January 24, 2005 Hello, We have been anchored in Zihuatanejo (near Ixtapa) for a month now. It is just 100 miles north of Acapulco. This is the longest we have stayed at any one place in a long while. We decided to spend the holidays here and have ended up staying thru January. We are enjoying the area and also making all kinds of cruising friends to buddy boat with as we head to Central America. We have enjoyed this town very much and have decided that it is one of our favorites thus far. It has a quaint village feel to it with small streets for walking only and lots of plants and greenery. The streets are mostly made of brick or cobble stones and lined with cafes, restaurants and pubs. Although the town is not really that small, it has a small vibe to it and the locals are friendly to the cruisers. There is a pub that is mostly where all the cruisers hang out called Rick’s bar. Rick is an American who has settled in this place many years ago. He caters to the cruising crowd. Gary and I have been playing some music on stage, mostly oldies and the crowd seems to really enjoy the nostalgia of days gone by. My drumming is getting better and my singing (harmonizing) is improving somewhat, but mostly it is just fun and we have a good time. We are learning new songs which has kept us busy playing on our boats and other boats. Soon Gary will be writing his own songs.

There is a really great surf spot and we have had surf for the entire time we have been here. It has been nice to be able to paddle into shore to catch the waves. For a few days, the surf got big at the break so we pulled anchor and got out there. We anchored tucked into a little island nearby and slept more comfortably, the next morning the waves had even grown more so we decided we best head back to the bigger bay and wait out the swells.

There is a big festival/ fund raiser event in the beginning of Feb. The cruisers get together and have an annual event in which they raise money for the local schools. Last year they raised over $40,000 US dollars, which is amazing because this is the same amount of money that the whole state gets as a budget for all the schools. The cruisers are doing a great thing helping out the children who are living in the poorer regions of the area.

We will be leaving here soon and heading on to Bahia de Huatulco. This is a beautiful place with many bays to anchor the boat. We will be there for a few weeks before we head into Guatemala. We will be crossing Bahia Tehuantepec sometime in February/ March. We will wait for a weather window because the winds can get up to gale force 50 knots, known as “tehuantepeckers”.

Soon we will be exploring Central America. It is hard to believe that we are almost finished with the mainland of Mexico.

Mexico is really a spectacular place with lots of incredible places to explore along the way. Although we have not done any land travel, the seaside anchorages have been really beautiful and the people are very friendly.

We are visited often by dolphins, whales, turtles and lots of fish. The snorkeling has been very beautiful and the water is warm and refreshing. The weather has been great and no storms or hurricanes have come our way.
I will sign off for now, and send another email in a month or so.

Blessings,Celeste and Gary

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