Zest for Life in Zihuatanejo, Mexico Lina Broydo - Epoch Times
go to original March 14, 2012

Living la vida loca was my dream getaway come true when we reached Zihuatanejo Bay, the magical, oyster-shaped, natural harbor on the Pacific Coast of the Mexican Riviera in the State of Guerrero.

The whirlpool of hectic and exciting activities related to our family’s birthday and anniversary celebrations, school graduations, and four weeks of babysitting our two adorable, but very inquisitive and energetic grandkids, left us craving for a great escape. The coast was clear: our paradise was found in Zihuatanejo, an enchanting vacation destination in Mexico.

During the 10 days of tranquility, we traded our palm pilot for the palm trees as we felt our life’s tensions wash away with the playful tides reaching the golden premier beach.

We were fortunate to find extraordinary accommodations at Playa La Ropa’s beachfront Club Intrawest with its stunning architecture of cascading tiers of rooms and suites, beautiful swimming pools with well-stocked bar, spa, gourmet and casual restaurants, verandas with hot tubs, and balconies overlooking the gorgeous Zihuatanejo Bay.

The hotel’s very friendly, energetic activities desk personnel were eager to perfectly orchestrate numerous tours, outings, and sports activities. This included swimming with the dolphins, fishing, scuba, sailing, horseback riding, viewing exceptional birds, crocodile, turtle, and iguana watching, a butterfly observatory, golfing, and—for the piece de resistance—the lively Mexican Fiesta under the moon on one of Club Intrawest’s terraces.

But we were on vacation, remember? The planned rules for our personal energy were to rest, relax, rejuvenate, refresh, and reenergize, with the only fitness exercise allowed being the squeezing of the sunscreen tube.

While lounging on the hotel’s private beach, we met Diane and Mark from Detroit who became our companions for a few fulfilling outings to downtown Zihuatanejo’s culinary establishments. Mark, who is an avid deep-sea fisherman, returned successfully from an expedition at sea with a splendid 60-pound dorado, the star of the local fish family.

With this treasured cargo, we zipped to the downtown Bandido’s Restaurant and Bar where the chef offered to grill our freshly delivered catch-of-the-day served with stuffed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, Bandido’s secret sauce, and fresh, prepared-at-the-table salsa and guacamole.

Uncorking and sipping Mexico’s vibrant wines, produced by the country’s award winning boutique wineries exclusively for the restaurants, added local gourmet flair to our dining experience. While salsa, trova, and bolero dancing to the restaurant’s live music band, we all agreed, Diane was definitely the dancing star of the night.

We really got into the swing of things when, as the grand finale to our evening on the town, we discovered the newly opened Pelicanos Bar. The unique concept of using real swings suspended from the ceiling, rather than bar stools, created a very popular attraction among the local surfing community who called themselves pelicans.

The Pelicanos Bar, which serves the locally-produced Mescal tequila, is owned and operated by a very charming Jorge Medina Azcarate, who was introduced to Zihuatanejo while traveling from Spain on a peace foundation mission. He reportedly fell in love with a young woman in the area and decided to settle down in this friendly, small fishing village by the bay.

The swings could be purchased at the Pelicanos Bar as a souvenir of your jolly, good times in Zihua, with proceeds of the sales donated to a foundation to save the pelicans from extinction.

To Catch or To Cook

While Mark and his friends were fishing, Diane and I decided to try our hand at cooking Mexican delicacies at Monica’s cooking school located in her restaurant’s private patio. We joined Monica and the other students in the cooking class on a brisk, 20-minute, morning walk to the downtown market.

There we cozied up with fresh vegetables, fruit, and freshly baked breads from Armedas local bakery, while selecting all the necessary ingredients for the preparation and the tasting of our food du jour creations.

In addition to running the cooking school, Monica serves wonderful breakfasts and lunches at the restaurant along with the organic coffee grown on her plantation in the mountains above the city. The restaurant, managed by Monica’s husband, is also open for dinner. Our introduction to the local authentic gastronomy and culture was a delightful experience, enjoyed to the sounds of Spanish guitar played with melodic interpretation by a local musician.

There appeared to be a glow of pride for the many local and international artists whose artwork was showcased in many galleries as well as in the traditional handcraft market Mercado de Artesanias and the Mercado Central.

