Zihua's Magic Lives On
A return to Zihua confirms its magic. Heartfelt thanks to our amazing hosts, Flo and Roger, who might want to reconsider their incredible generosity in having us…we may never leave.
Me and my girl and a vertical rainbow. The magic begins!
Nothing like the setting sun glinting off a perfect mango margarita.
The bartender’s nemesis, getting into the garnish.
This little guy is clearly missing the bar action and just doesn’t know how to get in on it.
These fellas are definitely not welcome at the bar to get in on the garnish swiping action.
Photobomb!
I experienced my first ever turtle release last year and I just can’t get over the thrill of seeing it again. This time, 504 little ones raced to the ocean under the protection of the setting sun. Hopefully, those pesky pelicans can’t see them.
We made amazing food at a cooking class with Monica, including grinding our own corn to make tortillas. Monica soaked the kernels overnight with in water and lime (not the juice…the lime that comes from the construction site next door). Rinse, drain, grind, add fresh water to make a dough and poof, fresh tortillas!
For market merchants, life revolves around their stalls, including keeping up with homework!
How does the ordinary become so beautiful?
Maybe he’s got great turnover and is almost sold out, but I just don’t trust that last leg of something hanging in 30C heat.
The street food is as amazing as it looks. Hard to be a vegetarian here…
Market Instacart?
A perfect night after a perfect day ❤️
No directions to Vancouver so I guess I just have to stay here.
Not a bad commute to work.
Las Gatas beachside oysters. Paddleboarding just off this beach, we saw the divers collecting what is now lunch for this crowd. Forget the hundred mile diet, this is a hundred foot diet!
Morning has broken. Another beautiful day in paradise.
Best seat in the house.
The magic of friendship 💕
Who will win, the pelicans or the guy with the net?
She thought she needed a new hat…she settled for a bottle of tequila.
So last year, we did parachute yoga with Patty Lily and it was amazing. This year, she has added cold plunging as a far cry from savasana. During our class, a delivery guy showed up with two giant blocks of ice which he dumped into the bath and broke up into mini icebergs. Here, a brief hesitation before my plunge. I lasted three minutes and felt amazing for the rest of the day!
Friends, food and fun, life’s perfect trifecta.
Hot sauce display at the fish market. We asked one of the staff for some help in choosing and got a sommelier-worthy description of each one!
And that’s a wrap! What an amazing week, thanks to the incomparable Flo and Roger!
The Perfect Balance of Zen and Zippy
Zihua is a true slice of heaven, especially after monumental Mexico City, the fifth largest city in the world, where nobody seems to agree on the population…let’s call it somewhere between 22 million (official stats) and 40 million (what the Uber driver told us, probably because he knows all the people the census couldn’t reach). Our amazing Flo made an extensive list of amazing things to do and we are enjoying every second!
What’s the first thing you do on arrival in Zihua? Don your swimsuit and get in the water!
Our home beach.
Paddle boarding was awesome! I started with a rookie mistake and stood up with my board parallel to the beach. A wave came and resulted in an immediate dunk. Thankfully the safety strap wasn’t attached to my ski accident ankle of last year! In the hour or so we were out there, we journeyed to pay homage to the sunken Jesus (handily marked by a rope and a few floating plastic bottles), and we collected half a dozen floating bits of garbage.
Our trek to Las Gatas beach…where we actually found a dog, not a cat. More on that later…
Plastic Adirondack chairs should absolutely be pink.
Back to the dog. We named him Brava because he was so brave. This little fella had a 6” gash in his back. We could see his flesh and a bunch of maggots crawling around (it was a three-day-old wound). Brava is a beach stray and everyone on the beach knows him and likes him…except, apparently, a waiter at a neighbouring restaurant who scared him off with a swing of a machete. Dana stepped in to solve the problem. She rallied the troops to find a vet, get him to come to assess the situation and do what needed to be done. The lovely vet came, sedated Brava, cleaned and stitched him up and one of the restaurant staff took him home to recuperate. A lovely dog has been saved (and maybe adopted by the waiter?!). I don’t want to know what happens to the machete wielding waiter if they ever figure out who it was!
Dressed up in my birthday harness with somewhere important to go.
Flying high.
Me and my shadow.
Zihua coastline from Casa que Canta to Madeira Beach.
My birthday serenade. He flipped into the English Happy Birthday song after the Spanish one. He got the tune down pat but the words were butchered in the most endearing way.
You gotta know we were ready for a spectacularly fun and amazing dinner at Tentaciones.
