Our recent visit

It looks like a trip reports are appreciated here, so here goes.

My wife and I arrived in the evening on Nov 7 for a 3 week stay at Casa Adriana, and were met by our hosts, Eduardo and Tania. They are nice people, and after we got our things inside they drove me to the Oxxo to pick up snacks. Our room on the top floor has a huge deck with a view to all directions but North.

My wife has a bum leg, so our intent was to goof off most of the time, and we were generally successful. We did get down to Barra de Pososi for a nature tour with Sharkboy. On the way there I had an encounter with a loose truck wheel, so I arrived with a bleeding foot, which Avi quickly patched up. Avi had a couple of young helpers with him, and our tour was great fun.
Our meal afterwards was wonderful.

We also took the sunset tour on the Picante. Most of the passengers came on a big bus from Ixtapa and were in, um, high spirits, which were higher still when we came back to the dock. It wasn't an obnoxious crowd at all, though, and the weather was perfect so we had a very nice time.

Another afternoon, we encountered a young guy named Roberto on La Madera. He was offering rides on his Hobie Cat, so we took him up on it. His boat is really well maintained and he is a skilled sailor, so we had a very pleasant ride for not a lot of money.

We got out to Las Gatas one afternoon and rented a couple of floaty things for the water while we weren't camped out at Arnoldo's. That beach is always full of surprises, and that day we saw a guy giving his pet iguana swimming lessons while we were entertained by, of all things, a marching band (complete with tuba)!

We visited some restaurants that were new since our last visit; El Gringo Gordo near La Ropa, La Portena on the Municipal beach, and La Tregua in the 'alley'. We also ate at old favorites like Don Memo's, Lety's, Rufo's, Elviras, Nardo's, Daniel's, Pizzas Locas, et al.

I don't suppose it's any suprise that, in 23 days eating lunch and dinner in restaurants, we didn't have a single bad meal ... not even a mediocre one.

We had the ribs at La Portena twice - they are a great bargain in an area full of great bargain meals, and their pizza is also tasty. La Tregua is a terrific new addition. Their food is wonderful, and we both felt very comfortable and at home there. The couple that runs the restaurant both have real sunshine personalities that make a visit worthwhile, even if you've already eaten. I'm happy to see in this column that others agree, and that they are doing well.

I'm not sure why, but it took me three tries to find 'real' arrechera this time. Gringo Gordo and Rufo's both claimed to serve it and I got decent pieces of meat at both, but neither were the tender skirt steak I'm familiar with. Salvador's grill on Adelita serves the real thing, though, so I finally got my fix on our last night there.

There were puppies in a yard on Adelita just before the beach, six newborns when we arrived. That's not news, but both mama and papa dog were there, and we often saw the male dog cuddling the pups while mama caught a break. That is something I have never seen, and we know some breeders who had to see a picture before they would believe us.

On our first Sunday it rained, starting late in the day. We have never felt so much as a drop on all our prior visits, and this made up for it. It rained hard, and was accompanied by a spectacular lightning display. That storm hung around well into the wee hours and the lightning never let up.

We flew on Aeromexico out of New York JFK. They had a great deal on a pretty convenient flight, so it was $800 US for both of us. Nice airline.

As usual, no complaints from us, at least none worth voicing in public.

Keith

Thank you for a great report! I can hardly wait to return.

Thanks for the report. I always like hearing names of some restaurants that I haven't made it to. Surprise trip in January.,...well it was to my wife when I told her I booked.

Sweet! When are you arriving/leaving. I get there on the 10th and wifey on the 24th. Love to hook up for a supper for sure! How long you guys down for???
At least winter hasn't totally sucked here eh?
Countdown is on!!

Surprise trip to Zihuatanejo!

OK .... "Husband Of The Year Award" has been claimed!

Wow! Thank you for your trip report. I really enjoyed reading it. You sure had a fun time doing exactly what Zihuatanejo is all about. Thanks for the tip about arrachera at Salvador's. I need to get that place listed on my Restaurants page. And I'm going to have to have a little chat with my old friend Rufo. I'm not a big steak fan anymore, but I do like a good arrachera now and then, and steaks are supposed to be Rufo's specialty.

It's good to have East Coasters here and especially to read your wonderful report, for which I again thank you sincerely.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a FANTASTIC trip report.

Las Gatas is one of the best spots to have fun in the water, hang with friends, and enjoy a nice lunch.
I'm glad you had an exceptional day there. It's always so great
when something special takes place.

I'll keep spreading the joy of being in Zihuatanejo every chance I get.

Kim

Thanks for the report,always a good read.

Crap. Just from the 1st to the 8th. Sun Wing direct from Regina to Zihua for about $600 taxes in return. Hopefully the flight is full and I think it is. Good friends of ours (Zihua virgins) are heading down Christmas day on the same flight. They will love it. I showed them this great trip report as I love the "attitude" of it.....if that makes sense. Back in April for a month.

Wonderful report!
I'm copying your list of restaurants so that I don't forget any of those which we haven't tried.

So glad you had a wonderful time. Marching band on Las Gatas? That must have been a sight! Thanks for the report, including restaurant choices.

At Bacco in La Quinta de Don Andres on Madera. It was new for us. Outdoor seating just above the surf with great view of town. The arrachera was phenomenal - thick and juicy, tender and rare, just right for me. We loved it and went back.