Roberto! y Wynn's 2004 Trip To Zihuatanejo

October 5 – November 21, 2004

This past October/November we were able to complete one of our most ambitious trips to Zihuatanejo. The previous 6 years we have always used the airlines but this time we drove from Abbotsford (just east of Vancouver), British Columbia to Zihuatanejo. Originally, our plan was to do the trip last year, however, family matters intervened but with the help of family and friends, we were able to complete our trip this year. I had purchased a new Honda CR-V specifically for the trip last year and it proved to be just the right vehicle for the task.

Countless hours were spent on the internet obtaining information about driving in Mexico, the correct documentation required, routing, accommodations, etc., etc. Finally, it was time to start packing. Since we’ve visited Zihua on a number of previous occasions, packing the personal items didn’t take long but the extra supplies for the car such as maps, publications, electronic cooler, extra tools, tire repair kit, emergency items and the like had to be purchased and squirreled away in the many storage areas in the CR-V. Fortunately, as it turned out, other than the maps, publications and cooler none had to be used. It is our intent to put together a driving report at a future date so this report will only outline where we visited with a few capsule comments.

We had planned to also take down some school supplies but responded instead to a fellow poster and Canadian (Vicki from YQQ) on Zihua Rob’s informative message board who was asking for assistance in transporting some school supplies from our area of Canada to Zihuatanejo. Vicki shipped us the two cartons and we fitted those supplies in along with a “few” cases of Molson Canadian beer, a couple of boxes of Canadian cider along with our personal items. By the time we left, there wasn’t much room to spare in the CR-V either. 

Partially Loaded

Ready to Roll

 Crossing the US/Canadian border was a non event and 5 hours later we were enjoying Curly & Suzie’s kind hospitality in Portland. Curly had set up a Zihua board party that evening and it was pleasant to meet fellow posters Candice and her husband Dick from Seattle, Rico from PDX, Swimming Sister, Bret from Portland (in his clown outfit), Cindy and her husband Gerry along with Suzie’s sister, Laurie, and her husband Tom. It was a great start to our trip.

Candice and  BJ the Clown (Bret)

Curly, BJ, Suzie

We “hot footed” it through the US and crossed the border at Nogales. If the California or Arizona Department of Highways is ever looking for a symbol to represent their highway systems, then I am of the opinion that it should be a blown truck tire carcass lying at the side of the highway.

After going through the first (of many) toll plazas, we managed to get the red light at an inspection station. We noticed some Mexican Nationals who also got the red, had their belongings spread all over the lane and we weren’t looking forward to having to unpack the CR-V. The vehicle was given only a cursory inspection and then we were wished a “Bien Viaje”. We continued the drive down to Km 21 where all the documents and permits for the car along with our tourist cards were issued. It took about an hour to get all the documentation in order – we had stopped in Nogales to purchase our car insurance earlier but there were also places to purchase it right at Km 21. Once everything was in place and in order, we had to drive through another inspection station, however, this time we received the green light and off we drove. 

Kilometer 21

Permit Places

 We stopped in Hermosillo for fuel and I managed to get taken by the Pemex attendant for an additional 50 pesos because he did not clear off the amount from a previous sale and claimed he had put that much in my tank before it shut off. I could see I was on the losing side of the argument, so I paid the extra charge and then as we drove off I explained to Wynn just what he did.

We drove to San Carlos, stayed a couple of days, then to El Fuerte (near Los Mochis) and after an overnight stay, it was off to Mazatlan for another overnighter. Leaving El Fuerte in the early morning, I hit an unmarked “topes” at a fairly high rate of speed and it took Wynn about 10 kms to pick up all the loose change, pencils, pens, books, maps, glasses and assorted stuff which was scattered all over the inside of the vehicle. After Mazatlan, it was through the outskirts of Tepic to Rincon de Guayabitos where we stayed for 4 days. We enjoyed Guayabitos and the beach and also traveled the few kilometers to La Penita. La Penita is a pretty town but we found the beaches we visited had a lot of plastic and trash strewn about so we decided to give swimming there a pass. 

