Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa Message Board - Keeping Cool in Zih

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

ZihuaRob — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 18:29:50 +0000

Thank you Rob! This makes lot of sense.

In the winter months when the ocean is cooler the breeze is much more refreshing than in the summer. so during the winter’s normally cloudless days the cool breeze is quite welcome. However, the cooling effect of the summer storms can lower the temps much more drastically when it rains, which of course is not a daily occurrence.

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

Casa Juan — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 16:12:32 +0000

with 12 foot tall ceilings, large awnings over the windows facing south and west and located close to the ridge in Las Mesas, ceiling fans are all I need from late October to early April. The air con in the bedrooms is for guests.

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

SergeyK — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 14:13:31 +0000

Thanks Rojo!
I actually dined in Irma restaurant yesterday and it was a perfect breeze. However, when I went beside of the restaurant, on the street, thee was no breeze at all, supposedly the place was protected by the hotel building. So, I guess, you need a combination of location and surrounding in order to appreciate the breeze in your house?

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

SergeyK — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 14:09:30 +0000

Thank you Rob! This makes lot of sense.

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

rojo — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 05:48:51 +0000

Live on top of La Madera for few years now and never use the air condition, the overhead fan when it stays warm at night

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

ZihuaRob — Sat, 07 Dec 2019 21:04:05 +0000

Hola Rob,
I wonder what area around the bay receives the most breeze in the winter months? And is it close to the see level or up on the hill? Thank you very much!

Thanks to the daily heating of the land there is usually a decent afternoon breeze along most of our waterfront, but I believe La Ropa gets the best breeze.

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

Casa Juan — Sat, 07 Dec 2019 19:51:19 +0000

giving up air conditioning is a much easier choice and alcohol is much more portable!

Keeping Cool in Zih (reply)

SergeyK — Sat, 07 Dec 2019 15:37:53 +0000

Hola Rob,
I wonder what area around the bay receives the most breeze in the winter months? And is it close to the see level or up on the hill? Thank you very much!

Keeping Cool in Zih

ZihuaRob — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 16:58:36 +0000

I remember visiting my mother in Coral Gables for the summer of 1970. Being from the Ohio River Valley region I knew what heat and humidity were, or so I thought. That was a particularly brutal summer for Miami, and everyone slept indoors to the whirring and humming and sometimes even the clanking of the machines that pumped cool air into their bedrooms... except me. I chose to stay in the one bedroom in that Florida home without A/C. The first few nights were an exercise in adaptation. Showering and not drying off afterwards but just hopping on top of the sheets wet and pretending the fan was actually moving the air, although it didn't seem like it was. I soon adapted, and of course I noticed everyone else suffering the daily heat... except me. I found myself quite comfortable while folks around me were perpetually sweating and complaining and running from one air-conditioned environment to another while I enjoyed riding in the car with the windows open and sitting in the Florida room enjoying the sub-tropical fragrances and balmy breezes of South Florida.

There as here in Zihuatanejo the rains are always the Great Refresher, bringing down the temps at least during the time it rains. Last night was a typical summer night, hot and humid with mostly no breeze and only a slight chance of rain. But sometime during the night it did indeed rain, though not very hard. But while it was raining the temps dropped what seemed like 10°C, and so I adjusted the fan, opened the window a little wider, pulled the sheet over me and drifted back off to sleep. I was surprised a few hours later when I awoke that it wasn't still cool. The streets has dried completely and the temps had risen back up near what they had been before the rain. This is the effect the warm ocean has on us. Also the land is hot and radiates heat and it's in need of a good soaking rain to cool it down. While our local temps haven't reached 40°C that I'm aware of, the heat index has. But much of the rest of the coast and much of the nation all the way from Baja to Mérida have been suffering temps of 40°C and above. Heat that can kill if you aren't careful. Alcohol and A/C make the heat feel worse when you're in it.

Son mis dos centavos.

The missing 80 meters of demolished pier really makes our morning and evening walks seem so much briefer and shorter even though we try to compensate by walking around town and La Madera more. Really miss our pier.