Arriving in Zihuatanejo on March 1, 2015 was memorable because my little street, Rio Balsas, was so obscure that even the taxi driver did not know where it was. I learned to tell everyone I lived a block from the Estacion de Bomberos (the fire station). I watched the Bomberos do their morning workout on la playa Madera on my morning walk. What a job the Bomberos have!
Quinta Camelinas is in the perfect location, a five minute walk to town, a 10 minute walk to La Ropa (a beautiful beach with rolling waves) and located in a real Mexican neighborhood with a cacophony of roosters to waken me and a fully stocked tienda ½ a block away. The tienda is like an old style general store with everything, and I mean everything, you could possibly need. At Quinta, Natasha has created a most wonderful combination of authentic Mexican experience and lovely oasis. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the little pool when I arrived home soaked to the skin from my latest adventure. The fully equipped kitchen and the daily maid service combine to make everything stress free. I have rented the top floor for February and March 2016. It has an extra room which I will be subletting- ask me for details. See Pictures of Quinta Camelinas here. View a video of our resident Iguanas here. Please recommend names for them.
My Sunflower Project Hiku for Zihua
A refuge from Life
Global insights at dinner
Me gusta Zihua
Are you “From Away” as we call it in Maine?
Zihuatanejo is a real working Mexican town of 200,000 + people who seem to have a very easy relationship with the many visitors and expats. There is a very active message board managed by ZihuaRob which functions as a quick way to find goods, services and friends!
There are many wonderful people from around the world here fleeing the weather and looking for the relaxed and affordable Mexican lifestyle. We all seem to bond quite quickly. I also had the opportunity to spend time with my friend, colleague and beloved DLiTE art methods teacher, Sally Gibson and her husband Jeff who writes a blog on Wonder We hardly have time to see each other in Minneapolis but I was honored to be with Sally on her birthday and share her fabulous view and a Mackerel Sky sunset! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altocumulus_mackerel_sky
Las Gatas Video-Ellen from Canada Ellen wrote a haiku for the Sunflower Project . Please send me your Hiku. How will YOU be growing old?
I met many Duluthians here this winter. We organized an “eating down the food” fiesta at Quinta Camelinas before we left and traded Minnesota stories. Marcy owns a unique massage facility in Duluth. http://eaglesnestmassage.com/
I have a very firm commitment to learning to speak Spanish. It is about basic respect. That being said… this goal is more difficult for me than earning my PhD. I studied with Erandi Blanco at the Adventure of Learning Spanish owned by Yadira Ríos Torres. I am a particularly difficult challenge as a linguistic student because I am almost exclusively a visual learner. Erandi did an admirable job developing strategies for me and I was able to have one of my first meaningful conversation in Spanish, my second goal met for learning Spanish! We talked about feminista issues in Mexico and the United States! I would recommend Yadira’s school without reservation!
KEY FEATURE: Most of the downtown sidewalks are covered so you can run your errands in the shade. This is major.
Must sees and dos:
Las Gatas is a little beach at the mouth of Zihuatanejo bay. You can walk there (do not let people tell you it is not walkable!) or you can take a water taxi for 40 pesos (about $3.00). I enjoyed seeing them que up like land taxis to come in for their people. There are lovely restaurants and a calm Caribbean style beach. Las Gatas has a very rich history which includes Owen Lee (associate of Jaques Cousteau and aqua lung pioneer) and Timothy Leary. Read “Prisoner in Paradise” for a peek behind the curtain of buying land in Mexico. See Owen Here I read the book and acquired it free from Amazon (Kindle Unlimited). Steel yourself for creative editing!
Ixtapa Island
I found this island to be very similar in all ways to Las Gatas but you need to take a bus and then a water taxi to go there. The bus only costs about a $1.00 and you also have a nice tour of the Ixtapa road and fabulous bike path. When you arrive at the water taxi landing you walk down through an alligator sanctuary. They were big girls-we left them behind on the mainland!!
There are several beaches over there. Playa Coral attracts swimmers, snorkelers and divers who want to explore coral reefs teeming with tropical fish but I own a house on the Atlantic ocean and swim there and I would not go in at Coral without a life jacket. For calmer waters, follow the footpath to Playa Varadero. Again…a nice little Caribbean style beach with the FABOULUS la talla barbequed fish on all the menus. Pescado a la talla is a fish dish where a whole fish is butterflied and basted with a sauce of chilies before being grilled over an open flame.
The most interesting sight for me was a one-man band who I interviewed. He told me he makes about $50 a day. I have seen many of these orchestras and this was one of the most creative. Hear an Interview with the One Man Band Please ignore my bad Spanish!
Volunteering in Barra de Potosi. There are several wonderful projects in La Barra. Contact the folks below and contribute your passion. I met two amazing women (and I hear there are many more) who have played a leadership role in several projects. Not just vacationing! I plan/hope to work with several local cooperatives helping develop ideas for gringo/a friendly products for purchase and find my way back to teaching art and English at the elementary schools.
Cooking Class
I reached out to ZihuRob’s message Board looking for information on Health Care. Linda Leonard was gracious enough to meet with me and was a plethora of information. She recommends Clinica Maciel and Hospital De Especialdaes. It is also important to note that every Farmicia has a doctor on staff who can write script and charges 50 pesos (about $4.00)!
Linda wrote a lovely book about her RV experiences in Mexico which is full of first account tips and information. Living the Dream in Mexico
Want to have an insider tour of the market and then a personally guided trip to his home an Los Achotes (where the bus drops you off to go to La Barra) and where you can enjoy a cooking lesson with his wife Claudia? Click below for all the information.
Cooking with Claudia Alberto’s Services at www.albertoinzihuatanejo.blogspot.com
Making Art in Zihua I created several Body Art works and as often happens in Mexico, stumbled across an astonishing full circle experience. I found these masterfully carved avocado pit masks many years ago and I was recently told there was one man in Mexico City who created them in the 1980’s. I have been trying to carve the pits and it is VERY difficult!! See my pitiful attempt. I am thinking this might be a possible cottage industry for future development. Mascara Uno. Do not faint when you see how much the necklace costs. 
It has an irreplaceable Mexican antiquity in it. BTW Check out the Victorinox SwissCARD here. It has a knife, scissors and much more and I have successfully traveled with it for 7 years with having the TSA seize it.
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