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Majahua, Guerrero, Mexico

January - April 2022
A 91-day adventure by Ladyandtramp Read more
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  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico

    A Dedication

    December 31, 2021 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    This book is dedicated to our two wonderful daughters, Amy and Caitlin, their husbands, Matt and Tim, and our three loving grandchildren, Audrey (9), Cal (8) and Nathan (5) who bring us endless joy and love.
    Expect the unexpected. Life is full of wonderful things just waiting to surprise you!    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 1

    Writing this Blog

    January 1, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Welcome to our 2022 travel blog. No photos yet, but there will be, soon enough.

    During the next few months, Chris and I will try to post entries and photos on this NEWish blog site as we travel to Majahua in the Pacific Mexico area. This is our fourth year using Find Penguins as our travel writing template for blogs. We can write, post photos, show our location and at the end of our trip, we can order a hard-covered book of our blogs. Also we can work on the blog offline - a big bonus when we are in places with limited or no wifi. Every year that we have travelled, we have had our blogs made into a hard-covered book that are dedicated to our family. Yes, it is a commitment to keep up the blogs, but once we get into a routine, it isn’t so bad. The books are great keepsakes.

    We have realized that writing a blog is a good way to provide ourselves with a record of our travels, a place to store some of our favourite photos, to give family and friends some information of where we are and what we are doing, and maybe to inspire a few 60+ year olds who want to try long term traveling with only a carry-on bag, a day pack, (and maybe a ukulele or puppets) while trying to keep to a budget. We do try to travel economically - shopping for and cooking most of our own food and staying in small local hotels/guesthouses that have been recommended to us by other travellers. In all of our adventures, we have always come home ahead of the game, in the financial area. It's a fact. It has been cheaper for us to travel than it is to stay home over the winter! And what wonderful places we have visited!

    Finding Penguins has some good little features. It has been designed as a place to record ‘Footprints’ or special moments. So we can write a little or a lot and each blog has room for 6 - 10 photos that can be viewed in a slide show. If you click on one photo, it enlarges and you can scroll through the others. Last year, we did not take a camera. We used our phone’s camera and at times the iPad’s camera and the photos turned out fine.

    You can choose to LISTEN TO OUR BLOGS! Highlight and copy the text, then paste it into the left page of Google Translator at this address ...

    http://translate.google.ca/?hl=en&tab=wT#.,

    When you do this, it will automatically appear in the right page (I.e., English to English translation). Then, just click on the little speaker icon at the bottom of the right pane and you'll hear it.

     We always love receiving short comments and we especially like the questions that some of you have asked about the countries we are in. If you click the "post a comment" button at the bottom of our entries, you can easily send a short message. Remember that the blog is available for anyone (in the world) to read, so be mindful of what you say. Over 30,000 people have read our past blogs. You can still send us an email at chronny80@gmail.com, if you want to.

    By the way, if you don't want to receive these pages, please ignore the notices from Ladyandtramp or take yourself off the list. We won't be offended!

    Have a wonderful winter and keep in touch. Your little comments keep us connected with home. We love getting them.

    Connie and Chris
    a.k.a. Ladyandtramp 2022    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 2

    Toronto Airport

    January 2, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ -5 °C

    Yay! The start of the year and the start of a new trip. Omicron is raging in Canada and we are anxious to get out of here.

    In 1999, when we were teaching English in Mexico, we met a lot of wonderful young people. We have kept in touch with a few of the teachers and one special person we met, was an adventurous man from Texas, Jeremy. Well, Jeremy became a lawyer, got married to a beautiful lady, Linley, had 2 boys and the family moved to Patzcuaro, Mexico. Last year, they decided to build a house in a tiny beach town that they loved, north of Zihuatanejo, called Majahua. They asked if we wanted to rent it from them during the winter and we jumped on the offer. We don’t want to spend another winter in a condo in Ontario!

    So here we are, starting a new year, by sitting in the Toronto airport waiting to board a plane to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. The last time we were in Mexico was 705 days ago.

    Our friend, Donna, stayed overnight at our Fergus condo and at 3 a.m. we all caught a Red Car to the airport. We are all flying on Air Canada but are going to Mexico and she is going to Victoria, B.C. The weather at 3 in the morning was supposed to be blustery and cold but our drive was an easy one and we got to the airport in no time.

