Zihuatanejo - Part 3!

Ole! My apologies for taking a tid of a bit longer to do a Part 3 on "Zihua".

Back to the tour that I had eluded to; which was going to be a 4 hr tour. Hmmmm.

Our taxi driver & tour guide, Andreas, picked us up at 9;15 am in the am; and we did not return until 4:15 pm! We had such an outstanding day; that it will be forever engrained in our memories!

Andreas, is quite the entrepreneur; and his English is excellent! He was extremely knowledgable and took us to a few places that "tourists" do not generally go to.
We went to the "old part" of Zihua; he lives in that section. There are some buildings that are 400 years old!

We also went in the opposite direction, up one of the hills to overlook Zihua; and it was just fabulous! We also, were able to catch a glimpse of Owen Lee's retreat; awesome bay location.

We continued along the coast; and ended up at a beach - which was absolutely picture perfect! - White sands, turquoise ocean, coconut trees - everything. There was a "cantina" for visitors (a tid too early in the am to devour a bit of beer!) and a few small concessions. Apparently, the whole beach front has been bought up for hotel / condo developments, which will include a major road to the Ixtapa Airport, within the next 2 years. This area, "Playa Larga", is only 10 to 15 mins away from Zihua; and is a small town known for its farming and production of pineapples.

We continued weaving our way further up the coast; stopping in at a special treed place, where Iguanas thrive! They enjoy eating the trees' fruit, "coacuyul" - little fruit; we ate some as well. Delicious! There were so many of the Iguanas! Different sizes, colours, the works! Mothers carrying babies on their backs; the colours all blending in with the trees and vegetation around them! That was, indeed, a rare treat for us! And, mango plantations all around us! Andreas' son also plays soccer on the field, beside the Iguanas.

Andreas then took us to his friends' "brick factory" of making tiles. We were shown how to create a mold of brick tiling from the damp, reddish, "cementish" mud; found in the nearby stream. The hot sun dries out this rich earth dirt; after it is in a mold. The mix consists of wet earth dirt, donkey doo doos (more than we need to know...but a good holding bit) and, out of that, the tile is formed in a mold container, and is left to dry in the torrid heat. Thus produced, you can envision the reddish earth coloured roof tiles! Ole! Small wonder the Mexicans are so dexterious in their daily labour; and equipped to handle the perpetual rays of unrelenting sun on their brown bodies. I even wondered a tid, if they ever use a bit of "sun screen". But, no, they never have need of a "block"; whereas, "us" - different story. This was a spot that most people do not have the luxury of visiting; so we felt very blessed that we were taken there. As we said to Andreas, "We are in your hands; so we trust you". And trustworthy and protective, he was towards us - throughout!

We continued on. Drove past a few sparse villages; and finally drove into one - which looked quite small, until you got right into the town, called Petatlan. Lots of GOLD; beautiful pieces. Concessions and stands everywhere; amongst tid narrow and winding bit streets. We enjoyed browsing; and thought "next time", we will buy something; as we were not expecting this delight. There was an old Catholic Church there, 300 years old! Fabulous architecture!

We passed by La Salsalinas; a tid of a town that had access to a large salt ground; ie a salt lake. Very intriguing! Along the highway, there were jars of salt and coconut candies being sold! Next time! - "mon yana!" LOL! Also, this is all pictured against the background of the Sierra Madres Mountain Range. Imagine, on one side, there are the mountains, and on the other side, the coast. There were some more beaches we stopped at; GREAT for surfing! ie La Barrita Beach, I think.

We then went to a "national beach" - Elcavario. Absolutely fantastic! There was a lookout "restaurant" that overlooked that beach and a public beach. The "national beach" (government owned) was unsafe for swimming - high waves and dangerous undertow. The other beach, which was also gorgeous, was also not safe for swimming.
It was from the lookout, that we saw a school of dolphins! That made my day! At first, Andreas thought "sharks" - but, they were not; although, they were at least 10 feet long! And, we were up "high!" gazing down below at the cliffs. We enjoyed a beer there. As a bittid, I had to use the washroom. Well, it was not like ours - put it that way. There is always something to learn!

We had already been gone for 4 wonderful hours! Where did the time vanish? So, we wended our way back; through slow snail's pace traffic. A one way road; and when you have logging trucks, literally crawling along, you resign yourself to "mon yana!" We passed by graveyards, enshrined with beautiful flowering trees; donkeys; other concessions; etc. Bit of tid - Garbage...garbage is strewn along the side of the road; that very act, encourages employment and enables the workers to come by, stack up the garbage in neat tidy bags. Ultimately, the trucks come by to pick up the waiting piles. We saw school children going home for the "siesta". School starts very early in the ams; and finishes at lunch time.

We then did a quick tour into Ixtapa - looks like a mini Miami or Waikiki. Very lovely; what's not to like? Tall and grand hotels; with their spectacular long stretch of beach fronts; with wonderful, majestically created craggy "rocks appearing" in the ocean. Idylic! Movie set scenario; perfecto! And the restaurants, shops, are to die for, so we are told!

We returned to Zihua; and went to a fabulous restaurant; low key; but the best Mexican food. Andreas was making sure we enjoyed authentic food; and he ended up eating Chinese food. Thought that was quite funny! Here is a Mexican who is ordering Chinese food; his first ever. We had had a little experience with Mexican cuisine, but this was just awesome! And the atmosphere was just right! We will go back there, when we return to Zihua. As lovely as Ixtapa is, we left our hearts in Zihuatanejo! It is a small fishing village; but so picturesque.

Unfortunately, our tour had come to a close; it was almost 4:00; we bought Andreas lunch. Should mention that that particular day was 36 degrees celcius; very warm; and when you hear a Mexican saying it is hot, you begin to wonder! We were relieved; so was Andreas, that his cab had air conditioning! It was the best way to spend an exceedingly warm day!
And, on the winding way up to our hotel, we stopped at the local convenience store, to restock on our "supplies". We gave Andreas a six pack; which he truly appreciated! LOL! We and him, look forward to many years of friendship! A very lovely man.

And that evening, we thoroughly enjoyed our terrace! You can see the photos; not hard to picture! We had some "saved up" snacks; and with the "late lunch", we had no room to digest a full course dinner. So, it was just perfect! We stayed up with the stars! Beautiful sunset, clear skies, countless stars, vivid moon, the lighted up shrimp boats in the bay, the village lights, the whole 9 yards of charm! It was the best view of La Ropa Beach and its protective bay.

Am going to close off for now...as dinner is approaching. There may be a bit of a Part 4 on Zihua; I am going to attempt to move all the Zihuatanejo adventures together, so that it is a tid easier for you to read; rather than you sourcing out the various post dates, searching for tids here and bits there!

In the meantime, here is wishing you all a nice Sunday evening. Please feel free to comment!

Until Mon yana!

God Bless.