Vive Mexico!
Trip Start
Feb 28, 2009
1
34
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
La Casa del Suenos
Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
NAY ho), which is in the Mexican state of Guerrero. We picked this town solely based on what we saw online as far as: population (not too big or too small), access to many different beaches, and the potential for lots of restaurants to choose from.
Zihuatanejo, or "Zihua" as the locals call it, is a fairly new city. There are no giant cathedrals or colonial buildings like you would find in Mexico City or Oaxaca. Up until the early to mid 20th century it was just a small fishing village. But with the Mexican resort boom in the early seventies, the area were perfect for building a government planned resort village nearby called Ixtapa.
Its the best of both worlds. If you want to stay in a resort area with mega-resort amenities then Ixtapa is your place. If you want to experience rural Mexican living, like we do, then Zihua is for you. Its just a ten minute bus ride between the two so we have been back and forth several times.
We have found a nice little hotel that only has four rooms, called La Casa del Suenos. We are in the largest room with a kitchenette, tv, hot water (which we never use now), a/c, the works for just 4500 pesos for the month. Mostly we spend our time in the market shopping for veggies and fresh bread to bring home or having lunch at our regular lunch counter for a couple of bucks each. The food in the market is terrific. Better than anything we've had so far in a restaurant. Actually, its the best food we've had on our entire trip!
Usually though its too hot to walk around town shopping so we go to one of the beaches around Zihua. There are many, and to be honest they are way better than anything you'll find in Ixtapa. Our favorite by far is Playa Las Gatas. Its a five minute boat ride from the town pier and there are no roads leading to it so it feels very isolated. Crowded at times because its so small, but definitely separate from everything else. The beach is full of restaurants from end to end, the water is crystal clear for swimming and snorkeling, and there is even a small surf break. We have made some friends at a couple of restaurants there and have become regulars. Last time we were there we were with friends from town and we got to enjoy a feast that the restaurants owner, Noyo, had made for us. Right on the waters edge, under the umbrellas. It almost felt decadent.