    I had completed all the airport info online and because we had boarding passes and carryons, we went through security in a matter of minutes.

    Very few people were in the airport. We bought a coffee and ate our egg salad sandwiches while we waited. Right on schedule, we boarded the clean plane. The two of us has 3 seats. Everything was done efficiently and in a pleasant manner. We were impressed.

    Shortly after we boarded it started to snow and blow. The blizzard had arrived! The flight was delayed by about 1/2 hour as the plane had to be de-iced and the runways cleared. We could barely see out of our window.

    By 11:45, we were flying over Dallas.

    By 1:30 p.m., we landed in Ixtapa. It was lovely to see the Mexican blue sky again. Going through immigration was a breeze as we had done all the paperwork online before we left. It is a tiny airport so we were in and out in no time.

    Jonny Cash’s car rental was a 3 minute walk away. He is a young Mexican who rents older cars with full insurance and unlimited miles for a good price. He was waiting for us and in minutes we now had a Nissan Versa with manual transmission. Jonny had been highly recommended by several gringos who come here on a regular basis. He is very professional and honest. The cars may be dinged up a bit but they run well and have good tires.

    So, onto the next job of the day, getting our groceries. About 10 km north on Hwy 200 there is a good Mega Soriana one stop store for groceries and other things. It’s like a Mexican Zehrs.

    We stocked up with basics, not knowing what Troncones, the town closest to us, has to offer. Then off to our home for the next three months.

    Troncones is a cute little tourist town right on the Pacific Ocean. The government plans on making it a bigger destination for sun lovers. Too bad. Right now it is a typical old fashioned Mexican town with a few tourists, who love to surf, roaming the streets.

    After Troncones, the road changes from being paved to a dirt road with potholes. The village of Majahua is very tiny and full of dogs and chickens. We had to stop to allow a chicken family to cross the road. At one point, we had to drive the car through a small river. Jeremy’s house is just a bit north of that. He has a long driveway, 150 yards, to the house that you can kind of see from the road, through the jungly trees.

    We had arrived and it was only 4 p.m.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 3

    The House

    January 3, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Well, we were pleasantly surprised! We had seen some photos as the house was being constructed but we really had no idea what it looked like.

    From the road, we could somewhat see the house through the jungly trees on the property. We turned down the 120m winding driveway and saw a beautiful, white house with a large swimming pool.

    I wish that I knew real estate lingo in order to describe this house properly. In a nutshell, it is a one floor house with an open living area with a modern kitchen and living room. A veranda runs the full length of the front of the house and it has a dining table in it as well as two sitting areas with rocking chairs in front of two large bedrooms. There are overhead fans everywhere, even though there is a lovely breeze that keeps the house cool.

    At the back of the house are two more bedrooms. All the bedrooms have king-sized beds or two twin beds. Each of the bedrooms has its own bathroom. The doors and windows in these rooms have screens.

    In front of what i am calling the veranda/porch lies the large, 18’ x 32’ pool. It is lovely. Shallow at one end with wide stairs going into the water and 7’ deep at the other end. It is a salt water pool, no chlorine. Refreshing.

    A lot of work has been done lately to start the landscaping of the house - palm trees, bougainvillea and other tropical plants that I don’t know the name of. A lot of the brush has been cleared so that it is private, yet open around the house.

    While we self isolate for a few days after the flight, we are enjoying the blue skies, the warm weather, the pool and listening to some good music on the Google Home machine we wisely brought with us. It is a covid free life at this point and we are very grateful for the opportunity to stay here!    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 4

    We Packed Too Much!

    January 4, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Remember the photo Chris took of our luggage? Two small backpacks and two day packs with all of our clothing in it.

    Well, we packed way too much! Haha. The winter clothes that we travelled in were packed away immediately after we arrived. Who needs a jacket, long pants, a warm fleece and long sleeved shirts here? In 30C+ weather!

    Since we arrived, I have been in and out of one tshirt and a pair of shorts as well as my bathing suit, coverup dress and sun hat. That’s it! When will I wear the other 4 tshirts, longer shorts, capris and a skirt?