Guayabitos Beach Vendor

La Penita

 Once we left Guayabitos, we stopped off in Sayulita with the intention of staying a few days but after spending a couple of hours in the area, we decided to press on to Bucerias instead. Sayulita just didn’t hold any attraction for us – maybe if we were surfers. In Bucerias, we lucked into excellent accommodations right on the beach for only 400 pesos a night. We had the Corita Hotel almost all to ourselves. There was only one other room occupied so we ended up staying there for another 3 days and one day made a side trip into Puerto Vallarta in one of the ricketiest Mexican bus I have ever been on. When I got off the bus, it took about 15 seconds for my eyes to focus and I thought I was having a minor stroke, but it was only a result of all the pot holes the bus with no suspension pounded into.

We pushed on to Melaque where we had planned to stay for about a week, but after three days, we were mystified why Melaque was such an attraction to some. We visited Barra de Navidad twice and thought the town and beaches had a lot more character plus the restaurants and accommodations were much better than Melaque. Rather than pull up stakes and move to Barra de Navidad, we packed up the CR-V and decided to venture off to Playa Azul just west of Lazaro Cardenas. The road from Tecoman to Playa Azul was quite windy and for a stretch of about 110 km, we were lucky to be able to travel faster than 60km and there were a couple of places where we had to come to a complete stop because of donkeys or cattle on the road.  

Highway # 200

Whoa big fellow

The scenery was spectacular and when able, we stopped and took pictures. At one place in particular, there were no guard rails, fence or even a rope so if one was to slip it was a long way down to the ocean with few, if any stops. Once we got to Playa Azul, we figured it was only another hour or so to Zihuatanejo and the Catalina so we decided to press on and made good time to Zihua because there was little traffic on the road. We arrived in Zihua with plenty of time to spare in order to check into our room and then head for our favorite refreshment area, the Sunset Bar where Jose Luis plied us with his marvelous mixtures.

Arrival in Zihua

Sunset Bar - Dos Por Unos

CATALINA

“Stitched” picture of the Catalina Beach Resort"

This was our 7^th year staying at the Catalina and throughout our visits, we have noticed a steady and gradual updating of the facilities especially since Senora Eva took over sole proprietorship of the Catalina. Curly has written an excellent report about the Catalina, so rather than repeat a lot of his observations, I will just mention some of the changes which we have noted over the years. A lot of the improvements have been quite time consuming and costly. A new road has been constructed which feeds down to a lower parking lot and makes access to the lower floors of the Catalina, especially by taxi, a lot easier because it bypasses the many stairs throughout the complex.. Driving down it brought back memories of Lombard Street in San Francisco and then on the return trip up the driveway, it appears so steep that we felt like astronauts about to blast off and I usually hummed a few bars from “Major Tom” before launching the CR-V upward.

Fasten Your Seatbelts

Catalina's Lower Entrances

For those who want/need air conditioning, more rooms continue to be upgraded with it being installed. Personally, I enjoy the open air design of the Catalina, however, I do recognize there are those who do find the heat and humidity difficult to deal with. The rooms with A/C have plastic over the screened windows whereas rooms that don’t have it, have overhead or standing fans to provide the necessary comfort. Presently, there are about 16 rooms with A/C and more will be added as time goes on. The nice thing about the A/C at the Catalina is that a number of the A/C units are situated remotely from the rooms and the cool air is piped in so in most cases you don’t have an A/C unit hammering away right next to you.

We usually stay at the Catalina during low season and never have run into a problem securing a palapa to spend time under in the beach area. I know that doesn’t hold true during the busy season and the “palapa wars”, where people get up before sunup to reserve their palapa, take place. At this writing, the Catalina should have additional palapas so that all guests have their own seating/lounging area. It won’t put a stop to those who will still be getting up before sunrise to reserve a palapa right on the beachfront, but it will go a long way in assuring guests that there will be a place for them on the beach. Another improvement, in my opinion, is the wrought iron gate at the entrance to the infinity pool. Because of the Catalina’s open air architecture, sound does carry and there have been times when over exuberant individuals ended up in the pool at early hours in the morning and carried on quite loudly with little consideration for the comfort of other guests. I like to refer to the gate as being the “Canadian Gate” because I ended up the previous year having to go down to the pool area at 4:30 AM to ask a bunch of fellow Canadians to tone it down. Now with the gate in place, the pool area can be locked. It is kind of a shame because it is always nice to be able to float in the pool late in the evening and take in the night sky but at least it does address the problem of keeping the area quiet. There is always the beach area for the late night parties too.

