Like a Duck to Water

Or something like that.


Schnauzers aren't known for their prowess in the water, but apparently no one told my husband because on our last beach outing he decided Owen would learn how to swim.

And swim he did.

Prior to last week the only times I'd seen Owen actually IN the water was when he was itty bitty and Ibis carried him out much farther than I was comfortable with. Since then I've only seen him run along shore, chasing Ibis and barking in this high-pitched yip that sounded more like a squeaky toy than an animal.

I couldn't believe it when I looked out at the water and saw Ibis running backwards in waist-deep water, Owen paddling after him. They went back and forth, back and forth, until me, being the ever-paranoid person that I am yelled for Ibis to give Owen a rest. When they came ashore I asked if Owen seemed like he was having fun or if the look on his face was more of a OMG! OMG! GET ME OUT OF THIS WATER NOW! type thing, and he said it was kind of a combination of the two.

I'm just happy he can swim.

There was also a lot of running, jumping, barking, leaping, and general chaos. And digging. Lots of digging. How the sand only stuck to his nose, I don't know.


I swear he wasn't as miserable as he looks here.

Beach Day

We had a very relaxing day at the beach yesterday. I met a woman who is both an avid reader AND is trying to get her doctoral dissertation published, so we had lots to talk about. Her husband likes the water as much as Ibis and they hung out most of the day beyond the waves. Oh! And I saw a little brown sting ray.

The first thing we noticed when we got there was that at least 20 yards of the beach was missing. Apparently, tropical storm Andrés that passed through here a couple weeks ago took most of the enramadas (open-air thatched-roof structures) as well as most of the beach.


There used to be seven or eight tables deep, and now there are only two. The waves revealed a slate/rock wall that must have been buried for years.

We just couldn't get over how different it looked. For one thing, we'd never noticed several palm trees that must have been in the center of the restaurant and are now almost at the water's edge. We sat at a table directly beneath them. I loved looking up and seeing all the green with the sky peeking from behind.


Shortly before we left, while I was talking with my new friend, our waiter pointed out a commotion at the far end of the beach. "La camioneta!" he exclaimed.


Indeed. I'm guessing they were trying to get the wave runner onto the bed of the truck and a big wave pulled it out. Whoops.

So how was your day?

Back to Normal

I had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday with my wip, but I'm going to save that post for Tuesday since I suspect most of you are off frolicking over the long weekend, and I hate when a post gets buried.

Instead I'm going to share a few more pictures with you. Yesterday Ibis and I went to Barra de Potosi, our favorite beach about half an hour's drive south of Zihua. I posted pictures from there when our friend Andy was in town and I'd never seen it busier.

Barra over Easter weekend


This is what it looked like yesterday. (That couple was really going at it for the first half hour we were there.) This is what it normally looks like, and why we like it so much. (Minus the couple, of course.)



If you recall, on Thursday I complained about how hot it is, and how a haze has descended on Zihua.


Well Friday it lifted for a bit just before sunset. This is what it normally looks like. The colors just amaze me, every time.


Finally, the reason Barra is my favorite beach is it's usually deserted, the water is very clear and there are tons of fish, which means the birds go crazy. I can spend the entire afternoon watching them glide over the waves, swoop high into the air, then dive straight into the water, wings tucked to their sides.

Yesterday there was a large school of fish moving across the bay because this flock of birds followed it for ten minutes. Very cool to see.

Picture Pages

Please check out the story I posted yesterday and let me know what you think. I'm always trying to improve so feedback helps!

Now, for photos.

Our friend Andy is here for the long weekend and brought several things for us. He laughed as we opened everything in his hotel room and commented that we were like two kids at Christmas. What can I say, we're easily pleased. Not pictured, Ibis' new Nike running shoes, and one box of Girl Scout cookies that Ibis kept at work:


Yesterday we went to Barra de Potosi, our favorite beach just south of Zihuatanejo. For those of you who've been there, these pictures will probably shock you. I've NEVER seen it so crowded!







