Monday, March 30, 2015
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
Our trip started with a short stay at the IxZi plus Hotel.
The hotel had a baby pool beside the regular pool.
Kate, Gerardo and the boys came over to swim. The water was warm.
Gerardo, his mother, sister and Kate fixed a typical Mexican dinner Friday evening.
Corn tortillas with beef, beans, rice, a yummy fruit salad, a variety of salsas.
And, cherry pie for dessert.
Sunset over Palmar Bay.
The resort town of Ixtapa is in the background.
Our hotel was just down the street.
Up and down hills; mostly uphill walking to the villa.
Saturday, there was time to enjoy the wifi at our hotel
to walk along the beach at Palmar Bay
(I call it Ixtapa Bay)
and swim one last time at the hotel pool.
Saturday evening, we enjoyed dinner at the El Faro Restaurant on the south end of
Palmar Bay.
Ixtapa resort hotels along the bay.
There is a cable car that can be ridden up to the restaurant.
Wonder why the waves roll in as they do...
Uncle Fred with his yummy coconut shrimp.
The Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains.
The Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains are on the east side of Mexico.
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Sunday, we moved up to the villa.
Kate, Gerardo, the boys and Gerardo's family returned home.
We settled into our room, took inventory of the food supply
and went grocery shopping.
Morning temperatures were in the low to mid 70's.
Afternoons were sunny with temperatures in the upper 80's.
We swam most days in the morning, then again in the late afternoon.
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A list was made of items needed at the villa.
One of the stops was at a 'hardware' store in downtown,
downtown Zihuatanejo.
We made several stops before
eating lunch at Rueben's.
Oh, and enjoying the use of the wifi.
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Tuesday morning we headed south of Zihuatanejo to see the ruins at
the Museo De Sitio Xihuacan.
Also known as Soledad de Marciel at the village of Petatlan.
The winner, the man who hit the ball through the ball hoop along the side first,
was sacrificed to the gods....
Yikes! What incentive is that to be the winner?
A replica of the temple. There are nine 'steps'
representing the nine months of pregnancy.
The church in the village.
The tablet was found during construction of the church.
The tablet is the King of Chole.
A reconstruction of what the area may have looked like.
Items used for trade.
Items from different cultures have been found in this area.
The theory being that this was an important trade area.
A thirteen month calendar was used.
The circle through which the ball was thrown in the ball court.
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Wednesday, we drove to Zihuatanejo Bay.
Deliveries for the day - ice and supplies - are being loaded on the boats
to take out to the island.
Ferries take tourists out to the island for the day.
We stopped at a park to see the crocodiles and iguanas.
There were small children that would make a delicious meal for this big fella!
Iguanas: large and small.
We drove to Zihuatanejo Bay.
The waves were large.
We walked to the other end of the bay.
We saw where the turtle eggs would be placed in the summer months.
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Thursday, we walked through the open market at Zihuatanejo.
There were whole chickens, vendors cutting fish to sell,
stands with fruits, vegetables,
T-shirts, souvenirs.
I was on visual overload!
We walked to the bay.
Fishermen were busy plying their trade.
Zihuatanejo is called the "place of women."
One story is told that when Captain Juan Alverez Chico was exploring
the area in 1522, he looked at the tranquil little bay
lined with flocks of seabirds and women washing clothes in a
freshwater spring. His Aztec guide told him that this place
was called Cihuatian, the "place of women."
When Chico described the little bay, Cortez tacked "nejo" (little)
on the name giving birth to Zihuatanejo.
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Our last full day was Friday.
We headed to Ixtapa Beach, but, no.
There was a dedication near the entrance to the beach.
The entrance was blocked.
We drove back to Zihuatanejo Bay to walk/swim.
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Minnesota Fred in his favorite spot at the villa;
looking out at the resort hotels at Ixtapa
and the Pacific Ocean.
We had time at the airport for a second breakfast.
Thank you, Minnesota Fred, for a delightful week!
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
Snow Flowers
The weather has certainly changed from a week ago.
The snow is melted, except in the huge parking lot piles.
Temperatures in the upper 50's, lower 60's.
Sun is shining.
The snow flowers are out.
The bees are buzzing crazily around the small flowers.
Some jonquils are poking their heads above the ground.
Can Spring be far behind?
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Maple Syrup Festival at Hueston Woods
After a hearty pancake and maple syrup breakfast at the Hueston Woods Lodge,
along with coffee, yummy sausages and orange juice,
we drove to the beach to find the maple syrup activities.
We crossed a steam full of chunks of ice!
The beach parking lot was a sheet of ice!
We drove to one of the smaller picnic areas from which we could hike
to the sugar bush.
Walking was difficult on the slippery ice crusted snow.
The weather has been less than perfect for the sap to flow.
The buckets were hung just days before.
Notice the wooden buckets used long ago to collect sap.
And how long did that take?
Putting the heated rocks into the sap.
We were early.
Fires were just being started for boiling the sap.
Maple syrup is no longer made at Hueston Woods,
except for demonstration.
The maple syrup being sold comes from near-by Camden.
Frozen Acton Lake.
Now, almost a week later, the temperatures are in the 50's and 60's!
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