A tourist in my own town....or how to get my Mexico on in 3 weeks and counting.

Finally back...all the stars aligned, our baby boy grandson was born, our daughter and her husband were ecstatic, our time spent in Ontario was time spent helping where we could and visiting a new area of the world for us.  We experienced winter with it's fierce winds and snow, experienced farm life and experienced family bonding...but when the date came, we drove through snow, winds and icy roads to make our flight from Toronto via Houston to Zihuatanejo. 




And coming to our Mexican home to be a tourist and to get that "Mexico feeling" that I crave.   First thoughts were all about the people....how it is so wonderful to walk the streets in our area and be called by name, hugged kissed and made to feel so very welcome.  Without our little dog, Cori...the regulars whom we've come to know ask us "Donde esta Cori?"  Luckily, we can say that he is coming in January!  But perhaps more interesting, not one of our condo neighbours has enquired.  Not one has said "felicidades" to us after the birth of our first grandchild...the same people who we've known for 7 years are here...granted, a few less due to circumstances...but really can we say this is "Home" with such a tepid response and guarded polite comments but no real interest in us personally from inside the 4 walls of Casa Ceiba??   I would expect more from the same people who we've been neighbourly with the last 7 years. 

But we refuse to let this behavior change our experience, so we've decided to use the presence of our friends Sue and Paul who joined us in Zihuatanejo after 3 weeks in Guanajauto and now Dawn, our friend and regular visitor to turn this into three weeks of being "tourists in our own town".... Eating out, swimming, attending every music opportunity we can, visiting Troncones, Barra and Playa Blanca...it's all here, for those of us who want to venture out of the 4 walls of Casa Ceiba. 








Our Nino's Adelante family has become even closer to us,  This year is Doraliz's final year at Prepa 13, the large public high school.  Doraliz has asked us for 3 years for a laptop for her birthday and each year we said "no" that we could not purchase this for her but this year, we felt that the timing was right.  So a few days after her actual birthday, when we arrived, we gave her the gift that will hopefully launch her towards her new career.  Doraliz has decided to pursue nursing as a career after she graduates.  I feel this is a realistic option for Doraliz, a kind and loving girl with a good work ethic who wants to live near her family but have an income and move ahead of her family.  She will be a good nurse someday. 

Again, it seems nearly impossible, but the town has survived the "low season"...oh some restaurants are gone, some stores have closed, some families have moved away,...but overall...the town has seen some improvements.  Politicians are in full campaign mode, showing off their achievements and proudly being photographed along the Parque Lineal, or in the rebuilt Cancha Solidaridad.   And what I've come to realize is that the politicians depend on the poorest, least educated citizens to be elected.  The more affluent Mexicans who live here, and the business owners,  have long ago given up hope that there will be honesty in politics.  They largely avoid political affiliations as it is either too dangerous or time wasted.  But meanwhile, the towns poorest are being recruited to support Juntos Somos Zihuas candidate Jorge!   My question is can any one politician meet the needs of the poor and the conflicting needs of a tourist resort that is wanting a new pier, a new waterfront walkway and downtown revitalization?  Life unfold slowly here in Zihuatanejo.  Each year goes by and the town survives, but only just.... 

Iguala and the massacre of students has become the barometer for all things wrong with Mexico.  But for us,...Mexico has rescued my sun starved skin, my body that needs and deserves warmth and my soul that responds to the love of Mexican people...their music, their food and their unabashed show of affection to those of us who care!

 

 

And one last photo...a lasting memory of what became my most dangerous experience in Mexico this year....look who was hiding in our toilet after our trip to Troncones....my little iguana who probably thought he was out of sight...note to self:  never ever sit without checking first!

 

 

It was a dark and stormy day... here in my Island home.

