by staff here. They let me use their computer to check email today.

...Saturday morning. Coffee is on. Deanna awake, but didn't sleep as well as previous nights.

Catching up: Thusday Raul, in Cab 0520, took us to Petalan, about 30 km south, to the gold market in front of the church. Those travel book writers sometimes wax poetic with little basis in reality. I will say that the inventory in the numerous stalls along the street was considerable. They all had their scales and weighed pieces of jewelry before quoting prices--200 pesos for very small pieces, much more for larger ones. Deanna got a small sun that she liked. The guides describe the church as "beautiful majestic". Mary and I, after seeing so many truely majestic churches in Latin America, find it modern and plain. Mid-day mass was underway, which further dissuaded me from spending much time looking in the church.

On our way back, we detoured to Barra de Potosi, a village where a lagoon meets the ocean. We took a boat ride around part of the lagoon, with the skipper jumping out and pulling us across shallow sandbars in spots, which created a bit of drama--would we stout gringos need to get out and help, or walk to shore? He managed without either. There were some picturesue shots of pelicans, cranes, other birds and old boats with fading paint jobs.

Back in Zihua, we had Raul drop us at Playa de Ropa, Restaurant Rossy, where Deanna could use the 500 peso voucher she got for going to a timeshare breakfast during her first couple of days in Ixtapa. Unlike the unpleasant outcomes of most timeshare come-ons I've attended, she said the breakfast was good and the whole thing was over in the promised 90 minutes. The salesman was shut down by Deanna's reply: "My uncle has tons of timeshares, so why should I get my own?" After guacomote and natchos, drinks and reorders of both (the guacamole was esp. good), we had used up the voucher. The gals walked the whole beach, while I napped on a beach chair. No luck finding the massuse that a friend of Mary's told her was excellent and worked on Playa de Ropa. We caught a bus in to the center of town, got off by the mercado and looked in briefly--things were closing up, as it was early evening by then. We negociated a 30 peso cab ride back up the hill to the hotel, Villa Vera Puerto Mio, where we had been informed, in writing, we were excluded from the pool area for the evening, because of an RCI event honoring the hotel staff. We hung out on Mary & Claudia's deck, checking out the party with Mary's binoculars, concluding that it was a totally boring affair. Our interest was peaked by knowing that Deanna's favorite bartender, Ceasar, had been selected for recognition.

Yesterday (Friday) the gals walked down the hill to town to shop. After multiple attempts to get on line with my laptop, I used the hotel's computer to access my email and take care of those warranting my time while vacationing. I hiked down the hill the other way to check out Contramar Beach, described by some writers as good for snorkeling. Maybe. Overlooking the cove from above, I couldn't see any coral nor much that would be of snorkeling interest. We again walked down to town for dinner, selecting Elvira's. Our waiter spoke excellent English because he's lived much of his life in the states, including the Hazeldell neighborhood of Vancouver, where Deanna lives and his uncle owns el Tapatito Restaurant and Kaizer, the small town where Mary lives! Another small world experience.

End of Dispatch I. Again, link to photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/ZihuatanejoI#