Have a great weekend!

What a Week

This week has been a blur. The couple days (beginning over the weekend) I was working 12-14 hours per day finalizing my family's website, then as soon as it launched, I had to start the design for another project. I love that I'm already using my new skills, but man, I'm not used to having so little time to myself. I've been rather spoiled these past two years.

Fortunately my client loves the design -- I believe his words were "You are absolutely a genius" -- so that will make the rest of the process much easier. Then I have one more to knock out after that.

I finally managed to write 500 words yesterday, for the first time since last Friday. I hate not working on it, but paying projects have to take priority right now. Two pages isn't much, but if I can force myself to write that much each day, I'll get this thing done in a couple weeks. I write fairly quickly once I get to it (that took about an hour) so I just need to force myself.

Yesterday Ibis and I went to the beach for the afternoon, and it was the first time we've gone alone in over three months. It was nice to fall back into our old routine and spend some quiet time together without the distractions of the TV or internet. Of course, his idea of relaxing is play soccer for half and hour, rest in the shade for five minutes, play soccer for half an hour, rest for five minutes, and so on. I managed to extend one of the rest periods to an hour so I could read a bit, but I certainly got a lot of exercise. The best part? My stamina has totally improved. I finished the 30-Day Shred earlier this week and while I haven't lost the weight I wanted, I have better endurance, and I'll take that.

I also went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. I was a little nervous going into it, but I keep reading about all these Americans crossing the border for cheap dental care, so I figured it would be all right. Once I sat in the chair, I suddenly panicked about the water situation. Would they have one of those little water squirty things? Would the water be clean? Answer: Nope, and yes. They gave me a cup of water and just had me rinse every few minutes.

He used a drill to clean my teeth, and while I'm going to leave the descriptions to your imaginations, I will tell you that my teeth are clean and he didn't do any damage. He told me I have all kinds of problems that need repaired, for a total of 5000 pesos, but these are all things I've had in the past that no dentist has felt a need to fix. I plan to do a little investigating online, but I know how to monitor them and they should be fine.

Finally, I'm reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and I'm loving it. I found it in the lending library where Ibis works but couldn't motivate myself to start reading. This is one of those books that has received so much hype that I figured it wouldn't live up to the reviews. So far, it is, and it's funnier than I expected. It's certainly not a comedy, but it has it's moments. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. And the only sparkly things are the circus performers' costumes!

Have a great weekend!

Everyone is Safe AND We Get Another Gourmet Meal

The trip to Barra de Potosi yesterday was uneventful. We were a little unsure what the main road would be like once we got outside of Zihua, but everything looked the same as it always does. We had a relaxing day at the beach, enjoyed some fresh fish and coconuts, then headed back as evening approached.

On the return drive we noticed more police trucks on the road, the men in back armed and ready to take out anyone who looked at them the wrong way. That in itself wasn't too scary (you get used to having machine guns pointing your way - well maybe not used to, but it seems less surprising the more times you see it), but the masks they wore were a little freaky. You see that a lot more in places like Ciudad Juarez, where the police hide their faces so the drug cartels can't identify them. They fear being murdered and so wear a heavy mask over their entire head (a hat with eyes & a mouth cut out) in the 90 degree heat.

We made sure we didn't drive directly behind any of the trucks and especially avoided coming to a stop next to them at the traffic lights. Before everyone freaks out though, this is a normal precaution. Sure, it's not something you have to think about in the US, but I don't want to give the impression that we were shaking in fear. It's more like, "Oh there's another police truck," Ibis would slow down, and a car would get in front of us. Or if a car didn't pass us (since no one else wants to drive near them either) you just leave a space between vehicles. Easy enough.

We had to drive by the police station to drop off my friend and they've turned the parking lot into a bunker. A wall of sand bags stands taller than me, and they even have the roof covered. They've repaired the topes (speed bumps) to slow down traffic, and have removed some trees that were blocking their view up the street. My friend said they've occasionally blocked traffic from one direction - making it one way - I guess to better control who passes by the station. Today there's a picture in the paper. Their solution: orange cones. That'll stop a truck full of cartel members!

