We had a wonderful tour the other day. All of the crew of Mungo and Cat's-Paw IV plus all our visitors went on the tour so we had 9 in the van. We had a great driver who was a local who knew all the names of the people we went to visit and had grown up with them, super inside stories.
It was a 5 hour tour that included lunch. We visited a coconut plantation, a famous church that has seen many miracles, a market that is know for it's gold work, had lunch at a lovely spot locat
ed on a lagoon that housed a crocodile and toured around the city of Ixtapa. The coconut plantation fascinated all of us, we were shown how to split them, husk them and the old fashioned way of shredding coconut. The fellow that was demonstrating all the skills still hold the coconut splitting record. He did over 1700 in one day. you line them us and just hack away with an axe at them and they just lie there and the milk just pours out on the ground. We had a tasted of the coconut apple, which is the seed inside that grows to start a new plant if the growth is not stopped. I am not a big coconut fan but after tasting the freshly shredded stuff I was a convert!!
ed on a lagoon that housed a crocodile and toured around the city of Ixtapa. The coconut plantation fascinated all of us, we were shown how to split them, husk them and the old fashioned way of shredding coconut. The fellow that was demonstrating all the skills still hold the coconut splitting record. He did over 1700 in one day. you line them us and just hack away with an axe at them and they just lie there and the milk just pours out on the ground. We had a tasted of the coconut apple, which is the seed inside that grows to start a new plant if the growth is not stopped. I am not a big coconut fan but after tasting the freshly shredded stuff I was a convert!! The church was an eye opener, when we got there, people were on their knees, kneeling down the aisle. I can't think of another way of describing it. They would line across the very wide aisle and proceed down the aisle of the church on their knees. I guess years ago p
eople would walk on their knees for miles and arrive at the church with bloody knees to show their devotion. The priest stopped it by suggesting that God knew they were devoted and did not need to have bloody knees to prove it. Outside the church their was a line of new cars sitting their with their hoods up. People bring their new cars to the church to be blessed. I wonder if it works????? The stained glass windows were a work of art.
eople would walk on their knees for miles and arrive at the church with bloody knees to show their devotion. The priest stopped it by suggesting that God knew they were devoted and did not need to have bloody knees to prove it. Outside the church their was a line of new cars sitting their with their hoods up. People bring their new cars to the church to be blessed. I wonder if it works????? The stained glass windows were a work of art. The driver was very knowledgable and told us about the local wildlife, the mango and coconut plantations, and the history of the area. The aboriginals used to send a man every year to be sacrificed to the Aztec gods, so this place became known as Zihualan or the woman's place because soon there were more women that men, interesting.
We are planning on seeing in the New Year on the beach, so that should be a lovely time. I hope wherever you are you have a Happy and Festive New Year. I wonder where we will be this time next year. Stay Safe. 
