Tidings of Joy: IX OH ZI

We made it to Ixtapa and now that the big push to get there was over we could take a few days to settle in before heading out to Ohio. We filled the days with boat chores, exercise and football watching. A taxi took us to Zihutanjo to check in with the port captain where we bumped into our friends on Tiamat. I was happy to have a few days to get the boat put back together and do our laundry before packing. Kurtis on Summer Breeze our boat buddy wanted to take us out for a Merry Christmas cocktail and a bon voyage. After we headed out he most likely wouldn't be there when we returned. After spending the day packing we met at the marina restaurant Fisher's and made a cheers to the holidays and a successful journey.

Ixtapa Beach

Downtown Ixtapa

Evening at the Marina

Friends From Tiamat in Zihutenajo

Docked Next to Summer Breeze

Holiday Drink with Kurtis

Flying back to Ohio for Christmas always comes with its challenges weather it's highway closure due to trucks jackknifing, delayed or canceled flights, no rental cars available, you name it it's happened to us and this year would be no different. We got to the airpot at Zihutenjo with plenty of time to spare. We were relaxed and excited and ate food before we departed. As we watched other flights leave we were more then ready to board our first of two flights. As it got closer the board read delayed. Ok, no big deal that's normal. And the delay kept getting later and later. Finally at some point we realised we were not going to make our connection in Dallas and Jeff went to speak to the agent. She explained that a lot of people were going to take the flight out to Phoenix instead and we had that option and then could spend the night in Phoenix and fly out from there in the morning. Phoenix? That was the wrong direction. She also explained we could wait here or they would put us up in a hotel if our flight got canceled but we needed to make up our minds now. We both decided that Phoenix was a ridiculous option and worst case scenario we would got back to the boat and try again tomorrow. Well after waiting 4 hours we boarded our 1/2 empty flight and headed to Dallas. There was one remaining flight going to Columbus that night and if we ran we could get to it with 5 minutes to spare. As soon as we landed Jeff bolted to the front in order to get to baggage claim to first get our bags, go through customs and then begin the final sprint to our final flight. We both ran, dodging and weaved through a very crowded Dallas airport. We flew though the baggage claim line and quickly went though the Global Entry line. Thank god nobody else was in it. The regular line was insanely long. We were huffing and puffing as we threw our bag to the baggage handler and continued our sprint to the gate. It was empty except for the agent and as we scanned our passes we finally sighed and smiled at one another because we had made it. We could relax for that moment. It wasn't until mid flight that Jeff realised that the rental car company in Columbus closed at 1a.m. and we were scheduled to land at 12:45. Shit! Another sprint. I told Jeff to run to the rental car bus and I would stay back and retrieve the bags. Once again he was off. Fortunately there was a line at the rental car place and that guaranteed him that the agent would have to get to him before closing for the night. 30 minutes later he picked me up and at 4a.m. we arrived at my parents house in Lima, Ohio.

Waiting and Waiting at Zihutenjo Airport

Finally in the Air

The next morning we slept in late and told our wild tale to my parents who too were in disbelief. Fortunately our time in Lima for Christmas was the opposite of our stressful transit and we spent a lovely week with family and friends sharing meals and sweets and catching up on life. I can't imagine not being home for the holidays.

Mom's Daily Cooking Tray

Cousin's Night

Christmas Eve With Grandma

Christmas Day at Aunt Alba & Uncle Mark's House

Newest Cousin Sylvia

Christmas Day

Friend's Night With Ness & Steph

Vegan Lunch with Cousin Jason & Kim

The week flew by probably because every day we had plans but that's what happens when you are only home once a year. On December 29th we got up at 2:45a.m. to get to our 5a.m flight back to Ixtapa. Needless to say from the week and the early rise we were pooped.

When we got back to the boat sadly Kurtis had left but a new friend Fred the crocodile had made an appearance. The marina was quiet and we took our time unpacking and doing boat chores. Because of the lack of boaters around and us not knowing what to do our New Years Eve was pretty uneventful. We naively thought we could just walk up to one of he marina restaurants but they of course were full. The one good thing was at midnight we got to watch fireworks from the top deck.

