Final Morning .... Good Bye Zihua ... you snagged a piece of my heart .... I will be back xox

After a short combi ride, we arrived to our favorite resort where Ferrari saved our favorite loungers for us.

The time went too quickly, it was very sweet .... plane was departing later that afternoon, so we were soaking in as much as we could!

 Well look who go a hold of my phone!

And just because I love this pic of mom and I, here it is again ....

 

It never gets old, watching chickens walk around ....

 We all were sad to say good-bye .... it was an amazing week ...

I guess I did get to take in the final Mexican sunset after all ....

 Hello Calgary .... I wish I hadn't forgotten my shoes in Mexico ....

Day 6 in Zihua - Final full day ....

Roberto and I met for breakfast today (tuesday) to go over his brochures and marketing plan for his tour business.  It was a nice time ... he sure has to hustle ... if he doesn't work, no money comes in .... people really like him though .... proof of that was his ability to get us into the Parthenon on that private tour (there was another small group waiting to go in, but they were made to wait until we were done!)  It is all about relationships here....

After I got back, we took a combi and a chicken truck to Aquarena resort to see a friend of theirs sing



... the beach was beautiful but too rough to swim, so I hung out by the pool and read while they hung out with their friends .... I should have been a little more social because everyone really is so nice, I was just tired some solo time by the pool was nice.  I really liked their friend Cate ... such a free spirit, running her own bar, building a home here, loving on her 2 sweet pups ....


Here is mom making another batch of Kombucha ... they really work to stay on top of their health here ... it seems any little thing can do great damage when you get a little older and a bit more sensitive ... you don't bounce back as quickly as you did in your younger years ....

 Mom and I went for a walk through the streets this morning ... we went for coffee, tacos, street drinks .... met a few new friends along the way.  It is what I miss the most about this week ... everyone is so friendly and happy to see you and communicate with you.  This is a shot for my boys of all the fresh baked goodness they sell at their street front stores....

  We tried to make a point of taking in the sunset every night we could ....

 We spent the week trying to find a mojito and a fish taco as good as the ones we had on my first night.  Epic fail ... none compared... and we tried alot of mojitos and fish tacos!!  So, they indulged me and came back for my final dinner!!  sigh...I still dream of those mojitos ... fresh mint, sugar/salt rim ... oh boy.

Here is Felix ... he made my boys a couple of bracelets ... he said he was deported from Utah and his kids and wife are still there ...

 Watching another parade of the celebration of the virgin Mary ...

 The walk home ... lime gelato in hand and falling behind mom and dad .... even so late at night, it melted really quickly ...

 I got a kick out of this shot ... want to play?  Sure, just let me lay the baby down.....

Once we got home, mom headed to bed and dad and I stared at eachother ... not really ready to settle in ... being my last night, we decided to walk to the closest Mega store in search of snorkel gear for Hawaii ...surely it would be cheaper to buy in Mexico than Hawaii?  So, dad and I braved the dark streets and had a few adventures along the way .... google maps was not the strong suit but together we found the Mega sign .... almost got run over by a semi ... here is dad in his spanking new sandals ... we walked around the Mega, snorkel gear was all cheap junk, we walked around for awhile and ended up just leaving with a bottle of wine to drink on the rooftop when we got home.....

The walk home along the canal was nice ... almost ran into this gum tree which was perfect head height and would probably snag hair if you got too close to it.

Once home, we took to the rooftop and enjoyed our final night chatting about life together.

Day 5 in Zihua - Touring with Roberto ..... and beautiful time with folks on the water!

My dads blog entry was the best intro to our day today, which started with us being picked up from the apartment by Roberto.  Roberto is a local tour guide who chatted my mom up a few days ago in line at a grocery store.  She said 'he charmed her', and it wasn't long before he charmed the rest of us too.  He was so open and transparent about so many local things that we would never be privy to, being white and not from Mexico.  

He was the best tour guide and we saw the most interesting things today.

First stop was to see the Parthenon of El Negro.

He was the most corrupt Police Chief of Mexico City from 1970 until 1976.

He was paid about $1000. per month while he had this job but acquired

over one billion dollars while he held this position thru drugs and arms dealing.

He was arrested in 1976 when his brother in law , The president of Mexico finally got removed from office.The prison sentence was 30 years for all his crimes but he got out in 8.

Here is a youtube video of the place. Cut and paste.

It's only 12 minutes long and pretty interesting.

https://youtu.be/OR2Z4k2j2zs

It was quite a steep driveway up to his house.  Roberto actually brought along one of those pre-school ropes that everyone holds onto when out in public ... we asked what that was for, and he said that he often has to pull people up the driveway, especially when they are old or drunk. lol ... we, thankfully, were neither, and did find hoofing it up the driveway.

Marble floors were all imported from Italy.  In the 1970's, it cost $400,000 to build this place.

He built a tunnel to go from his home to the water, all underground, so that he could escape if bad guys came for him.... super corrupt.

Stunning gates to the entry of his home ... he stole them from somewhere in Mexico City (I think), to have them relocated here for his private use.  Also, this is a tiger cage to the left where he would tell prisoners brought up from Mexico City that if they could survive the tigers, they would win their freedom.  Nobody ever survived the tigers ...... 

Next it was off to a family run roof tile making company .... they live and work on the same property.  What my dad is standing in front of is the mans progress for the day ... he started early that morning and they will dry in the sun for 24 hours before being moved and ultimately fired in their ovens on the property beside them.

He was quick, and seemed very kind .... some older family members (dad?  grandpa?) were relaxing under the shade just a few feet from him.  They seem to enjoy alot of togetherness .... love the importance of family I saw everywhere on this trip.

24,000 tiles at a time bake in this oven.....Here is a shot from the top.

And this is a side shot .... they burn coconut shells and husks....

Next was a trip to a coconut plantation.... dad and I were both super impressed by this door ... Chris would have loved this stop with all the wood projects.

The bigger coconuts are sweeter ....

These are finds from the property .... displayed very proudly as artifacts of their ancestors....

Our tour was over after lunch, so we spent the rest of the day on the beach in La Ropa .... I never get tired of this view ... and now that I am home, I am glad I took so many beach shots.  Totally my happy place.

Mom, again the ultimate organizer, set up a sweet sail home on this catamaran ....

Happy passengers ....

My beautiful mama ....

Here is dad ... just before he realizes he left his brand new sandals back at the beach! He had waited a year for these shoes!  so, our lovely captain turned the boat around and dad retrieved them!

Happy Place .... I can't get over how nice it was to have it just be me and my parents ... just cruising through our days ... waiting to get hungry again ... swimming and relaxing on the beach .... it really was just such a great week.

Love her ....

Mom had to go get her stitches out at the dentist, so dad and I walked to the Italian restaurant where he remembers the best lasagna he had ever tasted ....

We had a nice view of the town below ... we were treated to a few parades going through ...

So fun spending some 1-1 time with this guy ... we never have really had that ... so it was a kick.

Ah, yet another flattering pic of me with my mouth open ... thanks dad.

She ended up getting the lasagna ... and true to dads comment, it really was the best lasagna I had ever tasted ... love moms smile here .....