RESTAURANTS

We had both good and lousy experiences in some of the restaurants we frequented. A few of our favorites were closed because of the season, plus some of the ones we particularly enjoyed such as the Puerta del Sol and Nueva Zelanda didn’t quite live up to our previous years’ experience. The Puerta Del Sol service was extremely slow, prices have increased and the serving size left a lot to be desired. With Nueva Zelanda, it was indifferent service and the meal itself was brutal compared to last year. We chalked the Puerta Del Sol’s difference up to lack of adequate staff – Eduardo was not there and with the Nueva Zelanda because it was cruise ship day. We were going to try them again, but just ran out of time.

We had excellent meals at the Catalina and Rossy’s. We also had a number of breakfasts at Paty’s and Elvira’s. Paty’s has upgraded their facilities with new chairs and tables and we saw the excellent set up for a wedding reception at Paty’s. I didn’t know one could make plastic chairs and tables look so good. We also ate at Bananas, had a couple of chickens right from the street Bar-B-Que, Pollos Feliz had a hamburger you could barely get your mouth around with trimmings that included pineapple, a hunk of ham, and avocado --- to name a few. We also ate in a few of the establishments along the Pescadero and basketball court such as Daniels and Tata’s and all of the meals were enjoyable. There just never seems to be enough time to try out all the different restaurants in Zihuatanejo. 

Rossy's Filet of Fish

Catalina's Delicious Enchiladas de Pollo

WATERING HOLES

 There is no shortage of places to knock back either a cold cerveza, margarita or whatever your drinking desire is in Zihuatanejo. Curly has filled you in on our adventures at Rick’s on Jam Nite, however, we took in Rick’s opening night which was quite the time. We got there just before “official” opening time and settled in with drinks (complimentary beer for opening nite) and generous servings of tapas. The entertainment was great with Eddie up on stage followed by 3 musicians from Troncones who really got the place going. Rick and Heike are wonderful, gracious hosts and were constantly coming around to attend to our needs or engage us in conversation. Rick’s is a great place to visit anytime of the day or evening.

Eddie With Soundman Rick

Troncones Trio

Part of the entertainment later that evening were the “Fire Dancers”. What a performance! There were two girls and a guy and their act was one that was impossible to top. The fire consisted of sterno cans which one girl danced with to a musical beat while another twirled sterno soaked balls on the end of chains. Early into the act, which took place outside on the cobblestone street, the girl dancing with the sterno cans in her hands stumbled, dropped one cans on the street and the fluid ran over to the sidewalk where it set fire to her purse and sandals. The other girl twirling the flaming balls had one fly off and it landed on top of Rick’s roof. Fortunately, the roof was made out of tile so the ball eventually burnt out.

Fire Dancer

Rick's Roof

Eddie, Curly & Suzie at Rick's Bar

Kim, Chicago Mike, Cheryl, Curly & Suzie

Another place I hung out while Wynn did her thing at the Artisan’s market was a small bar on the corner of Ejido and Cinco de Mayo. As you can see by the photo, tables are limited but it was a sanctuary.

Another Day at the Office

WILING THE DAYS AWAY

Curly has outlined in his trip report of what they did and who was involved, so rather than repeat a lot of what is already published, I will only add these comments and photos.

A lot of our time was spent on the beach, in and out of the ocean, under the palapa reading or conversing with our fellow vacationers. Even though there was a big group of us, one was still able to wander away and do one’s own thing. Sometimes it was taking the local bus downtown to do some shopping or access the internet, other times just to wander through the various mercados throughout Zihuatanejo.

One day Suzie, Curly, Wynn and I took a trip to Troncones and spent the better part of the day touring about, visiting different establishments, swimming in the rough surf at Manzanillo Bay and then having a bite to eat at The Inn at Manzanillo Bay. I still can’t figure out why there are “topes” on the road in Troncones because the road towards Manzanillo Bay is just naturally rough and in some places resembles a washed out river bed.

