January 1. 2009

Hi Family !!!

We cooked three turkeys in Steve’s pit for Xmas and potlucked the rest for
a vast number of people then had a music party afterwards with the new
band made up of the local expats who have decided to really practice and
go professional. They played again for New Year’s Eve at the Hotel last
night , and we had boats take us over and bring us back to the pier in
town. Then we had to close down the Yacht Club. Hugged Rita and Nora on
the dance floor admits all the Happy New Year hugs and kisses and they
looked adorable. Today we are finishing up three days of having Julio
Carrillo, a Huichol Shaman, doing healing all day up on my bed. I had put
posters up around town and ended up with quite a crowd, each getting three
treatments, one each day. All this amidst the regular Xmas crowd here for
happy hours and many meals, Roger bringing in fresh fish every day, and
people wanting to see the Huichol art. Took some major balancing acts.
All fun, tho, and all super people. Even Rick and Valerie just arrived to
stay a month.

Added to this I went in to PV on the 30th to meet Paloma, PePes
granddaughter and her two kids, the girl 12 and the boy 9. I brought them
back with me just for the night and most of today, and they just left to
go back to PV to be with Paloma’s mother in a time share. The man in
PePes moved out for the night so they got to sleep there and we shared a
lot of PePe stories so the kids could get a better feel of him and his
space. It was so special to reunite with Paloma after 15 years or so of
not seeing each other.

Before they left Sef came running up saying we should go see the dolphins
he had just spotted coming back from the Boca, so 10 of us jumped into the
panga and we headed out towards the islands. Before long we spotted the
spouts and tails and soon were running along beside about 10 humpbacks and
several dolphins all cruising together, feeding and rolling and leaping,
then going under and emerging soon again. Once they emerged heading
straight for the boat like torpedoes which was both thrilling and
frightening . Sef moved aside pretty fast. We watched for an hour or so
mingling our Ooohs and Aaah amidst the puffing of air and splashes of
tails. The best show any of us had ever seen in the wild. Was so glad
Paloma and her kids were there to enjoy it. We were all speechless when
we got back to our beach, like we had just shared a deep religious
experience. A great symbolic launching for the New Year.

Roger took me fishing out at the islands ,too, on one of his trips and I
caught a huge Sierra (spanish mackerel) 6 bonita (like tuna). and about 6
churros (red meat bonitas) which I threw back. Roger was hooking up the
same, often both of us at the same time. Very exciting. There were half
a dozen other boats touring the same stretch of water where the islands
continue but surface as rocky outcroppings only, and they were all
catching as much as we were.

The days continue to be warm and sunny and the sea the perfect temperature
with no jelly fish. Don’t any of you want to come down ? Get out of that
snow and ice ? On the 5th I am joining Lynn and Suzanne to drive down to
LaManzanilla , down the coast a ways, where we have various friends living
or building homes. We will spend a few days then be back. And on the
20th we are all going to the PV Botanical Gardens to party and watch Obama
get sworn in on a big screen. I have a wedding to do that evening and on
the 18th at Verana. I also have an invitation to a free day at their
$250. a day Day Spa so I will be able to promote it. Doubt any of my
friends will be interested as we have Beverly and the ocean for a lot
less, but it will be fun anyway.

Oh, I got a call yesterday from Peter Collings sister saying Peter had
just died the day before ! Not sure of the cause but she said he had
seemed weaker and they ended up putting him in the hospital, against his
protests, and that he had eaten food they had brought him, but continued
getting weaker and just slipped away. I was and am so shocked as I spoke
with him recently about doing the second printing on the first book we did
together on the Huichol Shaman. I feel so sad that he didn’t get his book
about his personal time with the Huichols published before he died but
plan to work with Dahlia, the Mexican woman that has been his friend and
helper these past few years in Tepic, to see if we can do it for him, post
humorously. Also wondering about his vast collections of photographs and
how we can be sure his kids benefit from them.

Lots more I could write about, but I had better get some work done before
the crowd arrives for the fish fry tonight. I’m feeling so grateful for
my life and health up to this point, blessed to have all of you to love
and be loved by, and looking forward to whatever we and the rest of the
world can do to keep this precious planet from destroying us for our sins
against it. Mama Zizz

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