Fabulous Fuel for Fun-filled Days
Why is the food so amazing in Mexico? Because the ingredients are spectacular! A trip to the daily market yielded a bounty from which we made an amazing dinner…fuel for horseback riding on the beach and parachute yoga. We NEED parachute yoga in Vancouver.
The limes smell as delicious as they taste.
Hot, Hotter, Hottest!
Hope these aren't the same fellas we saw snorkelling...
This is definitely not chicken yoga.
Every avocado is perfect.
Flo’s favourite candy bananas
Star fruit, prickly pears, guavas, oh my!
Our pantry from the market which led to…
Poblanos stuffed with shrimp and cheese.
...stuffed zucchini flowers
...mahi mahi tiriditas.
Our market dinner on Flo’s deck…best table in town.
There is a LOT of sweeping that goes on in Mexico.
Horseback riding on Playa Larga...my hat blew off with the first gust of wind.
I feel like I’m in a classic Western movie.
Hopefully no crocs behind us.
And we’re off!
Parachute yoga with Patty Lily, a Chicago transplant who has been in Mexico for a few decades. She makes all sorts of vegan food to seek and started a lovely Saturday market in Zihuantanejo.
Barbie coming to check out what’s with all these upside down people.
Impressed?
Upside down bow pose.
Flying!
Coco the cat nestled in with Dana. The Mexican moustache was included in the deal.
Coco giving me a massage.
Wrapping Up a Wonderful Week
The last few days were full of turtles and tequila, surf and sand, and above all, friends like family. Counting the days until next year mis amigas 
Waiting for coffee in the shade.
Playa La Saladita is known in the surf community for it’s long waves…one of the longest in Mexico! The waves are not huge, but they break pretty far from the shore so surfers get a long and gentle ride. We found a nice log, Vancouver beach style, and enjoyed the varied vibe.
Do we ever tire of watching the pelicans?
Ok, one more...
Dana heading out for a surf…with a random dog in tow. She attracts them wherever she goes.
And she’s up!
The natural hippie surfer vibe has not yet been usurped by the tourist vibe
We made a new friend, Manou, on the beach. In her mid-sixties, she’s a French/American expat who’s lived in Mexico for at least three decades, if not more. She still surfs and spends her time hand-making fantastic jewellery, clothing (almost all of it hand sewn and crocheted) and crocheted home decor. She’s had a pretty unbelievable life, overcoming odds that are the stuff of movies. Manou is incredibly creative, talented and a ton of fun! I feel blessed to have met her.
Now here’s a food truck we could use in Vancouver.
The Majahua fishing boats are back for the evening and ready for their daily, early morning fishing venture.
Sunset on Majahua Beach. Couldn’t ask for a better view from our dinner table.
Beachside dinner.
Jaime, our bar waiter, also doubles as a salsa teacher.
Snorkelling day!
Hanging out on the back of the boat.
I don’t see this little Beetle getting out of its overgrown parking spot anytime soon…
Zihuantanejo is known as an eco-friendly community. One of the very special things that happens down here is protecting turtles. The mama turtles show up on the beach, each laying 120 or so eggs. When early morning walkers notice the actual laying or the disturbed sand indicating a nest, the “turtle authorities” are notified. The eggs are carefully removed and re-nested in this net-covered space and mark the laying date on sticks.
When the turtles are ready to hatch, they put them in a bin and take them out of their nesting home to the beach. They wait for the sun to almost set before they tip over the bin and let them run to the water. Today they released 99 babies. Knowing that one or two in a thousand will survive and come back to this beach to lay their own eggs does not bode well for these 99 cuties. However a few days ago, they released a whopping 2750 so Zihuantanejo can expect a few returns in a few years.
So cute...Here's hoping she makes it back to this beach to lay her eggs
Heading home after a long day of singing on the beach…they’ve seen countless turtles so no need to stop and watch tonight
Last night, last mango margarita
Lunch on the way to the airport. This ended up being a very fun, Mezcal-fueled afternoon. A magical grilled pineapple mezcalito followed by a cucumber mezcalito. Our wonderful bartender, Jésus, asked is we wanted singles or doubles. We asked for singles so we could safely try two different drinks. Either he liked us and gave us doubles or we underestimated the 50% alcohol content, but those two drinks packed a serious punch!
Like a ship in a bottle…how did he get in?
Our bartender friend Jésus, who we all wanted to bring home
On your mark, get set, GO!
So cute...Here's hoping she makes it back to this beach to lay her eggs.
There she goes! And the crowd goes wild
Post turtle release serenity…ohm…
Heading home after a long day of singing on the beach…they’ve seen countless turtles so no need to stop and watch tonight.
Last night, last mango margarita.
Our bartender friend Jésus (who we all wanted to bring home).