Now about that meal. My brother has promised to cook again this evening! He said it won't be quite as involved as Tuesday's dinner, but I'm still looking forward to it.

Call Me Ishmael

There are a lot of beaches in our stretch of Mexico and yesterday we went to our third in four days - Barra de Potosi. Rumor has it the beach at the conclusion of Shawshank Redemption was filmed there, but we watched it recently and unless they did some serious editing, I don't think it really was. Regardless, it's our favorite beach here and I was excited to share it with my sister (mom's already been there).

The beach itself is nine kilometers long, a gentle curve that creates a very large bay. We were at the end with the enramadas (small restaurants with thatch roofs), near a lagoon that is currently connected to the ocean. During the summer the water drops back and the sand cuts off the lagoon from the larger body of water. Last week was the first time I'd seen them connected and Ibis and I ventured pretty far out on the sand bar (we skipped that part yesterday).

Ibis has a hard time sitting still for any length of time, and somewhere between the volleyball, swimming, walking, dominoes, soccer, and reading, he shouted excitedly* that he'd seen a whale. We all laughed him off and continued doing whatever we were doing.

At some point he decided to run the length of the beach, so I joined my mom in a lounge chair near the ocean's edge. A sudden shout - then three more - made me jump.

"Whale! Whale!"

I turned to see where they were pointing but couldn't figure out where they saw it in the large bay, so I ran to my sister's side so she could point it out.

A burst of water shot up from the surface, then a large back shape rolled above the waves. Then another burst of water. My dad - ever the boy scout - already had his binoculars glued to his face, so we passed them between us as the whales swam along the bay. The small crowd in the restaurant stared at the water for nearly half an hour as the whales swam out of the bay. My sister had the binoculars the longest and told us there was a baby, and someone else was sure they saw two adults. So, three whales total.

Ibis was still on his run and we figured that he should have been right next to where the whales had surfaced. They popped up every couple minutes and seemed to be very close to the shore where we guessed he was.

I never saw the tail like the rest of the people near us, but it was still really cool. I've heard that January and February are "whale season" here but hadn't seen one before today. (I did see one on our long drive last March, but that was from the car so it doesn't feel the same.) I'm glad we were able to arrange the sighting for my sister on her first visit here.

The only bad thing was it turns out Ibis didn't see them at all. He was gone so long we thought he was standing on the shore watching them, but he said the way the sun was it was too bright to look back towards us - the direction of the whales.

Have you ever seen a whale?




*I just finished New Moon and the adverbs are taking over...

I'm Officially a Writer

I've received my first rejection! Yeah, I know I shouldn't sound excited, but I feel like I've crossed a threshold that the rest of you have long since passed. It's nothing major, just a short story I submitted at the end of December, and I'm almost relieved because the place I submitted said they don't accept pieces that have been submitted elsewhere. Now I'm free to send it out.

I've enjoyed the past couple days with my family. We've had one beach day so far and plan to go again today and tomorrow. Ibis may even get a day off this week (sarcasm, sarcasm). But seriously, he's planning to take Wednesday off, and might get Thursday as well. My sister and I have already played Scrabble and dominoes - yay! - and I started New Moon last night (double yay).

I hope you're all having a wonderful week. I'll keep you posted on the latest submissions.

Day of Reckoning

After I bring Ibis to work this morning, I'm going to sit down and read through my latest additions to my book. I think they're good, I hope they improve upon the story and make it more complex, and I'll soon find out.

After two days at the beach, I have a quiet day at home doing laundry and eating leftovers, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Don't get me wrong, I love a day full of volleyball, soccer, frisbee, swimming, and dominoes; but I'm physically tired and looking forward to the rest. After all, we're supposed to go salsa dancing tonight!

Any big plans for the weekend, especially for those of you who've trapped indoors in sub-zero temperatures?

