After breakfast, Tasha and I made our way to the beach. Another stinking hot day with high humidity; it was good to be near the water. Raymie and Peter were there, and after a short wait I went on the banana boat with Raymie and Tasha. I sat up the front with Tasha between my legs; she loved the bouncy parts but didn't like getting sprayed with water.
Back on the beach I took Tasha for a swim in the ocean. More squealing and jumping. Heidi was there by the time we got back to shore, and we all went for a ride on the banana boat. At $5 each, it's hard to beat.
Over lunch I realized that my back was troubling me to such a degree that I needed to do something about it. I remembered that at the far end of the beach past the sailboats was a make-shift tent where you could get an hour massage for $25. We walked over there, and while I organized a massage, Heidi went sailing with Peter and Aedan.
After the massage I felt a great deal better, and indeed ready to tackle the day's featured event. At 5pm, Heidi, Raymie, and I hopped into a taxi and drove for about 30 minutes to Playa Larga (Long Beach), near the town of Zihuatanejo. You may remember Zihuatanejo from The Shawshank Redemption as the paradise that Andy planned to escape to. Although they actually filmed the Zihuantanejo scene the US Virgin Islands, this area boasts some spectacular beaches that we had a great time exploring:
Our horses definitely had some personality; mine refused to let any other horse get in front of him, and as such frequently jolted forward to head off any young upstart colt who fancied himself a leader. Heidi's horse was a lazy beast; after noticing that he refused Heidi's orders to trot, our guide (Pastore Sanchez; more on him later) gave Heidi a motiviational instrument (visible in her left hand above), which had very little effect (other than making Heidi feel sorry for the horse.)
Nevertheless, we had a magical time exploring the beach around sunset:
Back at the ranch, we were offered our choice of beer or soda, with only the beer being actually available (what can I say: it was a tough holiday!) Riding is thirsty work; enough so that Heidi had her second ever beer:
Pictured with Heidi is the aforementioned Pastore Sanchez, a true character. He speaks enough English and we enough Spanish in order to have a conversation with him about the Mexican rodeo that was playing on a nearby TV:
"So, Pastore, have you ever done that?"
"Si, amigo. When I was young and...."
"Loco?"
"Si, crazy niño! One time..."
(he starts miming the actions of a matador)
"I stand there, bull, he ees theees"
(mimes a bull snorting and pawing the ground)
"I want to run away, but nothing happen.... Mi sopladores: up here," he says, indicating his throat.
"Sopladores? Um??"
He looks right at Raymie: "What you say them? Testículos?"
Raymie is a bit embarassed: "Um, we say.... I don't know.... balls?"
"BALLS? You say BALLS?"
It was hard to have a meaningful conversation after that, as everyone in the vicinity was roaring with laughter. So next time you're on Playa Larga in Zihuatanejo, ask Señor Sanchez about his cojones :-).
Taxi ride back to the resort in time for the "International"-themed dinner and this desktop wallpaper sunset:
Friday
Our last full day in Mexico. We had a lazy breakfast, and made it down to the beach in time for Tasha's turn riding a "horse" on the beach:
Coincidentally, a beach volleyball game was just starting so I joined that while Heidi filmed Tasha's adventure.
At noon we caught a water taxi across to Ixtapa island, which is about a mile offshore (visible in the sunset above). This expedition was billed as "Lobster Lunch", and didn't disappoint:
...although it could equally have been called "Lazy Liquid Lunch", as alcohol and hammocks were both free of charge:
After a quick splash in water to freshen up, we caught a taxi back to the mainland, where I summoned the courage to join the circus:
They offered trapeze training each day of the week, but it wasn't until our last day that I was able to make it. It was a lot of fun but rather disorienting: trying to remember what you were supposed to do, remembering which way was up, all while listening to the coaches and trying not to look like a fool. On my second attempt I completed the routine: a leg swing followed by a backwards somersault dismount, but time ran short before I could get on to the more exciting part which involved being caught by a coach on the other swing.
Next up we attended the Mini Club Med awards ceremony, where Tasha (and all the other kids) got a medal and gave us a semi-rehearsed dance routine.
Dinner on our last night was definitely the culinary highlight of the entire holiday: "Chef's Showcase", featuring duck a l'orange, quail, canapes, and all manner of delicious deserts that tasted as good as they looked:
The River of Tequila!
Nordic salmon with canapes; quail with raisin.
Dessert to die for!
So that was about it! We all enjoyed Mexico, but by this time we were ready to head home. We're not sure where our next adventure will take us... I'm hoping to do a summer trip into the Cascade mountains, but for now.... adiós, amigos!
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