Zihoutenejo for the holidays

We left la Cruz December 1, 2011 right smack at the starting gun for this years Bandaras Bay Blast. Timing is everything right. Our destination Zihoutenejo for the holidays. We made a few stops along the way at Tenacatita and Las Hadas. The weather was warm and sunny for our trip but there was a lot of swell in the sea. I was a bit mal de mar. We saw jumping tuna, turtles, dolphins and of course a few fishing nets along the way. I really don't do to well with lack of sleep, I start hearing music that is not playing. In the past it was always The Magigal mystery tour, this trip I heard and old western tune (the one where the horses gallop).

Well we arrived here December 12 and put the anchor down for the holidays. This is our second visit to Zihoutenejo. We are familiar with most things in walking distance. The weather is warm, the water is warm 89 degrees. Doesn't really feel like Christmas. I took out my gallon size bag of decorations and was done decorating in about two minutes. I also found some solar Christmas type lights so they are outside on our solar panels, flashing!

We don't have any big plans, in fact no plans for Christmas. We are going to meet up with my sister in laws sister "Dorothy and her family" who frequently come to Zihoutenejo from the pacific northwest.

My friend Carol from Santa Rosa on board SVStraycat sent me this interesting news regarding the poinsettia plants that we see everywhere.

It seems like everywhere we go we see poinsettias – at the tienda (convenience store) ferreteria (hardware store) in the doorways and by the cash register, restaurants, offices, homes and even street taco stands as well as in the churches.  They are sold at markets and from the back of pick-up trucks. The plethora of poinsettias prompted us to inquire about their significance.  We were told the poinsettia was originally used by the Aztecs who called it “Cuetlaxochitle” (don’t ask me how to pronounce that). The Aztecs used the sap from the plants to reduce fevers and to make a reddish-purple dye.  It is said that Montezuma, the last Aztec King, brought the flowers from Southern Mexico in caravans to Mexico City because the poinsettia would not grow at the higher altitudes. 
 
In Mexico it is called “Flor del Noche Buena” (Christmas Eve Flower or literally Flower of the Good Night) or in Central America the “Flame Leaf.”  In North America it became known as the Poinsettia and was so named after Dr. Joel Poinsett, who was the first United States Ambassador to Mexico from 1825 to 1829.  The plants are native to the Taxco area in Mexico and while Dr. Poinsett was visiting the region he fell in love with the flowers and shipped some to his own nursery in Greenville, South Carolina where they were also given to several other nurseries to eventually be grown commercially.  The Poinsettia starts out with star shaped green leaves that turn into a deep red at the top.  Nowadays at home we see white ones, pink ones and variegated ones as well as the traditional red. 
 
Naturally there is a wonderful legend in Mexico as to how the flower became used to celebrate Christmas.  The story begins with a poor girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo (or cousin, Pedro, depending on who tells the story).  Maria was very sad because she was so poor she had nothing to give the baby Jesus in the manger scene in the Village Church.  On Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) on the way to church Maria picked some “weeds” to make a bouquet to leave at the manger scene.  Her little brother (or cousin) said to her, “it does not matter what you give as long you give it in love”.  Naturally the other children in the village teased them until they saw the “weeds” turn from green to a bright red right before their eyes as Maria knelt at the altar.  The whole village then realized they had witnessed a true Christmas miracle and from that day forward the plant became known as the “Flor del Noche Buena.”