IXTAPA and ZIHUATANEJO

Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo are actually two resorts in one. Ixtapa is a modern resort, full of luxury high-rise hotels, while Zihuatanejo, its smaller neighbor to the north, is low-rise and intimate and still has the feel of a close fishing community.

Ixtapa was created in the 1970’s by FONATUR, Mexico’s National Fund for Tourism Development, exclusively as a vacation resort. It is set along an attractive gently curving 2.5 mile beach, Playa del Palmar, which backs onto Paseo Ixtapa, a landscaped thoroughfare facing the hotels and lined with restaurants, shops and nightclubs. At the Zona Hotelera’s southeast end is the 18-hole Palma Real Golf Club as well as Marina Ixtapa, with more restaurants and shops. At Playa Linda you can take a 10 minute boat ride to Isla Ixtapa (Ixtapa Island), where you can spend the day eating, sunning and swimming.

On the other end of the spectrum is Zihuatanejo. Long before Cortez and Columbus sailed to the Americas, Zihuatanejo’s beautiful bay was a retreat for indigenous nobility. Figurines and stone carvings found in the area verify the presence of civilizations dating as far back as the Olmec (3000BC). In 1527 Spain launched a trade route from Zihuatanejo Bay to the Orient. Galleons returned with silks, spices and according to some historians, the Americas’ first coconut palms, brought from the Philippines. The Spaniards however, did little colonizing here.

Zihuatenjo hugs a deep, enclosed bay with calm beaches. The Paseo del Pescador (Fisherman’s Walk), or melecon, which runs along the main beach, is the most picturesque part of the town itself. The seaside path is fronted by small restaurants and shops. There is a basketball court which doubles as the town square. The less expensive accommodations are found in downtown Zihuatanejo; the glamorous hotels are on or overlooking Playa la Ropa (Clothing Beach), which got its name when a cargo of oriental silks and garments landed here after an off shore shipwreck.

There are more than 30 dive sites in the area ranging from deep canyons to shallow reefs. The waters teem with sea life and the visibility is generally excellent. Anglers revel in the profusions of sailfish, black and blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, mahimahi and red snapper.

Links: Maps: www.zihua-ixtapa.com/zihua/maps/ixtapa_map.html
Tours: www.jaguartours.net
Tourist Info: www.ixtapa-zihuatanejo.org