Tuesday morning wasn't quite as warm as Monday, and the rest of the day wasn't quite as hot, only getting up to 36°C. Still a bit warm and several degrees above average for this time of the year even with La Canícula.

Rain clouds were visible on the southern and western horizons this morning, and this evening a huge storm that looked like it was heading our way in the afternoon dissipated, leaving us with nothing but high humidity and no discernible breeze. Most people appeared uncomfortably warm along the waterfront this evening. The ocean water temperature continues above 31°C. If the predicted rains start happening, it should keep our temperatures mild. We usually just need a good couple of days of rains to change from La Canícula to our normal weather pattern for late summer. Hopefully soon.

You'd never know that Ixtapa's hotels registered over 75% occupancy or Zihuatanejo's over 62% this Tuesday. Hardly any tourists to be seen around town. Only one restaurant along the waterfront was doing any business this evening. Sales were extremely slow for downtown merchants who bothered to open. But hey, that new amphitheater at the pier entrance sure ought to draw us some more tourism, just like the mayor promises.

Still no lights at the pier after sunset. The insult to daily users of the pier continues by the municipal government.

The surf continues to look good. The current mar de fondo event is keeping the waves around a meter and a half or so. Swimmers need to watch out for strong currents near shore.

Imagine your vacation in this beautiful 3-bedroom oceanfront villa called Casa Kokopeli. This tropical-style beachfront home with a pool offers plenty of comfort, privacy and relaxation. Located right on Troncones Beach within easy walking distance of the village as well as several convenience stores and numerous restaurants. It can easily accommodate up to 8 people comfortably. (click to enlarge photo)
Vacation Rentals in Troncones

¡Cuidemos nuestro patrimonio!
#JusticiaParaAlexSerna
#MásSeguridadPúblicaMenosCemento
#NoBlueFlag
#PreservemosPlayaManzanillo
#DenunciaElEcocidio

Unas mujeres disfrutan la poza de La Madera durante el amanecer en Zihuatanejo.

Rob, if this post is inappropriate, please remove it.

Our hearts go out to the folks in Colombia affected by the 7.4 earthquake and the new fascist government that took power this Monday morning.

Monday began cloudy and warm, and it just kept getting hotter and hotter. It got up to 38°C in Zihuatanejo, which is, I believe, the hottest it's been here all year. No rain today, and the small percentage in the forecast for tonight simply can't be taken seriously. Maybe this Tuesday we'll get lucky. The water temperature is around 31.4°C, almost 2°C warmer than normal for this time of year. I expect we'll have a bleaching event of our local coral and that there will be fish die-offs of smaller species as well as a migration of larger species to cooler waters. It won't be long until it seriously affects local fishermen, who will have to seek economic relief from the municipal government, which is why they voice no opinions in public against anything the municipal government does.

Local tourism numbers are way down and so are sales. As bad as it is in Zihuatanejo, it's even worse for the merchants and restaurants in Ixtapa. All the new hot cement didn't attract any new tourists, in contrast to what they were promised by the mayor before she tore up their walkways and gardens and replaced it with her husband's family's cement. The only clients I saw in any waterfront restaurants this evening were a group of politicians. Everywhere else was empty. Pizzas locas had some business, but they're popular with locals who recommend them, and pizzas are a popular economic meal, like tacos.

I was musing today with some of my friends in the Virgin Islands who were also quite disappointed with their territorial government that, like ours, never seems to be able to resolve any real problems even though they manage to disappear hundreds of millions of dollars every year. It seems that everywhere more people are on the same page, and it all seems to be leading towards a more democratic socialist form of government, though many don't even realize that it's what they're describing. Here in Mexico's federal government we've been gravitating towards it for years since the Morena party came to power, and businesses and industries have been responding positively. Now if only we could get the crony capitalists out of the way, including locally. Legacy of a dying political party.

A good place to escape the problems of the world is Troncones. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Troncones is one of its loveliest vacation lodgings, Regalo del Mar. A uniquely Mexican small, exotic, luxurious tropical-style vacation guest inn on the beach at Playa Troncones with comfortable suites, bungalows, and a pool. Surrounded by exuberant gardens and natural beauty, it's a place for nature lovers, peaceful and ideal for relaxing. Far from anything resembling stress. (click to enlarge image)
Luxury Vacation Rentals in Troncones

¡Cuidemos nuestro patrimonio!
#JusticiaParaAlexSerna
#MásSeguridadPúblicaMenosCemento
#NoBlueFlag
#PreservemosPlayaManzanillo
#DenunciaElEcocidio

Un bonito atardecer en Playa Principal en la bahía de Zihuatanejo.