 

 Which must play a role in why my heart and mind is taking me to Mexico, taking my sun starved skin, my aching shoulder and hand and my fresh fruit deprived palate to the place where we have lived for the past 7 winters.   If we based our judgements on first impressions, we should call it paradise.  But we have become wiser after living in Zihuatanejo for as long as we have, and have learned that like all relationships, you should not judge a place by it's appearances alone.  Knowing our friends who are Mexican and reading both newspapers and social media sites, we know this has been another year of one crisis after another both socially, environmentally and economically in our winter home.  We have begun to realize that what Canadians fear and protest against is the norm in our Southern home...politicians who are corrupt, systems that no longer function and a people who live with no assistance from social programs or policies that ensure basic existence.  Together with police and enforcement agencies who are in fact some of the biggest threats to public safety, there is no expectation that life is easy for the residents of Zihuatanejo.  However, like our compadres, we will return hoping to once again live safely in our chosen winter getaway.  The irony is that the biggest reason we return year after year is not just the beauty of the environment, but the people who we have met and loved - the Mexicans of our city.

This year of 2014 could be labelled as "my change in life".  I clearly recall my now deceased Mother who used that phrase to encompass all things negative post menopause, and I have chosen to alter that perception.  I have consciously tried to redefine "change of life" to be the self determination to change aspects of my life in a planned for and positive manner.  So this year, shortly after our return from Mexico, when Gene suddenly developed an eye condition that precludes long periods of time away from expert ophthalmological care; we decided to re-invent our dual home experience as one of a home on the Gulf Islands and a home in downtown Victoria; and an existing home in Mexico playing an unclear role in our future. 

I have always known that living in Mexico requires good health and it is not a place where you can access expert care, at least not in Zihuatanejo, in a timely way.   We have enjoyed 10 years of adventure, and 6 years of escaping winter...will this be the last of it?   I don't know, and perhaps I don't really need to know.  As I have learned this year, things unfold as they should so we will visit Zihuatanejo, for a brief time before the end of 2014, return in the later winter for a longer period and experience "my Mexicanized life" with a new reality filter.  Is it forever...not necessarily: is it where I want to be during the dark and stormy days of a Canadian winter, we shall see!


But perhaps our biggest change is only a few days away.   At last we are to be "abeulos", grandparents, and the birth is coming soon.  This will be long distance grand parenting, but at least not for the 19 days we are scheduled to be in Ontario.   Amy and Patrick are having a baby and their lives and vicariously, our lives, are about to be changed forever.  Baby K as we affectionately call this gender unknown person who is one day post due date now, will be the beloved grandchild of the Suess/Kitchen/Murray families and his/her uncles and aunts will experience the true evolution of family.   I want Amy and Patrick to bring our new grandchild to Zihuatanejo this spring when we are en casa!  I know how my Mexican friends love children and I guess I want to "show off" our Canadian family to the people we know who value family above all else.  To Doraliz, our becando, her family and neighbours who wonder who this middle aged Canadian couple really are; to our staff at Casa Ceiba who cater to these childless couples who stray so far from their families; and to the people of my Colonia, La Madera...it's a chance for me to show them that, like their values, what matters most in life is family and hope for even more opportunities for the next generation.  To be with a grandchild who is loved and have their future be shaped by those of us who love them and will care for them for the rest of their lives and ours. 

So this week, we are packing up our country home.  Living closer to nature means paying attention to new aspects of home maintenance.  Our firewood has been carefully stacked out of rains harm, our well has been turned off, our garage, which will act as our greenhouse has been primed for the potential cold that could descend on our Island home, our rainwater catchment system is full to overflowing, our deer fencing has been elevated to protect the plants we added to the landscape and our birdfeeders are filled, attracting a great variety of songbirds that we love. 

We are leaving with the intent of returning for Xmas with our expanded family.  Leaving our home with the sentinels of the forest as guardians.  Dawn our neighbour and her boyfriend Michaels' carvings will serve as our home's guardian angels as we embark on yet another adventure.  Ojala the blessings of life continue! 


p.s. don't tell Cori he's staying in Victoria with Uncle Alex for this our first winter escape.  He will be repatriated to his native land in January! 