    And now, after I don’t know how many years, I am thinking of buying a bikini!!! A bikini, can you imagine? Almost 70, and I am thinking of getting a bikini! Easy to take on and off and would dry quickly. There’s no one here to see me except Chris and a couple of iguanas. We are hidden in the jungle.

    The first photo is of the clothes I haven’t worn yet. The second photo is what I have been living in, minus the hat, flip flops and sunglasses    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 5

    Troncones and Majahua

    January 5, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    These two villages are so tiny that there isn’t much information about them on Google.

    Wikipedia says this…

    “Troncones (large tree trunks) is a relatively undeveloped, uncrowded beach village located about 20 miles (32 km) north west of Zihuatanejo on the coast of the state of Guerrero. It has a population of about 593 people (2005 census).[2] Hammocks and palm trees are in most yards, chickens roam the streets and loud nightlife is limited to very few weekly events, making for quiet nights. Some local hotels and restaurants offer special events such as Movie Nights and Dance Parties, mostly during the Oct-May high season. On Sundays, El Burro Boracho has shows of Mexican folkdance.

    Troncones has not been well-known until only recently. It was “discovered” by a North American sports fisherman who bought land here and convinced some of his compatriots to do the same. These property owners set up private homes or small hotels and guesthouses. Over the last 20 years, the population has grown as the local ejido benefits from increased tourism income, while maintaining a small-town aesthetic, in stark contrast to the high-rise hotels of nearby Ixtapa. On the 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) of beach, exist these houses, a few restaurants, a couple of grocery stores, and a growing number of eco-hostels, campgrounds, and surf schools. Even in the high season in the winter and spring it is possible to walk along the beach and not run into anyone.

    The major surfing area is called Troncones Point, a steady left break, where Troncones Beach meets Manzanillo Bay just to the north. Waves tend to be smaller in the winter, as the Point needs a southern swell to break well, and it is recommended for confident surfers because it is a rock bottom with some coral. There are many breaks and few surfers, especially in the low season of June - October when the swell is from the south and the breaks at Troncones Point and El Rancho can hit 25 feet (7.6 m). Breaks in Troncones tend to be gentler in the "shoulder seasons" of spring and fall, and some spots are better suited to long boarders.

    Near the beach are two sea caves in Troncones and Majahua as well as a waterfall called Cascadas Artesianas. Sportsfishing trips to the open ocean are available as well.”

    Majahua ( named after a type of flowering Hibiscus tree) is a really small village. I’m not sure if anything is written about it. There are a few houses, a couple of restaurants, a school, 2 small stores and a lady who bakes break. Chickens, dogs and cats fill the road… A vegetable/fruit truck comes a few times a week. What else? There is a nice beach with rolling waves. It seems to be shallow for a long ways out. In time, we will learn more about the interesting people who live there.

    Photos to follow…    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 6

    Three Kings’ Day

    January 6, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Every January 6, Three Kings Day is celebrated in Mexico. The children wake up very early in the morning and run to open the gifts that the ‘Three Kings of the East’ have left near the family’s Nativity scene. The day is spent playing games and spending time with extended family.

    A traditional bread called a Rosca de Reyes is served on this day. It is a large, sweet dough bread in the shape of a big donut or an oval and decorated with dried fruits. It is supposed to represent the crown that the kings wear. The fruit on it are supposed to look like the gems on the crowns.

    Hidden in the loaf is special surprise - a tiny, plastic baby Jesus. The lucky, or unlucky, person who gets this figure will have to make or buy tamales for all the guests who ate a piece of the loaf, later in the year on February 2, Candlemas Day.

    We knew about this tradition from past years, so I went hunting for a Rosca. The problem we had, was that the loaves that we found were huge, enough for 20 people. Eventually I did find a little one but there were no babies in it and we ate it all before I could get a photo.

    So luckily, I don’t have to make tamales for February 2!

    The photo isn’t one of ours but shows what the loaf looks like.

