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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.