Keeping Tradition Alive...The Grande Finale of my Mexican Life

Our best laid plans all came true.  With our Mexican loving amigos, Mike and Dee who live in Zihuatanejo 8 months of the year,  Gene prepared our faithful "steed", our highly dependable but well-aged Ford Explorer with the Thule rack on the roof for added storage space and off we went to the "largest craft fair in Latin America".  This is my fifth time at the "Domingo de Ramos" fair and it has become for me, a tradition to mark the end of my Mexican life for another year.  

 

The drive itself is a welcome relief from the warm, humid air on the Southern Mexico coast.  Only 3 hours away, but several thousand feet above sea level, the pine trees and avocado plantations in the volcanic mountain-ringed town of Uruapan are just one indicator of the cultural variety that is in store for visitors to Michoacan.  Jacaranda trees in full bloom lined the bustling agricultural periphery, but as always we headed to our favorite lunch stop adjacent to Rio Cupatitzio's beautiful park,  the  Restaurant La Trucha. Their signature dish, trout with macadamia nuts put a smile on Mike's face and for me, the wonderful Guacayama drink that blends the regional Hass avocado with local citrus juices was perfect.  Delicious!

 

After checking in to our favorite Hotel Mi Solar in El Centro we began familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the fair...luckily tradition trumps novelty and familiar vendors of things small and large were in their usual locations.  It's a feast for the senses.

 

The next morning begins with a parade of artisans, so we threaded our way through the building crowds to find the perfect place to watch.   

 After the parade, the crowds line up outside the Casa de Cultura for entry into the juried competition.  The crème de la crème of art, grouped by gendre and bought up by the savvy shop owners, travellers who have come to Uruapan for this special opportunity. 

 

 A new addition to the fair this year was the music stage with a Mexican philharmonic orchestra playing at sunset while we dined at Hotel Plaza overlooking the lively street scene. 

 The full moon rising over the lights of the cathedral looked so beautiful.

 For many of the indigenous people, Palm Sunday is the focus.  Highly decorative weavings of palms and some with more of a "glitz" factor are lined up around the streets outside the churches. 

 And the ever popular demonstration and food court featuring locally prepared traditional foods was a crowd success...so successful that we decided to avoid the crowds this year and return next year with our Mexican friend Monica who will accompany us on our next tour focusing on the women's art and tradition of preparing foods over wood fired stoves.  Note the new effective blue and white corn being rolled on the metate for fresh woodfire grilled tortillas...hmmm...next year!

 Uruapan has just the right climate to grow plants that thrive in the cool, fresh air and daytime heat.  And just like the plants that abound...we too found the fresh air and beauty of the fair just the treat we needed to energize us to begin the pack up that ends my Mexican Life for this season.   

Back in Zihua, the sad reality is we have to say goodbye to friends and neighbours whom we love.  10 days from today we will once again bring Cori back to his adopted home of Canada.  I'm ready to begin becoming Canadian yet again....

Seeking first time experiences in our winter home during the "calm before the storm"

 

 

 

Two weeks to "D" day...departure from our winter home.  My mood alters between excitement to return to our beautiful Victoria home and family and friends; to realizations that what we experience here on a daily basis can't be replicated in Canada.  

 

Life here is full of sensory experiences; I wake to birds, feel the lovely warm breezes on bare skin, eat amazing foods, walk miles of unobstructed beaches, and find the simplicity and time to reflect.  The opportunity to observe family life in a community that despite pervasive negative experiences vibrates with life and happiness is missing in our summer homes; where we live in luxury homes and the streets are empty. 

 

On my morning walk today I observe a young father playing in the early morning light on our beach, Playa Madera where every night someone works their magic on yet another outstanding sand sculpture.

 



One of my yearly goals is walking Playa Blanca from Barra de Potosi to Playa Larga.   Gene can't do this walk, Cori is not as young as he once was, and guess what...neither am I!  So we do it in stages, breaking up the 10 miles of white sand with 4-6 mile stretches between favorite spots along "our beach".   On one of our recent beach forays to Barra de Potosi, our walk to the "pick up spot" I had one of my "first time experiences"  --- cowboys herding a reluctant bunch of Brahma cattle along the beach. 

