Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa: fours miles and many worlds apart

ZIHUATANEJO/IXTAPA: Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Before we went to bed last night, Ken was not feeling well (Montezuma's Revenge???) This morning he did not want to get off the ship to tour the port of Zihuatanejo (Zihua, from now on) or Ixtapa so Sara ventured off on her own to give Ken some peace and quiet. He didn't even want maid service and he loves Vilma, our cabin stewardess.

The two towns are billed as one tourist attraction but they are poles apart. Zihua is a typical, slow-moving, unspoiled fishing village graced with golden beaches while Ixtapa is an upscale, tourist town, dotted with high-rise, upscale hotels and condominiums. In fact, Ixtapa, along with Cancun, were chosen by Mexico's tourism experts, using computers in the 1960s, as future sites for tourist development. While Ixtapa offers high-end shops and a myriad of recreational activities, Zihua is by far the more interesting place to explore and spend a relaxing morning. Based on her research, Sara wanted to see the Mercado de Artesania on Calle Cinco de Mayo, the Archaeological Museum of the Great Coast that houses the artifacts of the region from before Christ to the arrival of the Spaniards, including Cortez; and the Mercado Municipal because one of the tour books said it was interesting. The first two she found with no problem (even buying Ken a hand-carved, hand-painted wooden plate in the shape of a fish with a tucan painted on it), but she could not find the second market. She saw an old, long, unimpressive building in an area with only Mexicans that seemed to house stores so she went in and experienced the "real Mexico"--unassuming shops with the biggest slabs of bacon ever, fish with their heads in tact, shop owners cutting up whole chickens (complete with legs, heads and beaks), local residents eating at counters and every household item that one could imagine. She had great fun taking pictures of the locals, who were very friendly, and showing the shots to them. When she finally wandered out, she found signs for the Central Mercado Municipal that indicated she had already been there. What a wonderful find.

On returning to the ship, she found Ken still in bed so she went to a lecture on Glamorous Dressing for All by an image consultant from Great Britain. Ken seemed to be feeling better. He decided to order room service while Sara went to the show and dinner to greet our table mates. Ken was feeling better by the time we went to bed.