Wrapping It All Up

Our Mexican Journey has been
a memorable adventure.

We traveled by airplane.

Crossed a good deal of Mexico

by automobile.

Also (and more perilously) we covered

a lot of it by bus.

Got to meet all sorts of people and make new friends.

Had many interesting conversations.

Enjoyed Mexican food.

But didn't have to go without
other specialties I like.

Attended well-prepared, stimulating meetings.

Got some dental work done.

Enjoyed beautiful sunsets.

And, of course, experienced the continuous
ups and downs of life.

Now we're packed and and on our way back to our starting point.

It's been more than an adventure.

It's been a fascinating education.

The Last Hours

Around 1:15 p.m. Linda & Jack left for home. Goodbyes were said as their luggage was put aboard a taxi.

Following their departure Carol and I took care of final errands. The packing of our own bags has reached 98% completion. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. we went down to the Bayview Marina's own restaurant for supper and rain had set in. We have seen practically none of that while here so, from next to our sheltered dinner table, I took this photo ...

Ixtapa Weeping Because We Are Leaving.

Or Maybe Just Plain Ole Rain.

Then I turned around and photographed Carol waiting for supper,

not to mention knives and forks and napkins.

Supper of course was delightful. I'm getting used to the hot salsa that spices things up in a big way and use it more now. Toward supper's end I noticed a creature, about the size of a Two-dollar coin with legs, come rushing in from the rain toward my chair. I snapped his portrait as he paused before hurrying on his way.

Name this beast and win a free subscription to this blog.

... and so it goes.

Winding Down

Our stay in Mexico approaches its end in bright, warm, sunny weather. After a little while reading in the shade on the beach we left for the usual Friday night meeting. It was a time of goodbyes and expressions about 'hoping to see you again next year' although that is by no means certain. But what is in this life? We will miss this little congregation with its stimulating spirit, peculiarities and challenges.

We went for supper in Ixtapa afterwards. Carol had heard that the Casa Morelos was especially good, a suspicion strengthened by the fact it is always filled when nearby restaurants have much fewer customers.

I found this photo of it on the Web.

To be sure it did not disappoint. Carol had fish and shrimp, I had a chicken brochette, and the meals were outstandingly delicious.

My hearty compliments to the chef!

Following dinner we stopped for ice cream cones before the fifteen-minute walk home. Halfway through our walk it began to rain, which was unusual. We were all right with that and kept walking. We arrived back around 10:00 p.m. having been cooled the natural way.

We finished the evening with a glass of cold lemonade made with effervescent mineral water. The way they make this drink here is truly a treat. Too bad we don't get this in Canada.

Two Dog-Days

There have been quite a few in the congregation here sick and some who should know better than to come to the Hall when sick nevertheless show up with predictable consequences. Sunday I noticed a slight rawness in my throat and that night I was down with what I presume was a head cold. Monday I had to stay in bed. 'Oh no,' I thought, 'This is sure to last a week.'

I was not a happy puppy.

Tuesday morning, to my great amazement, I woke up feeling much better. Now I think I'm back to over 90%. I don't think I have ever recovered so quickly from something like that. It is a pleasure to be back so soon.

It should always be like this.

Could it have something to do with the fact we awoke this morning to smoke in the air? I seriously doubt it, but who knows? And the smoke was not so minor as the photos below reveal ...

If you can't read the lettering on the photos, click on the image

and it will enlarge. I think I've mentioned that before, huh?

Our days in Ixtapa dwindle down to a precious few. Sunday we expect to be airborne in a northerly direction.

Last Sunday Before Leaving

Our meeting was earlier than normal today, 3:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. At 5:00 p.m. preparations began to set up and test out the wi-fi equipment that will be used next week to receive the Branch meeting program. Putting on a tie is not too uncomfortable at 5:00, but in the warmth of 3 o'clock ... ack!

No, I won't get started on ties.

At the Hall I met a visitor from the USA, not a Witness, who is a professor of political science. We had an interesting conversation. I asked him what question do most students ask these days about this subject. He said they ask, 'Why doesn't it work?' Pretty good question.

I thought we might get a block-buster sunset this evening but it was subdued by horizon clouds.

When sunsets are good, they're wonderful.

And when they're not so good,

they're still pretty good.

The photo below shows the building complex and the arrow indicates our comparatively petite balcony which is nevertheless plenty spacious. A reminder: you can click on any photo to see a larger version.

And that's the short and sweet of it for today.

Warm & Humid

Our public ministry today marked the beginning of invitation distribution. The invitations of course are to the April 3rd Memorial of Christ's death and here this work is limited to inviting only those we know speak English. No looking for additional English speakers. So it involves a little walking around in very warm weather where one needs to carry a water bottle. Frankly, today I found it sapped my energy.

Next to the Hall somebody had a pet lamb so I took a little video. Possibly our granddaughters will particularly enjoy it since they seem to love sheep.

As an indication of our granddaughters' interest in sheep I provide a sample of artwork by Alexandria. It is a portrait of a stuffed toy lamb named Sheepie.

The art has been jazzed up somewhat by an image manipulation app.

I hope Alexandria doesn't mind.

As a footnote I will add that the above image is of a drawing shown to me in a Skype chat. I did a screen capture of it and then added a few effects.

Well now, I guess we can't all be sheep,

can we!

Isla Ixtapa

The beach at Playa Linda is about a fifteen minute ride from our condo. Isla Ixtapa is a fifteen minute motorboat ride from Playa Linda. Today we took those rides in the company of Jack, Linda, Kevin, Amanda, and their sons. Because the island has narrow parts, one can quickly cross from the beach on one side to the beach on the other which is kind of cool.

