Goin' to Z Go-Go

Back in another lifetime before Ixtapa existed when Zihuatanejo was THE destination beloved by all who came here for exactly what it was and everything that is wasn't, there existed two discos at Playa La Madera that didn't play any crap disco music. The Kau-Kan on the beach at La Madera (now the Bistro-Mar restaurant) and the Chololo (above the beach at Casa Sun & Moon). You almost had to get your feet wet to get to either one if you came from town, either by crossing the vado through the lagoon (where the original footbridge is on Avenida La Boquita) or the mouth of the lagoon at the end of Playa Principal. There was no walkway, no streetlights, or anyone bitching really about anything at all. The Kau-Kan was the first place I danced with my sweetie, the girl who would become my wife 16 years later. The music wasn't so good but the location was fabulous. The Chololo was where the beautiful people hung out and the music was much better, especially when I brought along my own cassette tapes of mixes. A lot of that same music is still popular with the old-timers from that era. The Chololo eventually burned down and the Kau-Kan lost out to the big discos in Ixtapa (actually I think it caught fire, too). But recently Don Pepe, the owner of Casa Sun & Moon, has been working on refurbishing the Chololo and it's starting to look a bit like it's old self, minus the roof and the raised dancing platform that adorned one end of the place. My sweetie Lupita is anxious to celebrate her birthday there in a few months, so be prepared to see the place brought back to life with the old original music blaring and a lot of the folks from back in the day hobbling around the dance floor as best as we can. It should be a real nostalgic wingding to remember.

Earlier this month we saw a rare phenomemon we'd never seen before on the Carretera Escénica La Majahua. All the trees along one stretch of the road had these beautiful tiny white flowers in abundance. But it was a brief bloom, and just a few days later they were gone. We've seen lots of blooming trees along that road, but this was a new event.