Zih of Joy

There really are no words to express the pure contentment and sheer joy of living in Zihuatanejo. Yes, for those of us who earn our living here it is hard, but so worth it. I'm sure many of you love your lives back in your temperate climes. I certainly enjoyed my childhood, jumping in raked leaves during the fall and marveling at their colors, and playing in the snow back when I hauled my sled with me everywhere when school was cancelled because of snow, thrilled to be making the first footprints down the streets and across the vast wooded and hilly expanse of Cherokee Park where I spent most of my time, or I would take my skates with me to school and head straight for the ice-skating rink afterwards. But to have to consume and pay for all that fuel and to commute anywhere under such hazardous conditions is not something I miss. I love sleeping with windows open listening to the light rhythm of our surf, needing only a single bedsheet during some of the winter months or when it rains for days at a time during a tropical storm in the summer months. I love wearing sandals and shorts every day and hearing the laughter of people and children out strolling and playing. To see the smiles on the faces of children especially as they walk towards the waterfront and catch their first glimpse of the ocean and the beach is priceless. I've spent most of my life living in places where other folks escape to for their winter vacations. I don't miss anything about the temperate zones up north. I love our weather that hovers between eternal springtime and summer with a brief few weeks of a burning season right before the rains, some years worse than others. Small price to pay for living in this tropical paradise. Your kilometrage may vary.

Here's what our street, Calle Juan N. Álvarez, used to look like back around 1970. The first house is doña Alfa Bravo's, qepd, of the Hotel Ávila- The second one is Maestro Daniel Bravo's and the third one is don Fernando Bravo's (qepd), our home.

This abuelo is thrilled to be able to enjoy the smiling face of his adoring nieto. What a difference these donated glasses made for him!