Sliding Back to the Sea

This past week spent traveling, edging ever closer to the sea. First, a few days in big city Guadalajara, where we scouted out the public murals by Jose Clemente Orozco, who, along with Diego Riviera, developed a strong style for Mexican painting in the mid 20th century. The image of the ship in a storm above is one small panel - and an anomaly in that it isn’t particularly political – from the several large murals in public buildings decorated by Orozco in Guadalajara. Still, this small painting seemed like a reminder that we were too far from the ocean.
Next we spent a few days in the mountains near Guadalajara, hiking in forests of pine and oak and soaking in pools fed by natural hot springs. It wasn’t the ocean, but it was a taste of open space in Mexico, and most welcome.
Finally, we traveled down to Zijuatenejo on the Pacific Coast, where it is hot and sunny, and the ocean is warm. This is by far the most tourist oriented place we have visited in Mexico, and has the best plumbing. Today, we rented a hobie cat, and sailed at great speed around the bay in the very warm water, a real return to the ocean. We are also here to take advantage of a gathering of cruising sailors who gather here each year to share information and raise funds for the Zijuatenejo school children. Tomorrow, we will hitch a ride on a boat from Seattle for a day sail, and will have a chance to learn from our hosts some of what they have experienced in their trip from the Pacific Northwest to Mexico.