Los ViZIHtantes de Lejos

https://youtu.be/MayyjF6dF5I

Saturday morning was a busy one for Lupita and me. We wanted to get to the Panteón de Agua de Correa and back home before the sun got too high with the flowers we'd bought for our family grave site and for doña Cari's grave. So we were up well before sunrise getting morning chores done, and we caught a taxi to the Panteón just as the sun was coming over the hill. Each year the Panteón is more crowded and chaotic. It's practically impossible to get around the cemetery without a guide because there are no walkways or paths or roads. Just a gazillion graves mashed in together. It's not for the faint of heart. You have to walk across people's graves and tombs to get anywhere, and each year there are more. Someone somehow had a new gravesite next to ours that they used BARBED WIRE to mark off, something we used to never see, but there were quite a few with barbed wire that we had to pass around this year. Not sure whom they think they're going to keep out, but it's cheaper than the nice metal fencing we have that miraculously hasn't been stolen yet, though our aluminum cross was. We were saddened to see that doña Cari's tomb had been broken open where someone climbed atop it to paint the neighboring tomb. Something else to pay to get fixed.

Many families were on the same mission as we were. Some people were working to fix up their family members' grave sites, some were crying, some were playing soft music that their loved ones liked, others were standing somberly staring at their family tombs lost in their memories. Folks greet each other respectfully. Outside the Panteón the traffic cops were creating chaos trying to "organize the flow of traffic". None of the drivers I saw looked like they appreciated their efforts

Beautiful bocote trees were blooming everywhere, their fragrant white flowers like little stars all over the ground under their large trees that unfortunately we keep losing to constructions on our hillsides. And unlike last year, thanks to the previous day's rain, there was still water running in the arroyo from which Agua de Correa gets its name.

Returning home afterwards is always a huge relief. There's no place like home, especially after you've been walking among the dead. I always tell my wife the same thing: when I die dump me in the ocean and let the fish eat me. I don't need to take up any space on the planet when I'm gone.

Couldn't help but notice this evening that there are many extranjeros in town from the USA and Canada. Restaurants along the waterfront were filled with them! Welcome back!! You've been missed!

A place I really like to recommend, like an oasis in paradise, is Casa Tucanes. A beautiful vacation lodging located on the edge of La Ropa's coconut grove surrounded by lush gardens, a short walking distance to the beach. They offer three 1- and 2-bedroom villas, two 2-bedroom bungalows and two simple guest rooms. They also have a pool, they are pet friendly and wonderful hosts.
Hotels, Inns & B&Bs in Zihuatanejo

¡Cuidemos nuestro patrimonio!
#MásSeguridadPúblicaMenosCemento
#NoQueremosBlueFlagEnLasPlayas
#PreservemosPlayaManzanillo
#DenunciaElEcocidioEnLaRopa

Don Beto va por agua desde el arroyo detrás del Panteón de Agua de Correa para las flores de una tumba por Día de Muertos en Zihuatanejo.

Good story. “Just dump my body in the ocean”. I feel the same way. Cemeteries fascinate me but I’m not taking up space. Makes as much sense as golf corses.

My brother in law thinks he can make big money introducing golf course cemeteries. Fore!!

And they'll make those tasty crabs and lobsters grow so much faster!