Zihuat 3

Small world. My friend, Linda Reynolds, emailed that her friend's parents were on a boat in Mexico. I read the email when we were killing time while waiting for a Sailfest meeting to start. So, who did we sit right in front of at the meeting? Jill and Evan Jacoby, her friend's parents! We thought the same name was coincidence enough, but they are from Olympia, too! We enjoyed visiting with them on a couple occasions including dinner in the Ixtapa Marina area where they introduced us to Michelado (rim a glass with salt, pour in beer and lime juice). We had shrimp in squid ink for an appetizer. We very much enjoyed our time spent with the "other" Jacobys.

One of the Sailfest activities is a boat parade. Land based turistas and locals can buy tickets to go on the private boats for a parade from Zihua Bay to Ixtapa and back. In addition to Ken and Rita, we had five parade goers - three people from Yakima and a couple from Portland. It was a great group. We were all happy that there was enough wind to sail the route. Our visitors were thrilled to have sailed on the Pacific Ocean and we were glad to be able to provide that opportunity. Most of the boats participated and over 160 tickets were sold at $25.00 a piece. Those funds are matched by various businesses/fraternal groups.

We always appreciate the local small business owners and try to use their services as much as we can. Hilda and Ishmael's business is delivery of fuel, water, beer, soda, etc. to the boats, as well as a laundry service. Order one day, and they deliver the next day. They were great to deal with as was Nathaniel, the dinghy landing attendant. Nathaniel greets and guides in the dinghys and watches over them while we are ashore. He then helps get the dinghy back onto the water and avoiding an old shipwreck that can rear its ugly head during low tide. His hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. He works for tips. He does not have regularly scheduled days off and even worked on his birthday. He noted that there were fewer boats this year and his business was struggling.

Ok, so now we bounce back to another lovely dinner with Ken and Rita! After a week of enjoying Rita's smiling face and good energy, she left on 2/8/08. We enjoyed lovely days at her hotel and a very interesting Bistro meal on Ken's birthday.

Zihuat 2

This blog entry is not chronological, but we have found that pictures are going to pop up wherever they want to in blogspot. Blogspot is not really picture friendly, but that is just the way it is. Anyway, Ken's wife, Rita, came to visit him the week of 2/1 so she could be with him on his birthday. She and Ken stayed at a great spot up the hill at the end of Playa la Ropa and we enjoyed visiting on land (using the pool and showers) and getting off the boat a bit. One night, we walked the beach to our restaurant and had an elegant meal under the stars. It just does not get much better than that!

Looks as if the scarecrow is not effective for pelicans...

Inspiration crew with Inspiration in the background from the municipal beach.

Look who we ran into at Elvira's on 1/28! Fred and Laura Smith from Ocean Park. We knew they were scheduled to be in Zihua - I thought from 1/27 for a week, but it turned out they were there from 1/23 for one week. So, we ran into them just in time for a great afternoon at their lovely hotel on the hill at Puerto Mio, across the Bay from Playa la Ropa. They came aboard for lunch the next day and then Laura and I went shopping for pewter items. After a successful expedition, we again met up with the guys and had cocktails on the beach. It was a great time. Laura gave me the perfect white tank top!

Zihua's central market has everything a person needs. We enjoyed shopping for fresh fruits and produce, eating at their restaurants, and buying fish. This fish stand was recommended because it is in the shade and they will put a little ice on your purchase so you don't have to run right back to the boat to stick it in the refrigerator. We purchased fresh huachinango (red snapper) and camarones (shrimp) in the shell with heads by the kilo. The fishermen bring in the product each day and the store is open until they sell out.

Zihuat 1

We anchored our boat in the Municipal Harbor area where we could see and hear the comings and goings at the Zocolo. Volleyball and basketball games were played regularly. There were a couple of religious plays featuring piped in audio with children lip synching the lines. The featured entertainment our first Sunday night there was a dance recital which ran the gamut from youngsters performing ballet to older persons performing traditional dances. We weren't crazy about the t-shirt logo in this shot, but, this guy ended up being in most pictures taken that evening. But, the event was, indeed, no b.s. - just alot of good energy and joy. It lasted into the wee hours.

The stadium did get full as the evening progressed. To the left, a food cart can be seen. We had dinner in the plaza - street tacos, tamales, boiled corn with chilies, and fried bananas.

We planned to be in Zihua during this time because of an event called Sailfest. This is an almost 10 year old tradition where cruisers hold various fund-raising activities. Funds are matched by Rotary and other organizations. All funds go toward building schools and providing support for poor children to attend school. This picture is from one of the main supporting restaurants (Sunset Beach) and it shows our boat on the Bay. The organizers were concerned this year as to whether the event would be successful as there were only about 1/2 as many boats as in previous years. Also, hotel occupancy was much lower. However, as it turned out, the year was much more successful than anyone hoped and by the end of the event, all were quite pleased.

We mentioned in a previous blog that we had followed Jim and Diane from Adirondack (from Gig harbor) into Barra de Navidad. We also made the passage to Zihuat (about 30 hours) with them. They were very helpful in identifying fishing lines that crossed for miles into the ocean such that we arrived with our propellers intact! These folks have great senses of humor and we had fun with them on land at various organizing and musical events and dinners. We said goodbye to them as we settled into Ixtapa Marina on 2/10 and hope to see them again one of these days.

We have developed a boat cocktail, The Inspiration. Just put some dark rum over ice, add lime, pineapple juice, and a couple drops of Grenadine. Refreshing! But, I have found that Gin Bucks (in tribute to Grandpa Smith) are very refeshing, as well! You just need gin and squirt for a gin buck, but I add some lime juice, as well, for the nutritional value.