Day 10: Monday

On our way back to the hotel after breakfast, we meet a young man named Chris. He lives in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. We had noticed a small station wagon with Minnesota license plates in the municipal lot across from our hotel. Chris and a friend have been traveling through Mexico and Central America. The municipal parking lot is a very safe place to leave a car as it's right next to the naval base headquarters and there is always an armed guard at the entrance.

After breakfast we decide to return to Playa La Ropa, this time by taxi. There are three entrances to La Ropa beach; we have the driver let us off at the middle one, which is perfectly level--no hill! We spend the day watching the parasailers, banana tube riders. We find that if you buy a snack at any of the little bars along the beaches, you virtually own your table until you feel like leaving. Once again, we had the best guacamole (the latest is always the best).

Back downtown, we run into Lorena and Jim. We have refrescos with them. They suggest "Joachin's Tabago" for dinner. It's one of the fancier restaurants on the main drag, really a pretty place. Turns out the food is as good as the place looks. It doesn't always turn out that way.

Since we had intended going to Guadalajara, I hadn't packed many beach clothes. We find a laundry. Three kilos of clothes washed and ironed for 21 pesos, well under $3.00. Same day service, too! This is, of course, a great excuse for me to go shopping! I need something to wear, after all. We shop in the market and at the so-called artisans market across from the church. There are good prices at both places with a slight edge going to the market.

Day 11: Tuesday

Jim has a radio buddy who lives in Minnesota and every time he hears something interesting, he swings by our hotel to tell us. Today's message: eight inches of snow! That's hard to believe down here. Dick doesn't feel well, he has a cold or possibly the flu, so we are going to lay low and stay around the hotel today. He eventually feels well enough to go out for lunch, and to wander around a bite. As we wander on the pier we run into our fisherman friend, Leo. He asks if we've been to Isla Ixtapa yet. When we say no, he invites us to come as his guests. He is to do duty the next day as a water taxi ferrying tourists to Ixtapa island as part of his duties to the fisherman's co-op. We tell him that Dick isn't feeling well and I say that I don't want to get up to leave by 7:00 a.m. Leo tells us what bus to catch and we decide to meet him around 11:00 a.m. Leo also puts a name to Dick's illness-El Gripe "accent on the final "e." We also make plans to go after "big game" on Friday. The rest of the day is spent lying around-literally for Dick. El Mango for a light dinner and early bed.

Day 12: Wednesday

Dick is feeling better. We take two buses to get to playa Linda, changing in Ixtapa. Playa Linda buses are few and far between and those available are stuffed! Leo is waiting for us and we have our own private water taxi over. The other pangas are stuffed to the gunnels with tourists. Leo says he'll meet us for lunch and suggests we stay at the farthest restaurant up the beach.

Ixtapa Island is a beautiful place. We walk across to the pacific side first. Everyone tries to get you to stop at their restaurant, and rent their snorkeling equipment. The reefs are very close to shore just like those on Isla Mujeres in the Yucatan.

We walk the length of the island through the surf to its end. Truly beautiful. The swimming beach is on the other side of the island, it too has a small bit of reef. It also has water bikes and snorkeling equipment for rent.

We find the restaurant Leo recommended and order something to drink. This beach is loaded with tour groups from Ixtapa who apparently don't know how to arrange their own fun via bus, etc. We should manage to get in some major swimming and just general lazing around today. There is a steady parade of vendors trying to sell everything from Taxco silver to tee shirts and homemade rosaries. We can make out Leo's Poseidon among the pangas running tourists back and forth.