    P.S. I wrote this blog too soon. There was one piece of cake left. Chris ate it and got the baby. Not sure about his Mexican culinary skills for making tamales!    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    Day 6

    All about Food

    January 6, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    When we first arrive in any new place, we usually spend about $100 at the beginning and buy food basics, the stuff you may take on a short camping trip. I.e. milk, eggs, butter, sandwich meat, roast chicken, toilet paper, etc. We didn’t know what we could get in small Troncones, so on our way north, we stopped in Zihuatanejo at the Mega Soriana. It looks like it has everything that we may crave in the future.

    It is always so much fun to shop in a food store in other countries. Food is displayed differently and there is just a nice feel to it. Sometimes, we have to guess what things are as things are packaged differently and there are different fruits, vegetables and meats.

    Today, we went back to Zihua (1/2 hour away) to do a more through shopping. Troncones stores offer fruit, vegetables, coffee, juices and lots of seafood. But we wanted to fill the freezer with a variety of meat including sandwich meats and bacon. Mega also has several kinds of cheese and even pickles.

    I also got some bug spray, pens, notebooks and flip flops.

    It was a quick in and out with our temperatures taken at the door and everyone wearing masks and using sanitizer. We may go there once every couple of weeks.

    The little fruit and vegetable store in Troncones is called Zamora. Beside fresh fruit it also has good local Ixtapa coffee. We stopped there to get some. Several stores in town have loud parrots in cages. One set of parrots cry like babies!

    On the way back home through Troncones, we noticed that the Thursday organic market was in progress. So, we stopped in to check it out. We bought 2 amazing samosas for lunch and a jar of mango chutney. So tasty.

    Our morning shopping spree was successful but when we got home, we spotted a termite trail on the back of Jeremy’s new house. Oh oh.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    1
    Day 7

    A Walk to the Beach

    January 7, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today is Friday. We arrived 5 days ago and really haven’t left our house except to go food shopping and checking out Troncones and Majahua (not much to check out). We felt that we should self isolate for a few days while we get the lay of the land.

    We learned that garbage is collected on Mondays and Fridays here so we walked down the driveway and left our little bit of garbage across the street. People here don’t have the huge amount of packaging that we have at home so there was only a small bag of it even after grocery shopping. We love that you don’t have to buy huge quantities of anything.

    Well, once we deposited the garbage, we saw the trail that Jeremy had mentioned that we would take to get to the beach. It is wide and well taken care of. After walking around a gate, a little pack of dogs on La Princesa del Mar BnB property either heard or saw us and sounded the alarm. We thought that they were behind a fence, but no. The five or was it six dogs found a way through the fence (?) and surrounded us. Big and small, and a mix of breeds. Haha. All bark and no bite. The lady, who is our closest neighbour came out and introduced herself as Reina (queen). She said that if we needed anything, to let her or her husband know.

    We have met several people who live here now and we are pleasantly surprised that we understand them clearly. And, we are recalling our Spanish and no difficulty communicating with them. Mind you, I feel that they are speaking a little slower and enunciating well. They are thrilled to find out that we speak Spanish.

    The walk to the beach was short and when the jungle opened up we were rewarded with a lovely view - a big bay with golden-coloured sand and only 1 person on it for as far as we could see. Immediately in front of the trail, there are some large rocks on the shore but beyond that the beach is sandy with big waves. Pelicans were diving into the water and a type of sandpiper running along the edge of the waves. Very peaceful.

    We walked a little bit but the sun was intense and we hadn’t really planned on going so we weren’t prepared with a proper hat or sunscreen. We returned home and went for a cooling swim.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
    62
    Day 8

    The Mahajua Beach

    January 8, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The beach, which is about a five minute walk from the house is lovely . The sand is golden and sparkles. Very few people use it and it is full of sea-life. Sea turtles lay their eggs there and in the distance whales swim by. The pelicans dive continuously and little sandpipers skitter across the beach dueling with the approaching waves for their food.

    At one end of the beach, surfers come from all over to try out its challenging waves. We have heard of two good surfing spots, La Saladita and The Ranch, but we haven’t seen them yet.

    At the other end of the beach, there are gentle waves and people can walk in quite a ways as it is shallow. It is a great beach for walking along but at this time, we are not sure if it is a good swimming beach. There are hardly any people on it and no one seems to be swimming.    Read more

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