Friday, October 17, 2008

Trees & Tourists

The other day Erica asked what makes our town unique and I mentioned that the trees in Zihua are trimmed to accommodate people 5'5" and shorter. Yesterday I took pictures on my way downtown, and please note that I did not go out of my way to find these trees, this was just along my normal path.

And now, a song:

Do your trees hang low?


Do they hit you when it blows?


Do they force you off the sidewalk?


Do they smack you in the nose?


Do you get a crick in your shoulder when you're walking around town?

Then your trees hang low.

*****

Next up, tourists! Amy made a joking (I think) request to see tourists the other day and as luck would have it, there was also a cruise ship yesterday.

First, the ship from the roof of our building.


Next, the tourists preparing for a walking tour of Zihuatanejo. This was especially funny to me because downtown Zihua - the area tourists would be interested in - is about six square blocks. To each his own.



My friend and I went to a new place for breakfast that's a block from the beach and in the middle of what's known as the pedestrian walkway. Cars aren't supposed to go through and it's a nice place to hang out. While we were eating, the tour groups started passing.


You can't really tell here, but the person in the lead in the first photo is carrying a red flag above his head so everyone can see him. They were moving so slowly that one younger couple stopped to talk to us for several minutes while the group trudged by.

A few minutes later, a second group passed.


And finally, a picture of the cruise ship from Ibis' work.

38 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

ROFL! Love the tree song. :)

So weird to think about living in a tourist town. What amazing memories you'll have the rest of your life, you know?

WendyCinNYC said...

But how on earth can you tell they are tourists?

Kidding.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Thanks Janna. I need to do more with songs, etc, here on the blog because I do it a lot in my head. :)

My friend thought I was crazy for taking all the pics, but just like you said, I want to remember this.

Wendy, you don't know how hard it was not to make any comments about them sticking out like tender appendages.

Anonymous said...

I love cruises. I don't tend to do the tours, and I think I would have been turned off by the red flag concept. I am too much of a (Ahem) Maverick to follow groups. ;)

colbymarshall said...

Trees...man, that's crazy! That one kind of looked like a cactus! There is this gorgeous weeping willow at the nursing home where my grandfather is, and if I could I'd pick it up and bring it to my own yard ;)

Anonymous said...

Looks like such an interesting place. If I ever take a cruise down to there, I'll have to see those six square blocks you're talking about! lol

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, I'm the same way. (a maverick) One thing we noticed was that the majority of the tour group people were seniors, and I think they probably feel safer in a foreign country when they stick with the organized group. Less chances for getting lost, harassed, or whatever.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Colby, yes, that tree is NUTS! It's the same tree in the picture with the women walking underneath, but I just held the camera at my forehead - no trick photography!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Aaron, it's very purdee.

Kristine said...

Ahh, 8 more days! It's ironic that you are taking pictures of tourists! Ha ha. Love the tree song and, of course, I sang along as I was reading.
;)

Erica Orloff said...

Melanie:
I would bang my head! (I'm five foot ten). SERIOUSLY! LOW!!!

Thanks for sharing them.

E

Rachel Burton said...

I've only been on one cruise, but I dislike group tours. (how can you soak up a culture when you're insulated by a herd of other tourists?)

We stayed in Dubrovnik, Croatia last year, and the night we got there, the town was cozy, quiet and romantic (we were there in the fall, more off-season time). Then the next morning, I started noticing all these loud, mostly older, Americans in fanny packs wandering around with cameras. We couldn't figure out where they came from until we rounded a corner and saw the ginmorous cruise ship parked out back! Luckily, they were gone by sundown and we got the city back to ourselves.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Yay Kris!!!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Erica, I forgot to point out that the woman walking ahead of me whose head is near the branches was about my height. I'm 5"1'.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Rachel, you said it. We did one tour on a cruise in '04 but that involved an open-air truck and lots of stops. I can walk on my own, thank you. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, six blocks, kinda like GH, eh?
I do not miss that place.
So you went from one tourist trap to another, or are they more of a temp thing?

5'5" I bet I would have a very sore chest after walking around there.




Oh, and I now cannot get that song out of my head.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Penguin, similar to GH, but in more of a square. GH is more spread out. And yes, you'd have a hard time here. I think that's why a lot of people walk in the streets, lol.

As for the song, join the club. I wrote that last night and have been singing it ever since!

Robin said...

The tree song is the best!!! Please patent it immediately! You've even got illustrations.

I really like the tourist picture, except for the fact that I did a cruise once, and one of the women looks very similar to me. (But my fanny pack was nicer.) I am proud to say that I mountain biked at the stops, and didn't follow a red flag even once. (OK. Maybe once.)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, I somehow have a hard time picturing you following a flag. Grabbing the flag and running, yes, but following? Not so much.

Spy Scribbler said...

Wow, that's something! That tree is really cool. It looks almost like a sort of cactus. Southern trees just fascinate me. So different! They seem like miracles to me, LOL.

I can't believe that cruise ship is so BIG!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, that tree is SCARY! Vicious. It makes me nervous walking beneath it even though I know I won't hit my head. And that cruise ship is the largest we've seen - we were even surprised!

Robin said...

You are so right. I'd probably take the flag and plant it in the men's bathroom or something. What a sense of power, though. Everyone following your flag. I'm going to make a red flag and walk up and down the streets of reading and see if lots of old folks with fanny packs follow me.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

LMFAO!!!

Anonymous said...

"I mentioned that the trees in Zihua are trimmed to accommodate people 5'5" and shorter."

I feel left out. I don't understand the above statement. What does it mean that the trees are trimmed to accomodate people 5'5" and shorter?

Also, I'm taller than 5'5" so what does that mean in Zihua (in relation to trees, I mean).

Help! I'm lost.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

AC, I don't think I actually said that on this blog, but on a couple others. A couple days ago Erica asked people to share something weird about our towns, and the trees here are what I mentioned. They are very low, so low that if you are taller than 5'5" (that's an estimate) you'll hit your head.

What that means for you is you'd have to either walk in the street (which a lot of people do) or take an alternate route.

Anonymous said...

Zihua is heightist!

:-)

Anonymous said...

Heh! Trees like those make me grateful that I'm short!

The only cruise I ever went on was a 12-passenger cruise in Alaska in Prince William Sound. Our stops were more along the line of rain forest trails you could only reach by small Zodiac boats and glaciers out in the middle of nowhere. The only way to cruise, IMHO.
I'm with you, you can't really see a place if you're just one of a massive group let off on a tight schedule.

Thanks for sharing these pix!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

AC, lol, I think you may be right!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Dominique, we wanted to do an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon but it was beyond our budget. Someday... I don't like the touristy places and vendors trying to sell me things just turns me off.

Travis Erwin said...

I got you linked, but thanks to you I'll be singing Do Your Ears Hang Low all day now.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Travis, that's the price we pay for comedy. :) Thanks for including me!

Clare2e said...

The site of those tourists and your sidewalk cafe make me want to go on vacation. Yummy eggs on terraces.

Reb said...

Even having shrunk to 5'7" I would be walking in the streets I think. Especially around that cacti! I can see losing an eye there! Beautiful location though.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Clare - I had chiliquiles while there - a tortilla & egg dish. Yum.

Reb, you sound very smart. :)

Lyzzydee said...

Brilliant trees, be bno good for me I'd have to walk in the road!!

Lana Gramlich said...

Very interesting. Those trees are perfect for me (at 4'11".) I was surprised one day to realize that I can walk under a gasoline tanker with only the slightest tilt of my head. *L*

Anonymous said...

I love the song and the photos.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Lana, that's hilarious!