[Insert Backflip Here]

I did it! I finished this draft! It didn't quite happen in the manner I had hoped, but I passed 60,000 words and I'm so much happier with my story than I was at the end of the second draft.

My final word count is 62,741 and there are 206 pages. That's an increase of almost 20,000 words and I don't know how many pages. (I'm writing this Thursday night and I'm a little bit loopy right now.) To say I'm relieved is such an understatement.

Around 8pm Thursday night I was very disappointed with myself. I'd edited close to thirty pages on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but my dad and I went to the beach Thursday and I didn't get anything done. Lucky for me Ibis is still sick and fell asleep around 9pm. (Clearly I don't want him to be sick, but it did help me in this situation.) I normally turn off the computer when he gets home since we have so little time together, but with him safely tucked into bed I decided to pull an all-nighter. 12:30am isn't exactly late, especially for some of you night owls, but I'm not used to staying up to crank things out. Aside from the stiff joints, it feels good.

I've had a new reader lined up for this draft, then earlier today another writing friend offered to read it as well, so now I have two more opinions to add to the mix. After I hear back from them, my plan is to incorporate their suggestions, run it by a final proofreader (hi Mom!), then dip my toe into query hell.

Then the real stress will begin.

New Routine

My migraine is almost gone so this morning Ibis and I drove to the beach for our run. The beach he works at, Playa Madera, is the midway point of the oceanside path so we can get our exercise without any hassle from the locals.

I wanted to run at least the same amount as I do when we leave our place on foot, but after going back and forth a couple times, I think I went even further. Ibis stayed at one end to do weights (rocks) so I joined him after my run and worked out for another half hour. I hate the fact that we drove to exercise but I enjoyed the whole experience so much more than before that I think I'll go more often. I typically aim for every day but now I realize it wasn't the running I dread, it's the people on the streets. Remove them from the equation and I may finally lose some weight!

It's started raining this past week and today has actually been cloudy. Go figure! So far all the rain has come overnight so I didn't give it a second thought when I started laundry this afternoon. Well, now it's raining all over my washer/dryer and the clothes that I hung outside to dry. After a little reorganizing, my house is filled with damp clothes and the laundry is almost finished. It's not raining very hard so the machine should be ok.

I'm Going to the Beach

Ibis managed to get two consecutive days off so we're off to the beach! Have a great day!

Back to Reality

Even though I haven't left Zihua, it feels like I've been on vacation for the past week. Going out to dinner and spending afternoons at the beach are typically a once a week occurrence for me, but when we have visitors all that changes. But just because I'm on vacation mode, that doesn't mean the rest of the town slows down.

I haven't posted about fires, the police, or random animals in awhile, but they haven't ceased their shenanigans. Just yesterday we saw half a mountain on fire, we passed a military check-point that included a troop truck filled with armed soldiers, and we had to abandon part of our day because of a possible retaliation killing. Last week men dressed as the federal police killed eleven people, including the two sons of a former mayor, and kidnapped his daughter. They still haven't caught the men responsible so we decided touring the city where that happened probably wasn't the smartest idea. I'm pretty sure the check-point was part of the real police's efforts to find them.

This morning I brought our friend to the airport and on the way back to the city saw burro in the median. Burros are everywhere in Mexico and it's common to see them along the highway, but this was at the entrance to town. Maybe it belonged to the men trimming the trees that are shapes like baskets and roosters (also in the median). A couple blocks further I saw a sheep tied to a tree in front of the bus station. I've seen a lot of goats but never a sheep, and certainly not in the middle of town.

I've seen the usual stray dogs and cats, but today they were all sleeping in whatever shade they can find. It's been close to 100 degrees with the heat index and everyone has slowed down a bit. Even the roosters. Last night when we went to bed it was 85 degrees inside our place, with 80% humidity. Caliente!

Rooster Calisthenics

Staying inside yesterday was a smart move. The most exciting thing that happened was we couldn't cook dinner because we ran out of gas. This morning Ibis had the tank replaced and now we're good for another five months.