I am about to go into the water when the world's oldest tourist comes dashing out of the water, and grabs one of our limes! She says she had brushed against the coral and fresh lime will prevent infection. She also says she is here with her boyfriend -- I can't wait to meet him--as we do later. We spend some time playing in the water, reading and people watching. About 1:00 p.m. everyone disappears up into the large thatched palapas behind us for the lunch included with their tours. We decide to eat too, even though Leo hasn't come yet. While we wait for a waitress the world's oldest male tourist comes up to ask us what we thought of his girlfriend. He'd seen us talking to her and isn't she cute! We of course agree with him. Lunch comes, shrimp in garlic, the kind you have to peel, a large mess, but good. Leo comes while we are eating and gets his chicken dinner. The fishermen get lunch provided as part of their contract with their co-op. Leo asks if we would like to ride back to Ziah with him at 5:30 and have our own private sunset cruise. We jump at the chance.

It's now 5:00 p.m. and the last water taxi is leaving. The wait staff at the restaurant is obviously worried about these two gringos. Our waitress comes over to tell us that the last taxi is leaving now! When she hears that Leo is to return for us she is obviously relieved. It's interesting watching all of the workers at the restaurants getting ready to leave. Everything is washed and put away, all garbage is bagged and removed and the water toys are beached and chained for the night. Now we're alone on the island. Pretty soon here comes Leo. Our waitress reminded him that his friends are waiting.

Leo takes us to two large rocks /islands off of Ixtapa and we wait for the sunset. I take a few pictures of the sea birds wheeling around the islands jutting out of the sea. I take over an entire roll of film and get some great sunset photos including a really nice candid shot of Leo enjoying the view.

We go out for pizza when we get back to Ziah and ran into a real ugly American named Steve. He claims to have been injured in the Acapulco hurricane. The other Americans we ran into say he'd had the same bandages of for months and they think he should heal sometime in the next few years or when the bandages rotted-whichever comes first.

Anyhow, he is trying to scam the merchants for free merchandise for supposedly bringing in customers. Didn't work this time as we've snacked here before and the waiter knew us. When we walk by the next night they had a real big guy working with the waiter and Steve is nowhere in sight.

Day 13: Thursday

Dick still has El gripe. We should have come back to the hotel and changed out of our damp swimsuits last night. We had breakfast at Lucy's over by the pier. She serves the best green salsa in town; it's full of avocado chunks. Dick has two cups of Manzanillo tea. We are going to the bank and finish up any shopping. We eat lunch at a fonda across from El Mango (51 pesos). I have four glasses of agua de tamarindo -- refreshing. Dick is back in bed. We have dinner at C & C beef, their hamburgers are pretty good, a tad salty, but ok. Dick says their fresh lemonade is the best in Ziah. As we wander back to the hotel we run into the resident Americans sitting at their usual corner. Lorene recommends XL-3 for Dick's gripe-we'll see how it goes. Hopefully it'll cure him enough for fishing tomorrow.

Day 14: Friday

The XL-3 works. At 8:45 we hook a five pound skip jack and Leo had me land him. It takes me 20 min to half a hour to boat it. Those little guys fight! We had four sailfish strikes! It takes half an hour before mine dances on the water. Leo says he is six to seven feet long. He finally shakes the hook off, but not before three other boats come dashing up alongside to try their luck. Dick's fish jumps twice and shakes off the hook. The other two never breach.

Leo is trying to get the other fishermen to agree to catch and release and also to lower the limits on how many sailfish and marlin may be kept. The younger men are with him. The older ones don't like the idea at all. He claims that the sharks are fished out and now are rarely caught. In the old days, if you hooked a sailfish, you'd better boat it immediately or it is shark food.

Day 15: Saturday

Time to leave. Breakfast at Los Braseros. We change our pesos back and have to go to two casas de cambios to do it, because no single had enough dollars to exchange the pesos we each had left. We ran into Leo and his family in the plaza. His three year old son, Leonardo Jr., is learning English in day care. Leo's wife is a secretary at the city offices.

On our way to breakfast, we ask a cabbie how much it costs to get to the airport. It's only 10 pesos and he'll pick us up at our hotel at 11:00 am. The man is so afraid of losing a fare that he shows up 15 minutes early! The departure side of the airport is as fancy and full of shops as the inbound side is stark and functional. It's a pleasant surprise. The next surprise is that our flight will only be about half an hour late! Good deal----good trip.

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