It is handled at Finanza, unlike the driving licenses that are done at the Municipal Palace.

You never forget where you are!!

Is the state or the city responsible for motor vehicle registrations and licenses?

Licenses are issued by the state, but it's the municipio's office at the ayuntamiento where the problem is. You can go to any other municipio and not have any problem.

We went through the same thing two weeks ago.

They now schedule appointments on line. It was announced last week and we made appointments for next week. Easy Peezy.

Zihuatanejo does not have a serious municipal government.

They now schedule appointments on line. It was announced last week and we made appointments for next week. Easy Peezy.

Saturday night was noisier than usual in downtown Zihuatanejo. Incredibly loud portable speakers make their owners wandering discotheques. A shame to see the scarce resources, i.e., rare earth materials, necessary for such speakers wasted so frivolously. And it would be nice if the local government did their job to help keep the volume down. Let folks party, but we don't need to hear it a block away. All the additional police in town for the holidays, but you'd never know it, and how can police from other places know what the local codes and laws are?

Rain was visible on the ocean's horizon this Sunday morning, and it rained on Cerro Viejo during the middle of the day, but still nothing in downtown Zihuatanejo. It keeps avoiding us. The forecast gives us a 50% chance of rain during the middle of the coming week. Fingers crossed.

While beachfront restaurants continue receiving a great deal of mostly low-budget visitors during the day, downtown shops struggle. It's impossible to prosper selling mostly trinkets and souvenirs for under a hundred pesos. But that appears to be about the extent of spending for most visitors so far this summer season. We're getting too few visitors with the purchasing power our tourism-dependent economy needs. So the occupancy numbers for Ixtapa may look high, but the purchasing power of too many visitors is extremely low, and it's hurting local businesses. This isn't progress. It's a lack of proper targeted marketing, the actual hard work that none of our so-called tourism authorities working for the local government appear to be doing, though they travel far and wide and attend many events and parties. I miss the local folks who actually used to do this work well back in the 90's. I can only reach so many people and answer so many of their questions through my meager efforts.

The more locals I speak with, the more I see how widely rejected "the scene of the crime" at the pier entrance is. The most common query I hear is "What was the mayor thinking?"

The surf continues looking pretty decent for the coming week and especially next weekend.

Don't expect to find much fish for sale at the waterfront this Monday morning. It's traditional that local fishermen don't go out to fish Sunday night but instead spend it with their families. Los lunes ni las gallinas ponen.

In our home we eat Mexican fare almost every single day, and I still find myself making groaning noises of ecstasy with almost every bite, even when my tortillas are cold. I just may be the luckiest Gringo in Mexico.

One of the loveliest vacation lodgings at La Ropa and one of my very favorite vacation rentals to promote is Villa Zanzibar, a charming 3-bedroom private villa tucked away in the old original La Ropa community at the southern end of the beach a short easy walk up from the waterfront. Located in one of the most peaceful areas of our community, this is a place to feel relaxed and at home. (click to enlarge photo)
Zihuatanejo Vacation Rentals

¡Cuidemos nuestro patrimonio!
#JusticiaParaAlexSerna
#MásSeguridadPúblicaMenosCemento
#NoBlueFlag
#PreservemosPlayaManzanillo
#DenunciaElEcocidio

Pescadores y amigos platicando y tomando durante el amanecer en la playa Principal de Zihuatanejo.

We will be in Zihua in October & plan to go to Troncones. If we opt to take a taxi (rather than a bus/combi), what is the approximate fare? Thank you.

There is no official set rate for Troncones, but depending on your starting point, the rate chart on this webpage should be able to help you calculate it.
https://www.zihuatanejo.net/localtransport.html

AND, sure as hell, you know it is NOT going to remain as a dirt mound or hill. There WILL be copious amounts of cement purchased/used!!!!

They're already burying millions of pesos of river rock allegedly extracted illegally from Río Salitrera, and millions more in cement at the pier entrance where they discovered a huge hollow space after tearing up the entrance, a phuqup from the recent pier reconstruction, but instead of simply filling it in with more rock as it had been for decades, they decided wasting a few more million on cement and rebar was the thing to do. Now, I've seen a lot of construction in saltwater over the years, and to do what they're doing usually means building a retainer wall to keep the saltwater out while the new cement sets and dries or using a special process. But they aren't even pretending to do it right because they're in a hurry. They poured cement into the saltwater, and it never dried before they continued pouring more layers on top of it that have never dried. It's simply shoddy workmanship and a huge waste of money. It will quickly weaken and crumble, and the rebars will quickly rust and deteriorate. Of course, if you're in the cement business with political access to no-bid public contracts, then it's a way to ensure you'll have plenty of work "remodeling."

https://vozihuatanejo.com.mx/remodelacion-del-muelle-fortalecera-la-imagen-turistica/

ha-ha-ha!