Facing the town’s beach is the renowned Archeological Museum of La Costa Grande. The exhibits illustrate human evolution from pre-historic to pre-Hispanic eras according to findings from 54 archeological sites discovered nearby and elsewhere along the Costa Grande. The museum is named after this expanse of Guerrero coastline, which encompasses Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa, and Acapulco.
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The museum surrounds a central patio and houses six exhibit rooms with a remarkable array of artifacts, stone carvings, jewelry, figurines of ceramic, clay and seashells, as well as murals and maps that attest to Olmec, Teotihuacan, Tarascan, and Mexica (Aztec) presence and influences in the coastal region. Admission is 10 pesos, and the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Mondays.
Enjoying the Beach

The outdoor splendor of morning and early evening walks or jogging along the broad, soft-sand, mile-long Playa La Ropa Beach, considered one of the most beautiful on the Costa Grande, presented an opportunity to stay in shape and enjoy some of the wonderful beachfront restaurants.

Paty’s Marimar Restaurant served the best shrimp omelet with homemade fresh mango spread on toast with Zihuatlan Mexican organic coffee for breakfast. There’s fresh, grilled red snapper for lunch or dinner at La Perla Restaurant or a fresh lobster dinner for two at Rossy’s seafood restaurant on the second floor terrace where you can admire the sunset and moonrise—sometimes occurring simultaneously. Oh, and cheer Corona, the crown of local beer.

Upon returning to the hotel’s beach for an afternoon swim in the tropical warmth of the ocean’s calm surf, I relaxed with Kindle, my newly-acquired friend, whom I abandoned shortly after I blissfully fell asleep to the sounds of the gentle dialogue among small birds in the magnificent trees and the playful waves of the sea. This was paradise.

Expect The Unexpected

We ventured out on a 10-minute boat ride to visit Playa Las Gatas, a small picturesque cove on the south side of the bay, talked about as the dream “getaway” in the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”(1994) with actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. While there, we uncovered and stumbled upon a few surprising sites.

We discovered the submerged, 1.5-ton, 12-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Jesus Christ titled “King of Kings” created by sculptor Marco Antonio Rivero, a native of the state of Guerrero. To support the project, townspeople collected many keys, which became the raw material for the heart of the statue. The sculpture can be explored by snorkeling in the area where it is submerged.

We also found the Nature’s Preserve Sanctuary and the Nature Study Center, now established as the Zihuatanejo Beach Retreat. The Beach Retreat was founded 40 years ago by Owen Lee, lecturer, explorer, author, and underwater cameraman on the “Calypso” diving ship for the famous explorer Captain Jacques Cousteau. The retreat offers tours, great adventures in learning, seminars and special events, workshops, eco-school, yoga, surfing, snorkeling, fishing, sailing, and scuba diving safaris.

We were lucky to find Mr. Lee at his home, which is replete with a vast veranda, nestled beneath the towering coco plants and we had an opportunity to chat with him about his life here for the past 40 years.

“Zihuatanejo’s small bay, forested hills and palm-lined sandy beaches have been attracting adventurous travelers for many decades,” he told us. “Zihuatanejo was love at first sight for me and my love affair with this magical place goes on.”

A number of famous rock stars, such as The Grateful Dead and Willie Nelson, just to name a few, have enjoyed Owen Lee’s hospitality in this tropical hideaway, which is built on an old coconut plantation that juts into the Bay of Zihuatanejo at the seaward end of Las Gatas Beach. The retreat, which offers the only seaside Polynesian-style accommodations amid the wonders of nature, is available to rent.

Zihuatanejo may offer an old-fashioned, small-town atmosphere, but it definitely knows a thing or two about life on the big stage of romance and joie de vivre. The jewel of luxury and the honeymooners dream, as well as mine, is La Casa Que Canta Hotel, also located on Playa La Ropa.

The hotel has an extraordinary architectural showcase of 25 suites (some with private swimming pools!), Claris Spa, as well as the infinity-edge pool that was made famous by the romantic drama “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1995), starring Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. Our sunset dinner on the hotel’s outside terrace restaurant overlooking Zihuatanejo Bay made our culinary journey worth a splurge.

According to Luisa Sánchez, the hotel’s sales manager, “La Casa Que Canta” means “The House That Sings in Spanish.” With that in mind, we decided to compliment the sounds of the natural environment of the nearby ocean’s waves and the singing of the birds by naming all of the hotel’s suites with the titles of popular Mexican songs: “Besame Mucho,” “Sabor a Mi,” “Mexico Lindo,” and “Peregrina.”

My friend, Fernando, asked me: “Why write about it? If you liked it so much, keep it a secret.”

But, I was ready to share my memories of Zihuatanejo with my friends. After all what are friends for?

After a 10-day sampling of the many pleasures of Mexico’s Pacific Coast, it was not adios to Zihuatanejo, but gracias, amor, and hasta luego!

Lina Broydo is a freelance Travel writer who enjoys luxury travel. She lives in Los Altos Hills, Calif. Contact her at: lina.star_pr@sbcglobal.net

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