 

On the map the blue bull's eye is our condo location.

The island is at left.

   

Photos of the trip to the island.

A view of the boat ride to Isla Ixtapa.

Sure, these guys know how to pilot a boat.

I just happen to like life jackets.

Panning a beach.

Of course refreshments were plentifully available.

Unlike the surf outside our condo, the gentle water here is ideal

for swimming.

 

The two of us just before leaving the island.

 

When we returned to the mainland at Playa Linda we walked by a nature reserve, home to lizards, iguana, and crocodiles . This explains the photos below ...

Carol and I completed our day by attending the meeting at the Kingdom Hall. Some visitors have left, others are sick, so the attendance was less than usual. Weston, a 12-year-old boy, substituted at the last minute for the reading assignment on the school. He did an impressive job of it.

Playa Larga

At 10:30 a.m. Dave and Shelley picked us up in their burgundy SUV and we disappeared down the road toward Playa Larga, about 40 minutes away.

As you might guess, Playa Larga is a LARGE beach. But it is a quiet unpopulated one. We stopped at a restaurant where all the tables are outside on the beach and under sun shelters. Eating here includes access to their pool. We arrived a little before lunch time and stretched the noon hour to three. The weather could not have been better.

Tasty food. I'll let you guess what it was.

A video view.

We enjoyed a good time together, interesting conversation, and spent no time at all on the actual beach. But it provided an agreeable visual backdrop, and the steady surf sound is soothing (say that five times fast).

A beach is basically a beach,

know what I mean?

Another Zihuatanejo Day

The bus to Zihua transported me alone this morning because Carol was not feeling up to another day of major walks in the sun. I had an appointment with the coordinator to visit a young man in a detox center. Instead of meeting him though, we received the report he was in the hospital. We went there to see if we could find him but we couldn't. A large crowd was waiting there for medical attention and for some reason nearly all of them were women.

I did go with Jim, the coordinator, to study with a young man he is helping named Johnny. Johnny has been married for a short time, his wife is halfway through a pregnancy, and Johnny wants to study the Bible to learn what it says about how to be a good husband and father. It would be hard not to like Johnny. It was inconvenient to enter his home so we studied in a nearby park, on benches, in the shade.

I did not get a photo of Johnny but here are other souls I met today ...

A goat going baaaa-baaaa.

A parrot going nowhere.

And speaking of going nowhere, I happened upon these steps (shown below) leading to a solid wall. My past experience and ongoing interest in architectural design receives an undeniable stab of wonderment when beholding this kind of architectural innovation.

 Somebody invested time and money making steps to nowhere.

I wondered, 'What if I took a run at it?'

This evening we had Ralph and Pam Miller over for supper. They've been visiting here regularly for years. It was pleasant and interesting to get to know them better.

A Zihuatanejo Day

The local bus stops right in front of this complex, which is very handy, and this morning it delivered us to Zihuatanejo before noon. We had errands.

Once in town we got along on foot and endured under the bright warm sun by stopping for rests on public benches as the bones requested ...

Considering that walking around this town in strong warm sunshine can be strenuous, considering the town's population lives in hilly territory requiring much climbing of concrete stairways, it is curious to see that the municipality saw fit to furnish public park areas with exercise equipment.

This is a pedal exerciser.

We didn't see any takers.

Nor were we surprised.

31 degrees C.

We met fellow Witnesses doing cart work ...

Frustrating not to speak the same language, but one day we will.

The above photo was near the beach where we rested, not on a bench but a restaurant chair to enjoy a cold lemonade made with bubbly mineral water accompanied by nachos. This was lunch and it was major delicious!

A photo of Carol while we were waiting to be refueled.

This area is also a center for shops intended to interest tourists. Besides the usual souvenirs there are offerings of some very fine arts and crafts.We explored for a while then took another bench break where we were approached by school students requesting help with homework. They were assigned to interview an English speaking person in English of course. While I answered questions another student took a video of us on a cell phone, I suppose to prove the interviewer hadn't just made it up.

Besides asking where we were from, asked what places we had visited while here. I told him about the place we visited most often, the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Since the interview was photographed I insisted on taking a photo too ...

 No, that's not a punk hair style. He stood in an awkward spot.

You don't have to be a detective to know who did the interview, who took the video, and who was the general helper.

Before boarding the bus back to Ixtapa we stopped at a flower shop for a purchase that has brightened up our little dwelling.

Flowers are a real bargain here. You can get a generous

bouquet for a few dollars.

As I write I hear the crashing of the surf on the shore. The waves have been bigger than usual today and when they crash the noise is loud and roaring. Some waves hit with an explosive sound, others crash progressively and sound like a train passing by. And the waves just keep coming. All that power.

Three Dog Day

I had a number of things to do today requiring the Internet and, just as I got going, our connectivity fell into its black hole again for a good 9 hour stretch.

I tried not to let it disturb me.

Jack and Linda's grandson, Kaden, kept himself busy and is shown below removing his cape after having a super day.

And for a bit of artistic license I offer this variation on the theme ...

Maybe, with the Internet being down, I should have sat by the pool with the others but instead I made a valiant attempt to process some business using the achingly slow public wi-fi in the lobby. And when I wasn't doing that I studied a butterfly on our balcony wall.

I have no idea of his current whereabouts.

Around 9:30 p.m. I think someone out in Internetland discovered he had accidentally kicked a plug out of its socket and he put it back in. This re-activated our connection and enabled me to post this entry. I must confess this frequent stop-and-go service is not at all to my taste, but thankfully I have Carol who kindly helps me keep it all in proper perspective.

grrrr