Now about this rooster.

While on my run this morning I saw a man carrying a rooster on the beach. Now, roosters are very common in Mexico and while I've seen them in some really odd places, this was my first sighting on the beach. I observed the rooster as the man walked towards an open area and one thing struck me: it wasn't moving. Not a feather. It looked like it had been stuffed. I was actually walking at this point and stared for a couple minutes and he didn't wiggle a toe. There was another rooster in the sand, near where I first saw the man, but that one was clearly alive.

Puzzled, I continued on.

On the way back I passed them again, but this time the rooster was most definitely alive. The man was holding it by the tail while the rooster scraped and clawed at the sand. It looked like he was trying to run. Sand flying, the man held on while the other rooster watched the spectacle.

I told Ibis about it when I got home and he's seen this man before. "He's training the roosters," he said.

"Training? For what?"

"Cockfights."

Great...

Speaking of Riot Gear

Turkey's comment in yesterday's post reminded me of something I keep meaning to mention: it's common here to see policemen armed with machine guns. My first several months in Mexico they made me very nervous. I was sure I'd get accidentally shot and heaven forbid I actually pass one on the sidewalk; I didn't know which way to divert my eyes.

Now I'm used to it. I know their very visible presence keeps crime away from my doorstep, and I pay them little attention when I'm in town. Here is Zihua we have local police, state police, federal police (those infamous federalies), and a special group called the tourist police. Tourism is big business here and the city wants to make sure nothing jeopardizes that income.

In the past couple weeks I've noticed a marked increase in the number of federalies patrolling the streets. They drive around in their gray or black trucks, the backs filled with helmeted men carrying automatic weapons. I was on the phone with a girlfriend a few days ago and while we talked she said a truck rolled by her house. She lives in a nice area so the fact that they're even patrolling in her neighborhood made me think something's up.

I haven't heard anything particular about an increase in crime, but we are part of Mexico's drug corridor so there could be something going on that we don't know about. I plan to stick to the touristy areas as much as possible to avoid any wrong place at the wrong time scenarios.

Today that means the beach!

Fuego: Part Deux

There was another fire this morning. I was washing dishes and I heard a crackling, which I mistook for running water, so I pulled back the curtains and saw flames leaping from the neighbor's trees. I called Ibis to the window, thinking we'd get our daily does of entertainment first thing in the morning.

"They must be clearing the land," he said.

No big excitement, just lawn maintenance. The flames were pretty high and, with the wind's help, were close to engulfing the entire block. I didn't see anyone standing nearby, but there's always people outside so I went back to cleaning and didn't worry about it.

Ten minutes later we left to bring Ibis to work and saw two armed policemen guarding the fire. Ibis' comment, "What, are they going to shoot the fire if it gets out of control?" made a good point. There didn't seem to be anyone with water ready in case the fire became an inferno. Just a couple cops with machine guns.

When I returned home ten minutes later the fire was out and two fire/water trucks were pulling away from the scene. I'm curious if people phone them before setting the fire, knowing they won't be able to control it. Then the responsibility is on the city.

*shakes head*

Another random thing happened in my bizarro-land last night. I joined Ibis for a work party and we stopped by our place between dinner and the beach. (Everyone goes there at night to celebrate whatever it is they have to celebrate. Last night was a birthday.) We turned onto our street and were stopped by a dozen men on horses.

Yes, horses. At eleven o'clock at night.

Most of them moved to the side to let us pass but one man refused to acknowledge our presence. I told Ibis not to honk - last thing we need is a horse hoof through our windshield - so he flashed his lights instead. For over five minutes. They tried to tell us we couldn't pass but we live there, not them, so we persisted. When we came back through they'd parked cars at each end of the block so no one could get through. (That's a common thing here. People have parties in the streets and just block off the road. No permits, nothing, and people accept it and just go around.)

Thankfully they were gone when we came home from the beach. I have no idea what they were doing there. Ibis said "practicing" but that worries me even more!

