What’ s the worst sound you want to hear when you’re on vacation in a beach town? Rain on the roof! I woke up on our last day in Zihau to pounding rain along with thunder and lightning. The lights flickered, went out for a few minutes and came back on. Rain is basically unheard of in Zihua at this time of year but like everywhere else on the planet the weather is weird. I went out onto the patio; it was heavily overcast and showering with no sign of a sunrise.
Well, what to do. During breakfast, which is outside poolside, one of the guests suggested we go to Potosi, a town with restaurants on the beach and known for its lagoon where winter birds from the north migrate and it was only a 40 minute drive. Okay. Sounded good.
So off we went. Driving along we suddenly saw there was something going on up ahead. It was a funeral procession with the casket being carried across a major road and a parade of people following behind with a few men playing instruments, kind of like a New Orleans funeral. It was a photo-op and Roy had to take advantage of it. People were sobbing and Roy was running alongside the procession taking pictures. I asked in my broken spanish “es muy importante?” and I was told it was a very much-loved person from the town. The casket was put into a van and off it went. We got back into the car and continued on our road trip.
Turning off the highway we followed a rural country road paralleling the ocean until we finally came to Potosi. Not much but a funky town. Along the road there were signs for restaurants on the beach and we were flagged into a parking lot by the owner of one of the restaurants.
The restaurants are simple and line the beach. The fish is fresh. We were immediately adopted by the owner who allowed us to go inside the kitchen where his family was busy cooking. His restaurant was family owned and there were many generations in the kitchen. Everything from scratch. The grandmothers hovering over a hot open clay oven where the cooking is done over charcoal. The fish that was caught just hours ago was being filleted. I picked a red snapper caught an hour before. Roy chose some local shrimp since he’s allergic to fish. Our waiter was a kid who had lived and went to school in Texas and loved talking to us. He moved back to Mexico because he loves his town, got married and has a little baby and loves his job being a waiter at this restaurant.
If it had been a sunny day we would have spent it on the beach and would never have seen Potosi or the funeral or the slice of local Mexican life.
It’s like Roy says: “we made lemonade out of lemons”!
Stay tuned for my final thoughts on Mexico.
Until then, see you at the bar…..
Maybe someday, I’ll be wandering around the world, too. Love your blog.
This June, finally get one of my wishes. Rafting on the Colorado. Wish me luck and fun.
Terie
Yes I’m going. Like to do it since it only comes up every 5 and who knows how many that means.
I’m actually renting a cabin in S Hero for the week previous to the reunion, so I’ll be around before it happens.
Wow!!! Such great photos. Guess it was a good thing it rained!