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".  

 

 

The little town that "could"...celebrating when people dream big and make it happen

Being back in Zihuatanejo since mid-February and spending most of that time entertaining friends by visiting our favorite places in and around town has kept me busy.  Apologies for a lack of blog posts, just know that I love observing my surroundings and my mind is constantly evaluating what we have and where we have chosen to spend so much of our time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have delighted in the joyous welcome homes (Bienvenidos regressa a su casa!) from our Mexican friends in Colonia La Madera and our Nino's Adelante family, and have shared many a happy photo evening around our big screen TV showing a carefully chosen subset of Gene and my photos to those interested in seeing what life is like in the country just south of us.  A country that shared it's indigenous Mayan routes with the southern part of Mexico, where we love to visit. 




I had a lot of surprises on my first trip to Guatemala, not the least of which was the fantastic and well developed system of transporting tourists to the far reaches of the mountainous, jungle and coastal edges of a diverse country.  I found myself wondering -  why not here in Zihuatanejo?  We have villages nearby (Barra de Potosi, Troncones) where restaurateurs and shopkeepers would love to have day visitors from Zihua arrive and depart from with predictable regularity.  The villages around Lake Pazcuaro, our Michoacán tourist destination,  would benefit greatly if tourism was organized to easily and safely transport visitors around and shuttle them from artisan's homes to hotels like we saw in Guatemala.   What is it that has prevented Zihuatanejo from flourishing like we had originally expected when we purchased our first apartment here 10 years ago?  Why does our town suffer from seriously outdated and non-functional infrastructure, only one travel agent who does not seem to particularly want business, ongoing issues related to safety and security and poorly maintained common areas that are not attractive to visitors?  I'm frankly sick of looking at garbage dropped anywhere and everywhere there isn't a garbage can at arm's length.  Don't get me wrong, Mexico has come a long way since our early years of travel here but in certain things there is a backwards mentality that hasn't shifted at all.  

Recently, the city announced the near completion of the new "parque lineal", a paved walking path along the Canal, La Boquita, which serves as a necessary overflow catchment system during rainy season, and other than that, seems to collect garbage during the dry season waiting for the annual Spring clean up by the ayuntamiento.   This path is a huge improvement for those of us who used to navigate broken sidewalks, dog poop laden paths or sewage run off on the opposite side of the street to walk the 3 kms to our large, modern grocery store.  And there seems to be a few dozen exercise equipment stations awaiting final installation.  This should be a good news story,but mostly it is greeted with sceptisim and criticism by locals and tourist extranerjo's alike.   Mostly, the conversations go like "who's brother got paid off to put that in", and "it's another monument to a corrupt politician who just needs to show off".   And that doesn't even factor in the most realistic concerns, which are  who will maintain the equipment and what will the humid, salt laden air do to all that steel? 



So, this brings me to the purpose of my post, which is that despite a pervasive attitude of skepticism,  diminishing volunteers and settings to host such events (some of the key local music venues have closed their doors this season), the Zihuatanejo International Guitarfestival is once again underway!  The "Little Town that Could" is shining with the brightest of stars.  We are so proud of Playa La Madera, the host site for the opening and closing concerts featuring a worldwide array of talented musicians, and a nightly concert of at least 3 performances.  We can walk to the venue, bring our little buddy Cori, and generally feel ever so proud of our home in the tropics. 

Today, we say goodbye to Jo and her new boyfriend Gary who have shared our home for the past week.  We welcome our good friends Lynn and Barry back to our rental apartment.  They are our final tenants of the season and indeed our final tenants as immediately following their departure, our apartment sale finalizes and we are no longer landlords in Zihuatanejo.  For 6 years we've enjoyed maintaining, equipping and renting our previous apartment to friends from near and far who love Zihua like we do.   Beginning next season, we will only have our own home here in Casa Ceiba, and our lives will be a little freer, a little less complicated and at the same time, a little more open to new endeavors, new challenges and new opportunities.  Viva Mexico and Vive Salud!!