Happy Canadian in Zihua

Hi everybody!

I arrived Wednesday afternoon at Zihua airport after an early morning WestJet flight from Winnipeg to Calgary, then a 2 hours stopover and then a 5 hours flight to Zihua. It took 45 minutes to get through customs as about 20 of us had to wait for our baggages after a hiccup from the baggage crew at the airport but once they got the last load it went quickly through the scanner and once again I got the green light and off I went to the taxi counter. I sure noticed the bunch of timeshare salespeople in our way and in an area that is supposed to be only for passengers leaving but nobody seems to care about this in this airport. Anyhow as I was walking at a good pace they did not bother me and I quickly got to the taxi counter and paid my 130 pesos for my collective taxi and then proceeded outside to the dispatcher and waited to be paired with other travelers to Zihua. Even though 2 planes where there within an hour of each other it took an half hour to be paired with a couple other passengers from the States also going to Zihua. I was surprised to see so few passengers going to Zihua as maybe 20 people out of 2 plane loads went there and the rest to Ixtapa.

After a quick drive, I was finally at my hotel in familiar surroundings and meeting some of the long time staff. It's always nice to see these friendly people. Got my room and went to unpack and shower and change and then realize I was too late to go to the bank to exchange some dollars so decided to go to Commercial and buy some juice, fruits, water and some beer and pay with some US$ and get some pesos this way. Well, I learned that you need to spend a minimum of 600 pesos to pay with a $100 bill and as I only had that bill with me, it looks like I may be stuck waiting until Thursday for change but saw in the cashier's line up a good friend that happened to be doing some shopping there and her friend was able to help me out so it was all good. After a quick chit-chat, I hopped in a cab and back to my hotel to drop my things and then off to La Cancha and next door to El Cafecito to meet a friend and then have dinner next door at Casa Marina. Always a reliable spot for good food and good people watching. I had a pizza special which is tuna and shrimp and avocado and it was good and a good start to this trip. Of course a potent marguarita on the rocks preceeding my meal did not hurt and a Victoria with my food just had me with a smile on my face. A buddy joined me and we had a chat and then decided it was time to head back too my hotel after a really long day as I had been up all night since I had to be at the airport for about 04:30 and I'm always worried to sleep through my alarm so I stay up for these early flights. Anyhow, I was back at my hotel by 23:00 at the surprise of the security guard. Yes, I have been known to be a late bird

Got up unusually early for me this morning as a friend was coming over and we did some reminiscing and had some business to take care of and then decided to go to Hotel Irma for lunch for her and a late breakfast for me. Awesome view and good food with excellent service and pricing was fair. After some more chatting she had to go and I had a workout and relaxed for a bit before heading back to la cancha and meeting a friend to deliver a laptop he had asked me to bring for his daughter. I had a chat with his wife and set up the laptop and had a drink after and more chatting and then 2 friends showed up and we started to discuss dinner plans as I was getting hungry. We all like good food and nice restaurants so it's always a pleasure to check out places with them and being locals they can surprise me at times. So tonight I learned about a new place that I will go check tomorrow or Saturday but tonight we decided on La Terracita. I had gone once for breakfast and once for dinner last year and they were very good. But they only had 6 tables on the ground floor and I was wondering if they could survive on so few tables with that type of quality. Well tonight they were using they 2nd floor seating and it was a busy night for them but we got a table there and everybody had a great meal. A friend had a NY steak and the other had the special of the day which was a fish I can't remember the name and wish I had write it down as I had never heard that name before. I had a taste and it was very good. My friends both had entrees but I settled on 3 apps and was not disappointed. I had a fresh coconut and beet salad to start, then a spicy squid tartare and finally a tuna ceviche. Everything was tasty, well prepared and nicely presented. The chef/owner used to work at Cappela and it shows. Nice attention to details and good service. We had marguaritas before our meals and they were great as well. I finished my meal with a nice chocolate cake dessert that was pretty tasty and hit the spot. I highly recommend this place and pricing is very reasonable. It is close to Nardos on calle Adelita. After my meal I decided to walk back to the hotel as my friends were heading home and there was a nice breeze. On my way I hit a Wi-Fi spot and a bunch of messages downloaded to my phone and as I was reading one some folks from Canada I met last year recognized me and came over and they are across the street from my hotel. Small world! We had a nice chat and walked back to our hotels.

I should be sleeping but was still wired so I figured I would do some internet browsing. I'm staying at Casa Sun and Moon and have to say their internet has improved greatly. In the previous years II often had to bring my laptop downstairs or go out of room to get internet and now they have cable internet and a stronger Wi-Fi signal available on each floors. It's a nice feature, especially at their rate. Same great staff but with a new GM. I miss Agustina that used to be in charge but the owner was there yesterday to greet me so I guess Pepe is more hands on now. Nice little hotel if you are looking for a reasonable rate and great location...Alright! Time to go to sleep and to more adventures tomorrow...For those inquiring minds, the weather forecast is high of 32*-33* for the next few days and this morning at 8:00 it was 25*C and 83% humidity...