We ate our dinner on the boat and decided to head into town (a short row in the dinghy) to see if we could find something going on over a beer or two.

Mandy Minor (see her very own gallery to the right) was left snoozing in the dark alongside the sturdy pangas on the beach. We sauntered slowly along the malecon past bars and restaurants with names such as La Sirena Gorda (The Chubby Mermaid), Café Marina and Coconuts.

As we neared the zocalo and public amphitheatre an expectant crowd of Mexican families were settling themselves into the seating area. A man in a red shirt propping up a lamp post leaned our way and advised us to stay "pocos minutos" as he stated something very special was about to begin that we would like. Say no more guv'nor! We joined the masses to find a place to sit down.

The following video will give you a taste of what we saw. The dances were typical of the states of Guererro, Jalisco, Campeche, Michoacan and Tabasco. Half way through the show the MC who was dressed in the traditional vestidos del campo, pulled out two bottles of Mescal, a kind of tequila and sent them around the crowd with ceramic shot glasses for all over eight years old who wished to try it. Tequilla is made mostly in Jalisco and the intention was that another layer of the culture from Jalisco be poured upon us.Yes!

The Instituto Danza Folklorico en Zihuatantejo is just one of the organizations who participate weekly in the demonstration of Mexican culture for the people of the town. These events are common all across Mexico and are free, you just have to show up and it's yours.




After being soaked with culture, we wandered some more, ate an ice cream and decided to try and find the venue for the final night of Zihua's week long International Guitar festival. We walked through the streets and by 9.30 pm had found the place on the outskirts of town. Half of the programme was over so they let us in for half price, only 150 pesos for both of us or U.S. $10.00.

The town has hosted this event for six years with all the proceeds going to yet more cultural enrichment for the people. The next video shows three clips from the final performances. Guitar heroes came from Canada, U.S. Spain, Mexico, Ukraine and Panama this year. Doug Towle and his duet "De La Terra" are first and then is a clip from the end of the show jam session that stretched on into the wee hours.

What a night! If you want to plan your next holiday, come to Zihuatanejo for Guitar Fest next year. The town is one of our favorite so far on this trip. The beaches are drop dead gorgeous, there's diving, fishing or sailing and on and on. The Mexican people are truly hospitable and sweet and everything is really inexpensive. Why go anywhere else?