Manzanillo Bay

The Inn at Manzanillo Bay

 We returned in time to take in a “Board Party” at the Catalina’s Sunset Bar which was organized by Curly and Celso. It was enjoyable meeting fellow posters face to face and thanks to Zihua Rob for joining us. It was a good turn out with about 15 people showing up. We put all of Jose Luis’s (the bartender) skills to a good test and he managed to satisfy all in spite of some pretty wild concoctions being ordered and consumed. 

Zihua Rob, Celso, Curly

Lights Out

One day we drove up the road on the south end of La Ropa to see what was going on in that area. Presently, there appears to be a lot of road construction taking place not only on the road that parallels Playa La Ropa but also along the peninsula leading out to the lighthouse. We could only go so far before being stopped by the construction workers, but roads are being constructed all throughout the area. It looks like it won’t be too long before the entire south end of the Bay is developed with roads leading over the hills to the airport and Playa Larga.

Road Construction

Note El Faro Lighthouse on Right

A “stitched” view of Zihuatanejo from the south end of the Bay

Playa La Ropa

Sunset at Rossy's

We also spent an afternoon driving down to Playa Larga and then via Los Achotes to Barra de Potosi. After we finished our visit to La Barra, we drove the entire stretch of road paralleling the beach from La Barra, past the airport and then back out to the airport highway. The road wasn’t in the best shape, but the scenery along the beach was quite pretty and we noted a few abandoned dwellings fronting the beach. The Playa Larga area had plenty of restaurants, however, we noticed the beach areas in front of some of these establishments were covered with a lot of trash and could benefit from a sprucing up.

Playa Larga - Note Size of Waves

Abandoned House

La Barra de Potosi - Enramadas on Right

Road Conditions

WEASELS AT WORK

For those flying into Zihuatanejo, just be aware there is/was a new lurk being used at the airport to lure people into a time share presentation.

As you exit the Customs/Immigration area and are about to face the onslaught of taxi drivers and personnel vying for your attention, it is easy for a newcomer to get somewhat confused and intimidated by the goings on. While I was waiting for Curly & Suzie, I got a first hand look at how the time share weasels work their pitch on the unsuspecting tourist. There was a well dressed fellow who spoke perfect English standing right in the middle of the reception area asking people quite loudly what they are looking for or where they are going. I heard one couple say they were going to the Catalina. Now this person is no more of a representative of the Catalina (for instance) than I am the man in the moon, but once he finds out where you are going, he says “We’ve been waiting for you, we have been expecting you, where have you been? Come with me”. Then he takes them over to an area where a time share outfit from Ixtapa is set up, then cons the unsuspecting individuals into signing up for a presentation while all the time pretending he is representing the resort/place you are going to be staying. Just be aware of the different hustles being perpetrated at the airport and this is one of them.

The second one was while we were having breakfast at Elvira’s on Playa La Ropa. We ordered up our breakfast and then when we were leaving we asked/ were presented our bill. Now our bill was on an adding machine tape with a total showing on the bottom, however, just above the total, the total price was hand written in felt pen or double written with ink which obscured that portion of the bill. Be careful, because what the staff has done was include a 15% service charge and is attempting to conceal it and hope you will add another tip to the total. Don’t be sucked in. We were the first time but the second time we questioned if service was included in the total and they said no. We had kept track of what we ordered and sure enough they had added in the tip and then tried to conceal it.  The staff at Elvira’s never pulled that stunt during our evening meals, but it annoyed us enough to decide to have the rest of our breakfasts over at Paty’s which is only a few meters away – and the breakfasts are just as good and the waiters are great – but I did miss not having Elvira’s chilequiles again though.

Paty's Huevos Revueltos con Tocino

Elvira's Chilequiles

THE RETURN TRIP

If anyone ever wants to experience time travel, then Zihuatanejo is the place because our 16 days there just flew by and before we knew it, it was time to load up the CR-V with all the purchases Wynn made and head home. We said our goodbyes and headed out early in the morning with our day’s destination being Guadalajara. The new toll road just west of Zihuatanejo, which takes you towards Morelia and Guadalajara, was a pleasure to drive and there were a couple of places where no tolls being charged because a few portions of the highway weren’t quite completed.  Once through Urapan and off the toll road, we stayed on # 37 which was a two-lane road and eventually we hooked up to #15D, the toll road into Guadalajara. The scenery was quite interesting, the drive somewhat slow because of the traffic until we got onto the toll highway where we could make up time.

