An Afternoon At Playa Linda

Well past the restaurant row on Playa Linda we love to go to an area of where the beach is free of vendors, restaurants, and people. The beach isn't  prestine, but majority of debris comes from the trees, and washed up driftwood. There are plenty of birds to watch, and the surf is a bit wild as is the surroundings. We always have a relaxing afternoon when we are here.

                                This is the far end of Playa Linda where the river meets the ocean.

                                                And this is where we like to hang our hat.

                            I found this little guy in the ocean. I soon returned him after his photoshoot.

Barra de Potosi and Friends

 Through pickleball we met a great gal named Tracy. She lives in Barra de Potosi, and is currently building herself a house. We headed to Barra to check out Tracy's project and have a visit.

Tracy's hacienda style home. What a beauty this is going to be! We can hardly wait to see the finished project.

                Sitting at a restaurant on the beach at Barra de Potosi while enjoying a drink and a snack.

            Tracy told us the shoreline has been seriously altered after the last season's storms. The ocean is now at the restaurant's doorstep!

                    Our sweet friend, Tracy! What a great gal! We are so fortunate to have met her!

Tamale Party

Candelaria is a Christian-Catholic festivity widely celebrated by the Mexican people on February 2, exactly 40 days after Christmas. In most Spanish-speaking and Catholic countries, the day of the Epiphany on January 6, or Three Kings Day, and is generally considered the end of the holiday season. However, since certain traditions on Three Kings Day later tie into Candelaria, some people consider the latter to be the true end of the winter holidays(Candelaria is not an official Mexican holiday, and nor is it even nationally celebrated). Special Mass services are held to commemorate the day, and some families host a special dinner that usually involves the traditional food of tamales. We are located in an area that celebrates Candelaria, and were extremely fortunate enough to be invited to a tamale meal. Victor, his wife Miriam, and their daughter Aline, own and run a small dry goods store in the covered market, and hosted the tamale celebration in the back of their store. Such great people! We felt so honored to have been included in their family celebration!

                                               Victor and Hoss

                                            The lovely Miriam! Such a sweet woman!

                                            Steamed vegetables, guacamole and chips, for starters.

                                            The star of the meal....tamales! Homemade by Miriam!

                                           David and his wife

                           Some tamales are wrapped in banana leaves, these are wrapped in corn husks.

 

 Tamales are seasoned shrimp, beef, chicken, or pork with veggies that's wrapped in cornmeal dough and steamed or baked in corn husks or banana leaves.  Miriam made shrimp and chicken tamales. They were absolutely delicious!

 

                                                        Victor's and Miriam's store

                                                 Claude, Lynne, Pat and Wendy

                                           Beautiful Aline! Such a great kid!

Playa el Palmar, Ixtapa

The beach at Ixtapa, which is long and lovely, is set in a wide bay, and is a great place for walkers. We usually don't spend much time on this beach but I do enjoy visiting it occasionally. The beaches are very, very quiet this year, and it almost feels like you have a paradise all to yourself!

Many condos and all inclusives are located in Ixtapa. They're all very lovely in gorgeous settings, but I'm not a huge fan of tall buildings on the beach. I truly believe buildings on the beach shouldn't be much taller than the height of the trees.

Sunday Supper

Our friends, Claude and Lynne, invited us along with some other friends to their condo for a lovely afternoon of sitting around the pool and then supper. We got to know their friends Haviar, his wife Estelle, and grandson Haviar Jr. a little better. What a fun time we all had!

Tequila Lessons

I guess we've been drinking gut rot all these years! We were educated in the ways of the tequila world by a fellow pickleball player who is also a connoiseur of tequila. He got us thinking, so one evening while I was at the dentist in Ixtapa, Hoss ventured over to a tequila store around the corner, and tested varieties of tequilas. He brought home a bottle of Cava de Oro which is quite expensive, but honestly, it was well worth the money! It is meant to be drank at room temperature, with no ice, in a wide mouthed glass, so you can swirl it to see the legs, then smell the aromas of cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, and nutmeg. Its smooth taste quickly expands in your mouth revealing a delicious range of toasted flavours of cinnamon and maple syrup. It is a taster's delight! I have never been a fan of drinking hard alcohol straight up, but in my opinion this drink can only be drank this way! Another bottle, please!

La Rusa Bed and Breakfast at Barra de Potosi

 We drove out to Potosi that's about 25 minutes south of Zihua just for something to do, and to look around again. We have considered booking a few nights at a lovely little bed and breakfast called La Rusa. We knocked on the door, and a young Mexican man greeted us and allowed us to look around. We love this place!

                                            A lap pool

                                            Storage area

                   The view of La Rusa from the beach. You just never know what's behind the wall.