Mexico is hot! Well, at least the area we landed in. Today was the first official day of our vacation even though we left the island yesterday. Overnighting in the hotel in Seattle was indeed a great idea, even though the wake up call was at 4am to catch a shuttle. The airport was uneventful as it should be with a stop in LAX to switch planes and breakfast. I had brought along oatmeal for Sabrina and I but a sit down meal sounded better. 
The “we’re on vacation!” mentality seems to have already seeped in, but I had better keep it in check for my bank account’s sake.
On the second flight from LAX to ZIH we had an entire row of the 737-900 all to ourselves so we sat the three kids on one side and we adults on the other. 
It was a nice 3.25 hour flight with some chop here and there, but nice to see the Sea of Cortez out the window most of the way down. And then the topography go bumpier with more vegetation. Slowly the arid browns softened to include more greens as we got deeper into the tropics. The final decent into Zihuatanejo had some decent bumps, enough to elicit a shriek or two from other passengers along with plenty of nervous laughter. I’m never a fan of a plane suddenly dropping even 10 feet while close to the ground but we had a head wind to deal with.
Zihautanejo’s airport is a small affair with wheel up exit steps. As we walked closer to the rear of the plane the anticipated heat grew bolder and thicker until 
Sabrina was the first to emerge into the bright Mexican sun atop the steps. Stopping a moment as I asked her for a photo (top), we then headed into Immigration and Customs, waiting in more than one line. One cool thing for stamp collectors, they actually stamped our passports upon entry, Sabrina’s first (even though it’s her second time into Mexico)! To help combat swine flu Mexican officials (or someone in a white lab coat) greeted us after Immigration to check our temperature with a surface thermometer. We also had to fill out a form about possible symptoms which was summarily ignored when I handed it to the gentleman.
Luggage, Customs (I got a red light and was searched…..they didn’t find the contraband pear I brought without knowing it. But that’s ok, because it was pretty squished when we got to the condo), ATM for some pesos and then a cab to the condo. And my, what nice condos we have! Dan and Amy and the kids have a two bedroom unit with balconies overlooking the ocean. Sabrina and I have a great spot as well with two entrances (one leading directly to the two infinity pools!!) and views of the ocean. Most of the time, when you look out our front windows, there’s a sailboat perfectly framed in the glass door.
The condo is well appointed and has air conditioning (which is nice at night), full kitchen, filtered water and a lot of storage. After settling in we headed down to the pools for a dip. It’s hot here, in the high 80’s, low 90’s with lots of humidity to the point where I already have medium curls in my hair, so the pool felt really good. Just the right temperature. Ahhhh….it’s a good life. Some very interesting birds called from the tops of umbrellas with a song I can’t even type correctly. I will try to get a recording of them before we leave as it’s very melodic and unlike any I’ve heard.
After the dip we headed into town in a taxi (6 people CAN fit in a Chevy Mailbu) for some dinner at Bandidos. One thing we’ve noticed about the town, especially after heading out to dinner, is the general lack of activity. The restaurant was at about 30% capacity and others we passed were the same. Our flight down was full, but it seems the swine flu is still having a large effect on 
travel into Mexico from this one little slice I’ve seen.
Sabrina wasn’t too fond of dinner as the two plates we got both had too much spice. I need to remember that in the future because even the mild stuff down here is too hot for her. We’ll be doing some of our cooking in the condos as well so it’ll be ok. Before dinner was over Sabrina and Cody were both falling asleep at the dinner table. As we were finishing dinner the rains came…..and went. 
It’s quick down here with rains coming and going. Even the manager of the restaurant complained that it’d be nice for the rains to say for an hour or more to keep the dust settled.
Back at the condo Sabrina was sacked out pretty quickly. I woke up a couple times through the night as heavy rains came and went, the sound of pouring rain right outside our door. And then the thunder boomed right near the room and I sat and watched the awesome lighting storm from the picture windows looking over the ocean. I love thunderstorms. That’s the forecast for most of this week. It’s going to be a great week.