Zihau

Ixtapa/Zihautanejo share an airport.  That’s where the similarity ends.  Ixtapa is a resort designed by the Mexican government, think Cancun.  Big hotels, manicured boulevards, strip malls, restaurants, secure condominiums.  Zihautanejo or Zihau as it’s called by the locals is a town which grew from 8,000 to 80,000 when people came to work at the Ixtapa hotels and restaurants.  It was just a sleepy fishing village and the fishermen still bring their catch in every day.  It’s got personality and the most beautiful beach, Playa Ropa.  Zihau is more our style and its where we spent the last few days of our vacation.

Cinco Sentidos, our base of operations.  It’s a 10.  Built into a hill, it’s five suites with an open wall design to the outside, a pool in each suite overlooking Playa Ropa, stylish and comfortable, a place you can really hang out in (for more on Cinco Sentidos read my review in Trip Advisor).  We were greeted by Heiko and Araceli, the owners and consummate hosts.  Heiko is a chef.  His breakfasts are creations and we couldn’t wait to see what the next breakfast would bring.

We settled in and walked down to the beach for lunch at Paty’s, recommended by Araceli. A couple of beers with fish tacos for me and shrimp tacos for Roy.

Zihau is divided into two areas.  The tourista side with restaurants, shops and the bay, where the fishing boats come in

The other side of the street is the Mercado, street after street of markets and shops, selling everything you can imagine and home to Carmelita’s.  I’ll talk about that in my next post.

The new heading for my blog was made by an artist in Zihau who makes signs from cut up Mexican license plates.

Day 2 in Zihau was a beautiful beach day, the only one we had.  There are no private beaches in Mexico so you just decide where you want to be, pay a guy some pesos and buy food or drink from wherever you’re sitting.

Roy took a walk down the beach and ended up playing some volleyball.  I settled in with Diane Keaton’s memoir Then/Again.

And then, it was lunch time.  Some locally caught Pacific lobster a la plancha with a couple of beers and some warm tortillas.  The best part was the music on the beach.  Two guys singing from table to table.  Roy asked them if they knew La Bamba.  Their faces lit up and they played it with all their heart.  It was a great moment!

The day ended with dinner in Ixtapa at Villa del la Selva.  We were only going for the sunset but we had an appetizer of grilled squid with sushi grade rice that was so outstanding we decided to stay for dinner.  Caesar salad composed table side, and fettucine with shrimp in cream sauce.  Dessert-chocolate three ways: a spoonful of mousse, Mexican hot chocolate and a flourless chocolate cake – sensational!  Oh, and the sunset wasn’t too shabby!

That’s it for today.

See you at the bar….