Live from Zihua -Trip Report Days 1-4

So as my friends in the Northeast prepare for the winter storm of storms…we sit on our terrace under a very cloudy sky. First time in 15 years that I have ever experience cloud cover like this!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and were immediately at home once we stepped off the plane. After a stop at the comercial for provisions, we arrived at Villa Carolina. Villa Carolina is as nice as I remember. This is the first time we are staying here since the property was sold. Hasn't missed a step! Martha is still here & it's nice to see a familiar face.

Dinner that night was at Los Braseros. We each ordered alambre - alambre de camarones y alambre de pollo. DELISH! Los Braseros has always been a mainstay of our trips here and we are happy that is as good as ever! Stopped to see Guadelupe at the pink bakery on Vincente Guerrero. She wasn't there, but instead her sister and her delicious arroz con leche!! of course i indulged!!!

Thursday & Friday began with a morning walk to Puerto Mio….stopping at Isabel's in Colonial Madera for our morning jugo de naranja. Love Isabel. such a nice woman! We prepared breakfast in the kitchen in our room. eggs, fresh juice, yogurt. that's the beauty of having a kitchen - if only just for breakfast! our days were spent at Elvira's on la Ropa. I have always been a loyal fan of Elvira's after my first trip in 2000. her food is excellent & consistent, the staff is attentive & friendly.

Dinner on Thursday was at La Terracita and Dinner on Friday was at El Arrayan, both in Colonial Madera. My meal at la Terracita was very good: beet salad to start, followed by the mahi mahi. i enjoyed both very much. Gary ordered the NY strip steak which was average at best. it was by far the fattiest steak he's ever had. service was good and they now have a dining room upstairs. El Arrayan still rocks. Mauricio mans the grill with a smile and warm heart, and Mauricio, Jr manages the tables. We brought friends with us to dinner (it as their first time dining here) and they enjoyed their meal as much as we did. We dined on the mixed kebabs (shrimp, chicken & beef), mahi mahi, and grilled shrimp con ajo. AMAZING!! dishes were served with rice or mashed potatoes and fresh veggies. There's a lot of love in that place and it comes through in their amazing meals. Evening walks around Centro.

Saturday - a bit of the same. We did 3 round trips (walking) on playa la ropa to start the day and then back to Elvira's. Lazy day on the beach. Connected with old friends from past years and made new acquaintances. Dinner was at Casa Bahia. always loved the views from that side of the bay. Arrived around 6 so that we could enjoy the glow of the sun on the buildings across the bay. 2 years in a row and all we can say is consistent. consistently good. my margarita was excellent…much better than the sunset bar…..gary started with the sopa del pescador (he's still on a high from the broth) & i started with the caprese salad. both the presentation and the food were top notch. for my entree i selected the coconut shrimp and gary had the garlic shrimp. the sauce on the coconut shrimp was to die for. a sour soy with a touch of orange. OMG. the flavors were wonderful. (i know that everyone raves about Lety's coconut shrimp (which i've had) but her cream sauce is way to rich & heavy for my palate) the garlic shrimp were very good, but i preferred the grilled preparation of El Arrayan. this will not keep us from returning to Casa Bahia providing that they keep up the great work!!! service at Casa Bahia was a little off…i think our waiter was just having a bad night. last year it was spot on.

And so we start day 5…our last full day in Zihua. We head to Troncones tomorrow for 11 days.

hasta luego, amigos!