Migraine Day

It's been awhile, I know. I didn't get a migraine last month but this one is certainly making up for it. My one friend has already left and the other leaves later this afternoon - he's doing his best to crispify what little white skin he has left before he has to go home.

We've had a fun visit, hit a lot of beaches and had several good meals. My migraine struck Sunday night after two solid days of intense sunbathing. I've tried to lay low but that's hard when you also want to show people the town. Mexico didn't listen when I put in a request for a cloudy day.

Ibis leaves tomorrow for Ciudad Juarez so I plan to enjoy the peace and quiet after so many busy days.

Quick Update

My friends arrived without incident on Friday and we've been going strong ever since. Yesterday we spent the day at La Ropa beach and today we're going to Carlos & Charlies in Ixtapa. Sunday night the locals all go to the plaza to watch performances and eat lots of food so we'll most likely hang out there and sample the tacos and corn. Yum. You can also get a burger with ham, avocado & chili for 30 pesos, so I think I might force that on them before they leave.

Thanks for the encouragement about the appointment. I do have a little paperwork to do before Ibis leaves on Wednesday but it's more or less ready. I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Rocky Road

Our place sits on a hill and we're on the fourth floor so we get a nice breeze. With a nice breeze comes slamming doors that scare the bejeezus out of you if you don't see it coming. Throughout the day you can hear doors slamming in the other units.

Since we moved in I've wanted some kind of decorative door stop. For the past nine months we've used a red brick for the patio door, a chair for the guest room, and the battery from Ibis' drill for our bedroom. The front door is a crap-shoot. Recently I discovered the lower half of our beach umbrella wedges quite nicely between the door and entertainment center so that's become a permanent fixture.

I haven't been able to convince Ibis that it's worth buying something just to hold the door open, but we recently found a solution we both like. My friend uses large rocks. You know, the kind you find outdoors, for free. We run along the ocean most mornings and there are LOTS of rocks there so I got the brilliant idea that we could look for the perfect rocks during our run.

This morning was the first time I actually remembered the plan while we were still near the water and I forced Ibis to climb over the railing to get the one I spotted. "How many can you carry?" he asked.

I looked at the water bottle in my hand. "One. Can you carry one, too?"

He looked at the iPod in one hand and house keys in the other. "No, but I'll carry one if I see one I like." He searched for a few more minutes but didn't see anything that caught his eye. We continued running.

Have you ever run with a large rock in your hand? It's one thing to walk with it cradled against your side but you can't run like that. It's only six inches in diameter (about the width of my hand) but it got heavy fast. Fortunately my hubby was nice and traded the keys for the rock when we were halfway home.

Only two more to go!

These Shoes are Made for Walkin'

We've put our car through a lot in the past month. We drove roughly 3000 miles across Mexico, including passing through the Sierra Madres three times, and have been playing taxi to guests at Ibis' hotel. She hasn't protested too much, just asks that we give her oil a little more than normal.

The tires have been problematic since last summer. We replaced a couple different parts having to do with the brakes (there's a more detailed explanation but I've made a point to not absorb it; if you need to know more, please ask my husband) and we thought everything was fine.

This past week the grinding/knocking sound it makes when we turn has gotten a little louder, and her whine has become more high-pitched. "Must be all the dust," I said. It hasn't rained since November and I remember my old Corrolla used to scream at me when her pieces got dry and dirty. I think I mentioned it to Ibis, but I honestly don't remember. He's been driving, too, so if it was that bad I figured he'd realize it on his own.

Well... yesterday we were leaving the beach and the grinding/knocking/screaming was so loud people on the sidewalk were staring. The majority of the cars in Mexico are falling apart so if you get a look you know you're in trouble. Ibis got out of the car to check the tires (both of us being so mechanically inclined) and discovered the brakes are gone. Not only that, the shoes are wearing down and starting to eat the metal on the wheel frame.

He thinks we need both brake pads and shoes. Fabulous! Looks like I'll be walking again till we get them replaced.