Absolutely everything my old friend Beni says is BS. Love Beni, but he has to say crap like this because he depends on the municipal government for favors, such as economic assistance when the weather prevents fishing and charter activities, the subsidized outboard motors they received the other day, and of course permits.

"es una obra necesaria"
In the long list of necessary public projects that Zihuatanejo needs, this obscenity doesn't even appear.

"que mejorará la imagen urbana del destino... embellecer el destino"
I can't imagine how. It BLOCKS the views that are considered ICONIC and that so many of us and our visitors have cherished over the years and generations. It killed beautiful trees that have been growing for generations. Yes, we already know they'll plant some sickly coconut palms, just like they did when they cut down the tall Washingtonians, tall coconut palms, and all the shade-giving Almendros along the waterfront. Blocking views with mounds of dirt to stand on is not anyone's idea of beautifying our resort destination. Totally the opposite.

"se convertirá en un nuevo atractivo para visitantes nacionales e internacionales... le dará un mayor atractivo como Pueblo Mágico"
Now he's just parroting the mayor's self-serving nonsense. More likely it will make us the laughingstock of the world's small ports for having a mound of dirt at the pier's entrance and calling it a "lookout" or "mirador". Some folks just don't know the difference between sh¡t and Shinola. Absolutely NO ONE is going to visit Zihuatanejo to stand on a mound of dirt at the pier's entrance. We have hills all around the bay if we want to enjoy the view. But if a "lookout" was absolutely necessary at the pier for some reason, a platform with a stairway could've been built atop the perfectly good building of the Capitanía's that was stupidly and uselessly torn down.

"señaló que no se puede estar en contra del crecimiento de un destino"
This isn't "growth", it's waste and regression, it's a scam, a farce of dubious necessity and legality. That's why people are against it. Nothing to do with growth, something we need to restrict, not push. We already can't fill the lodgings that we have, and year by year we're getting more tourists with less purchasing power.

I already posted a similar reply on social media where this article appeared on the pages of several local newspapers who are all on the municipal government's payroll. No response from Beni or the municipal government.

ha-ha-ha!

Mexico's men's fútbol team lost their match for the gold last night, but Mexico comes home from the Central American and Caribbean Games with 407 medals, 167 gold. Unfortunately, Zihuatanejo's David Ocampo didn't win any medals in his javelin-throwing event. But the games were a huge success, and many new young talented athletes made their mark. Santo Domingo was a beautiful venue for the games.

The rain predicted for last night never happened in downtown Zihuatanejo. Tamos sala'o. This is what the period known as La Canícula is notorious for here. Rain is in the forecast for this Sunday afternoon, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

This Saturday morning was ever-so-slightly less warm than Friday morning. The morning's cloud cover didn't last long, and the sun came out a-blazing. Though there was a slight increase in tourism, it seemed everyone was trying to avoid the outdoors except the surfers, who are enjoying some excellent surfing conditions each morning this week, and the surf's predicted to be even better by next weekend.

Fishermen are still bringing in a decent overnight catch. A few pargo here and there, some huachinango, jurel, flamenco, lots of cocinero and palometa, and a few tuna here and there, though tuna seem to be getting scarce recently.

Sorry to report that Roberto Rosas Chino of Roberto's Bistro in Troncones has passed away.

This August 8 is the 147th birthday of one of Mexico's most beloved heroes, Emiliano Zapata. ¡Tierra y Libertad!

More downtown waterfront restaurants were doing business this evening, which is good to see. Not a lot, and only La Porteña was actually busy, but we've only got 3 more weeks of summer vacation to take advantage of, and it hasn't exactly been a booming season.

If you're looking for the perfect family vacation villa or want to share a place with friends, Casa Estrella del Mar may be just what you're looking for. Located on the beach at Playa Troncones, this beautiful 3-story villa features 4 bedrooms with king-size beds, en suite baths, A/C, and balconies, as well as a large pool, covered parking, satellite TV, and wireless internet. (click to enlarge image)
Troncones Vacation Rentals

¡Cuidemos nuestro patrimonio!
#JusticiaParaAlexSerna
#MásSeguridadPúblicaMenosCemento
#NoBlueFlag
#PreservemosPlayaManzanillo
#DenunciaElEcocidio

Pelícanos y garcetas buscan comida de un señor fileteando pescado en Playa Principal de Zihuatanejo al amanecer.