Bits and bobs.

At nearly 65 he's still an amazing showman. The Rocket Man launched into three solid hours of extraordinary music and I've not enjoyed a concert so much in years.

Elton John played two nights on Maui and I was instantly transported me back to my youth as he walked on to "Funeral for a friend". His voice is still very powerful and he has a cheeky charisma that made it impossible not hard to have a great time.

And now back to my regular life, pretty huh?

Drunk again.

Inspired by his blow torch, the new Julia Child of Kuau (Ulli) whipped up some creme brulees with a acetylene finish. They were bloody delicious.

Those tiny black things near the horizon are actually whales. Their hulking graceful bodies came to within 15 feet of us and it's really a wonderful experience to be in their presence.

Michelle and Ulli scored an incredible close encounter a few weeks ago, take a look. Thank goodness they're here a little while longer as I've not yet got my fill.

A couple of local inhabitants.

Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can, spins a web, any size, catches thieves just like flies, Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman.

Every so often the crab spiders go nuts and think they own the place by webbing everything in sight. They defiantly succeed in annoying me, as I can't make it from my house to the laundry room (via the back deck) without wildly flailing my arms about to clear the way. Yet as I waited for the kettle to boil for my morning brew, the sun hit a web just right.

Picking sticky thread off my arms, I investigated. Is he strong? Listen bud, he's got radioactive blood. Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead hey, there there goes the Spiderman.

Bloody impressive.

I feel like he dropped a stitch in the upper right quadrant.

And don't get me started on the snails........

Dude, how rude!

Making a sharp left outa here.

Zihuatanejo, the final chapter.

I suspect no Mexican family going on holiday would even want to stay here, it's not their style, too flash, too small, but it's perfect for the visiting gringo.

Talking of which, let me introduce Jen, Ju, Moll and yours truly behind the lens, Team Zihua.

I can see the attraction for those people have packed it all in and headed south. The Mexican's are sweet and friendly, their food is simple and tasty, there are beaches, coastline and wildlife that just don't stop and the climate gently lulls you into a slow and relaxed pace. You can spot the ex-pats a mile off and they too are friendly, even if they do have a slight air of being ever so pleased with themselves-and why not?!

I don't have kids, but am of the opinion that they grow up way too quickly in the US. I'm always thrilled when I travel to a culture that does not have an accelerated youth to adulthood paradigm. We stumbled upon a Sunday night gathering at the local outdoor basketball court and as the older kids danced for a large crowd of all ages, the younger ones painted at public easels. Youth is youthful in Mexico.

Just in case you forgot your bikini.

Boldly going nowhere.

Dear reader, do you see the cardboard box behind Jules? We were having a good gorp at the two giant snappers that lay there, all forlorn and undignified in their cardboard coffin when, bold as brass Jules asks the fisherman " 'Scuse me, can I lift up that fish"?

As I awaited my ride to the airport, I desperately snapped away, taking more pictures of a view I had already over shot.

Goodbye Casa Espiritu......

As I flew back over Maui, thanks to the recent rain it's emerald peaks were lush and inviting. It was good to be home and as I blog, I'm enjoying my trip all over again and highly suspect my screen saver won't change until my next jaunt off island.

Hasta luego.

Be the king of your world.

Author (minus ship) practicing Titanic's 'I'm the king of the world' pose.

Author finds titchy boat and Mexican Leonardo DiCaprio to (sort of) reenact the scene.

Even the local turkey vultures are getting in on the act.

Not to be out done, supreme poser Lou (the traveling wine stopper) uses the pool filter as his vessel of choice

The people we encountered were generous of spirit, kind and seemingly genuinely happy. Of course they're all hustling for your business, but you quickly forget that because they have a playful way of helping you spend your pesos. Every where we went we felt genuine appreciation and enthusiasm for simply being customers. In my everyday experiences, those subtle yet potent ingredients have (for the most part) been wrung out of many employees by corporate rules and regulations, so it was a welcome and refreshing change.

In Zihua however, spontaneity at any moment is possible, a case in point was Lucas, the Leonardo stand-in four pictures above. Not only did he efficiently wait on us all day, but when we decided to move on, when asked he grabbed us a water taxi and we walked all of 50 feet from our beach chairs to the boat and instead of waving us goodbye - he jumped in! Why?... because he could and let's face it we're fun and him jumping in was fun and what can I say, I think the world needs more fun.

Nothing says 'relax' more than some random bricks and a wooden slatted cage covered in chicken wire. Welcome to the Massage Jail, though let's be honest, nothing about this looks fun.

Talking of jail, here's another example of how religion is taken verrrrrry seriously.

Even though Zihua is not known as a surf spot, there was a little left I could see from the house that kept calling my name. The problem was equipment, as the only 'surf shops' I found only sold naff clothing with not a board in sight. So I rented one of the only two boards I could find from a local beach front restaurant. It was a 7ft sponge affair with no leash plug-so of course no leash. The line up consisted of just me, along with the birds, fish and unnervingly close coral, but put the whole thing together & it was bloody fantastic. Even though I caught just one wave on my sponge bob square pants board, I didn't care because I had such a blast communing with nature.

It's 5:00pm somewhere and talk about product placement......as you leave the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo airport this is what you see, cheers!

Arbitrary stuff.

The funky little shops all seemed to have either a family dog tootling around them or a baby sleeping contentedly on the concrete floor.

I'd say health and safety are not on the forefront of most peoples minds, it's more about eking out a living and making the most of what you have. Catch of the day anyone?

Meanwhile, back at spoiled bratville, the morning light streaming into my shower was almost a religious experience....

....which in Mexico is not something you say lightly.

As we wandered around town in the balmy evening (looking for our second daily feeding of chips and guacamole), we came across a huge crowd of young people spilling out of a well lit building. We four dawdling and mildly perplexed tourists made our way through the throng of what turned out to be a quiet, polite, and sincere congregation overflow!

Holy water.

There's an endearing quirkiness when money is an object, a nearly but not quite quality that (for me) these gates perfectly illustrate. Even at our flash pad, one set of taps had the hot and cold cross plumbed and many of the fixtures were wonkily plastered into the walls. I liked it, the pressure was off for things to be just so....to 'just be' was quite sufficient.

This guy reminded me of my paddling days at Hawaiian canoe club and in particular, an exercise to sort out who had the strength to pull the boat from the front 'stroke' seat. You were timed in a sprint run and just getting the canoe moving was no easy task (clearly I didn't make the cut). This banana boat instead moved easily with a borrowed kayak paddle, again people simply making do with what they have....and look at that lovely little left in the background!

Remember kids, exercise fist, then relax.

The Mexican people love their music and it comes across with pride and enjoyment. Though I confess to having my heart strings plucked, as well dressed grandpa's would walk the beaches playing songs from their childhood, for tips. Along with their double basses & mother of pearl accordions, many Mariachi were accompanied by their young children, passing on the musical tradition.

Wonderful stuff.

Color blind.

The Mexican people are not afraid of bright bold, primary colors. They go well with the warm strong sun and blue-green sea, infusing a subliminal message of pleasure into daily events.

Talking of blue-green....

Eating on these orange table cloths gave us a healthy glow even without the sun and mas cervezas.

Not a sombrero or pair of maracas in sight.

It was confusing walking into one shop and discovering the startling reality that it's actually three, as shop keepers magically appeared from behind their plates and bowls calling out 'Senorita, Senorita'!

Green peas.
I loved these chairs and have a vague memory of them being fashionable in the UK in the seventies, but now I'm fifty I can't remember shitze and could just be making that up.

The real market, where gringo's stick out like a sore thumb.

Ahhhhh, home sweet colorful home.