Bocana Alley

Toll Highway Toward Urapan

We arrived in Guadalajara 10 hours after leaving and then looked around for a place to stay. We drove past the Nogales Motel – it wasn’t hard to do because the entrance was partially obscured by a hedge so I made a “U” turn and worked my way back to the entrance. Welcome to the “No Tell Motel”! I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but things were looking great. We were told (through a loudspeaker) to drive to # 118. Great looking facilities – with our own private garage which we drove into and parked. When I got out and was taking in our surroundings, a staff member came up to me, greeted me in Spanish and asked me how many hours we would like to stay. Que? Para los horas?   I know my Spanish is wanting so she repeated it a couple of times and I asked her how much for 12 hours. 300 pesos was her answer so I paid her. Then she pulled out an order pad and asked if we wanted anything to drink or eat which I declined so she told us we could order whatever we wanted over the phone and it would be delivered to our room. Wynn was snickering and tugging at my sleeve because she had cottoned on to the fact what our accommodations were all about. Everything was designed to be discreet, hence, the secluded entrance and the private garages with the electric roll up doors. Actually the facilities were excellent and sure enough, they phoned us early in the morning to inform us that our 12 hours were up.

No-Tell Motel in Guadalajara

Inside el "No-Tell"

The next day it was off to Culiacan after another full day of driving where we stayed in a neat old hotel formerly the Colonial but now renamed El Mayo. The following day, we drove back to San Carlos for a two day stay and then it was another 6 hour drive to the Mexico/US border where we turned in our permits and then proceeded to Yuma for a visit with friends. From there it was another three days to home.

ROBERTO!’S OBSERVOS

Driving in Mexico wasn’t that difficult. We stayed on the toll highways for most of the way. Generally, most roads were in good condition, but do differ from what we are used to. The one thing that stood out was the lack of adequate shoulders on a number of the roads-- usually the two lane roads but some of the toll roads too, so it would be difficult to pull over in case of a flat or emergency. There are a couple of pictures accompanying this article which illustrate the lack of shoulders.  Gas stations were plentiful and the majority of them were clean and their washrooms tidy, nevertheless, we usually took a small supply of Kleenex or the like in with us just in case. Fuel prices were the same regardless of where you were because the service stations are owned by the Government. We started off paying 6.1 pesos per liter and then the price increased to 6.2 pesos. We usually filled up the fuel tank when the gas gauge got to the half way mark.

We ran into stretches of two lane road which were full of slow moving trucks and traffic. It was a little intimidating watching all manner of vehicles passing on double lines while going uphill or around corners, but usually the truckers were good in signaling to you with their left turn signal that it was safe to pass. We took them up on their invitation, but with caution. The tolls were fairly expensive – we spent around CDN$250 for the return trip but there were opportunities to use the “free” or “libre” roads before committing to the toll roads.

Contrasting Methods of Travel in Mexico

Would we drive it again? Yes, but next year’s trip to Zihuatanejo is already well into the planning stages with dates and times already picked out and since we have flown down commercially, driven down in our vehicle, what could be next?

How About in This?

It was quite an adventure. Eventually, I will complete a more detailed driving report outlining our driving times, road conditions, costs, photos, etc, but for now this will have to do. If anyone is planning on a driving trip to Zihuatanejo, please feel free to e mail us with any questions you may have. We would be only too pleased to help by sharing our experiences.

I would like to thank all of those who made our driving trip and vacation in Zihuatanejo such a pleasure. To all the gang that showed up at Curly’s get together in Portland, the Portlanders who were with us in Zihua, the boarders who attended the party at the Catalina, Senora Eva, Celso and all the staff at the Catalina, Zihua Rob and to all who post on Zihua Rob’s board -- where we continue to glean valuable information -- everyone -- Gracias!

Roberto! y Wynn