 

 

Which brings me to the reason for this post, a fabulous day trip to Playa Viva.  I had first visited Playa Viva 4 years ago when the new eco-tourist resort opened along a remote stretch of beach 40 kms. south of Zihuatanejo.  We were reconnected when at the weekly Eco-Tianguis Sanka market, I began purchasing fresh kale and arugula from their farm.   I noticed that they promoted day excursions, so with Lynn and Barry, our ever ready Mexican loving friends along for the day, we headed south to check out the spot.   

 

Beginning with one of the most wonderful lunches prepared with locally grown and sourced food by Abraham, the friendly chef extraodinaire, it was a special day.   David Leventhal, the San Francisco owner of this special place has hired a wonderful staff who have created a near perfect spa-resort experience in a remote stretch of Guerrero.  I applaud his vision and only wish that my pocket book could afford a stay there on a regular basis. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we wait for the "storm to begin".  Semana Santa and Semana Pascua, the 2 week period of Easter festivities for Mexicans begins this weekend.  Our little town has had a chance to breathe.... The beaches are quiet, the restaurants empty early, some have already closed for the season.  Yoga classes are winding down.  Shopkeepers are refilling their shelves.  The "extranjero's", winter visitors from Canada and USA are mostly gone except for the full and part time residents who have no desire to head back to the rat race north of here.    And the biggest tell tale sign is that Commercial Mexicana is again building mountains of stock for the expected onslaught.   We are taking advantage of the early days of the period to head inland to Uruapan to once again feel the magic of Michoacán artesanias at their best.  I've polled my friends and family for requests as I have almost no room left at the "inn" for new purchases,....so off we go on our final Mexican adventure weekend of the year.  

Que nos vaya bien!   

Spring fever....or you know it's time to head home soon when your closets are crying for help.

 

It's an official "trend", I clearly remember from last year.  I have reached the point where I open my closets, look at the sad and mottley mix of Mexican cotton, Canadian summer clothes and well worn bathing suit cover-ups, and decide "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR"!!  The only two pairs of "dress up" shoes I have both lying broken on my closet floor leave me wondering what to do....wander the hot streets trying to find a store that might potentially sell the size 9's my feet need, or just keep on wearing the rest of my sad and well-worn footwear until we leave in 4 1/2 weeks.  It's tempting to just let "nature take it's course" and dress "not to impress" for the next month, but I do have a reputation at stake and besides, supporting our local shops before the Easter crowds of Mexicans from the interior arrive might just be fun! 

Now shopping for oilcloth, that's another thing totally.  My friends joined me on a recent trip to Petatlan to re-stock our supplies for Sol Sisters' bags and some custom made makeup and travel bags for friends.  The clerks in the lovely tienda "La Popular" in Petatlan show me to their hidden stock in the back closet where we carefully coordinated the colors/trends we want to make for Spring. 

 

 

 We've had a busy but wonderful month full of friends, festivals and trips to our favorite places.  Jo and Gary, Lynn and Barry and Jane and Joe (all friends of ours for years) share our love for Zihuatanejo.  The food, the music, the beaches, the ocean and the people.  Thanks for spending your holiday time with us!  

 

What's left to do, see, taste, feel?  My annual trip to Uruapan,  Domingo de Ramos, Michoacán's state fair of artisans.  Our grand finale planned for April 11, and 12th thanks to Lynn and Barry's kind offer to dog-sit Cori and our friends Mike and Dee who want us to be their guides for this visual extravaganza.  Not focussed on shopping, although I have a small list of must have's from the beauty on display at the fair, I want to leave Mexico full of the wonder that is this country at it's best. 

We are staying longer this year, not arriving back to our Canadian home until April 26th.  I miss that home, our Victoria friends, our family and our garden....  But we have a clear purpose for our lengthened stay in Mexico.  We have pre-sold our small apartment which has given us so much joy and we have a final meeting to complete the sale scheduled for April 21st.  Mexico goes on vacation for the two weeks of Easter, Semana Santa and Semana Pascua, so we were lucky to have this meeting scheduled to do business while the rest of Mexico plays.   It just might be possible that I've had my fill of play this winter,...it's almost time to get back to the "other side of my life".