New Years Day we were ready to celebrate and walked up to Fisher's our favorite marina restaurant for some drinks and lunch. I discovered they had 43 liquor which we have at every cousins night and had it mixed with an expresso. Delicious. Like drinking a milk shake. After a very tasty lunch and some drinks we went back to the boat to watch the Michigan and Alabama playoff football game. It was a good day.

Early Morning Departure From Columbus

Fred the Crocodile

Stern View

NYE Fireworks From Boat

Jeff's New Years Day Drink

Happy New Year

My New Years Day Drink

Go Blue!

Th next day before moving around the corner to Zihutenjo we did some provisioning and Jeff took a walk on the beach. Our time at the marina and in Ixtapa had been nice but we were ready to move along.

On January 3rd at 12:15pm we made the short 7.5 mile jaunt to Zihutenajo and dropped the hook close to town. Even though we had been in town to check in with the port captain we really didn't explore much and were looking forward to getting to know Zihutenajo.

Adios Fred

Ixtapa Beach

Heading into Zihutenajo

There Other Panama Posse Boats Here

Zihuatanejo

Sunset

City Lights of Zijuatanejo

The next day we were eager to explore and after breakfast we dropped the dink and headed into town. The surf wasn't bad and we were able easily to get the dink pulled up onto shore with her wheels. We left it and made our way to Anys for lunch. This is the one restaurant all the guide books say to come for lunch for the famous pasole and tamales. Neither of which Jeff or I could eat due to our dietary restrictions. Nonetheless we had a delicious meal. I had a big salad and tortilla soup. Jeff had grilled fish. After we made our way to the first of many coffee shops on my list Cafe Zihuatanejo. It was robust and flavourful coffee and I bought the beans to bring home as well. From the coffee shop we made our way to the municipal market where we bought some produce and tortillas. Overall it was a very nice day.

Dink on Shore

Anchored in Zihuatanejo

Many Panga on Shore

Anys Restaurant

The next day we followed the same schedule- slow, relaxed morning followed by dingy ride to town for lunch and coffee. Today we went to a restaurant that Jeff found called Mederas which was excellent. It was right on the beach and you could have a table or lounge chairs and the food was delicious. Jeff had el pastore tacos and I had veggie tacos with some cold white wine. Our view was of the bay and the boat and it felt really relaxing and vacation like. After we got coffee at El Caficito which was in this shaded tree lined setting overlooking the water. Both the view and the coffee was great. We came back to the boat, cranked the fans and had a little more wine.

Anchored in Zihu

Walking to Lunch on Malecon

View From Mederas

Sunset

Wine on the Aft Deck

The next morning around 10am a diver and his wife/assistant came to the boat and dove the boat. We were told because the water is so dirty in Zihu that a lot of barnacles can grow on the boat so it's a good idea to have a diver come and clean it up. When they were finished the four of us rode in the dingy to first drop them off and then to head to shore to meet our friends Dan & Marla from Long Windid for lunch at Bistro Del Mar. This restaurant was right next door to Maderas so we had high hopes. The food was pretty good but it was expensive and empty. Either way it was great seeing our friends and catching up and hearing about what they had been up to since we left them in Barra. After we headed back to El Caficito for my afternoon coffee then back to the boat for football.

Walking to Lunch

Visitor on our Flopper Stoppers

Lunch with Dan & Marla

The next day was Sunday which means a few things on board- pjs, football and showers. We found some vegan soyrizo in our last market and croisants so Jeff whipped us up his famous scramble for brunch. It was excellent and a nice treat.

Jeff's Sunday Scramble

Monday January 8th would be our final day in Zihu. We first would visit the port captains office to check out then hit our final lunch restaurant La Terracita which was recommended by our friends on Serenity. The view was excellent and the food was good too. We grabbed a few last minute provisions from Soriana and then headed to the estuary. While expecting to see birds and a beautiful setting that was very far from what was actually there. As we started getting closer to the entrance the smell of feces got stronger and stronger. Since we've lived in Mexico for over a year this smell isn't all that shocking but the pungency of this was something different. It became so bad that I had to cover my nose and mouth. From a distance I saw a bubbling up and some white foam and then the first one appeared - a little brown piece of poop floating in the water. I pointed and shouted to Jeff in total disbelief and as we looked forward there were hundreds of brown floating pieces of poop everywhere. We quickly turned around and got out of there as fast as we could. Time to leave Zihutenajo.