Trip report for Feb/March

The two month trip has come to an end. Here are a few reflections … the weather was superb at least from a tourist point of view. 59 days of sunshine. Did find the humidity a bit of a battle in mid February but the last 10 days or so there has been a lovely ocean breeze. The water for the most part has been fairly clear this year. Although as Rob has mentioned, the water temperature has dropped. I actually shivered the other morning going in for a dip! It does seem frightfully dry. Even appears browner in the hills than it has on other visits. Hopefully the annual rains arrive in a timely fashion!
Felt totally safe the entire time. Never heard of nor saw any thing untoward. Mind you we do not stay out late or carry excess money, etc.
As daily walkers on La Ropa, we would like to say a big thank you to the beach cleaning crew. The beach is kept very clean even on busy weekends or after events such as the big beach volleyball tournament this past weekend. They also double as digging crews when the turtles nest. One early morning at the end of February, they dug up 5 nests in one morning and took the eggs to the turtle refuge area.
The people in the area are so welcoming. And have way more patience with Mr & Mrs Tourist (such as myself!) than I ever would. Always a smile and warm greeting.
As has been discussed on a recent thread, the amount of development is quite astounding. I can only speak for the La Ropa area but there is a lot of land being leveled and construction occurring. Tourism is always a fickle business but one thing I have noticed is that the age of the Zihua visitor is increasing. North America (Canada and the US) is an aging population. And that is being reflected in the visitors. Despite a very busy tourist season, most of the people seemed to be in the 55 plus range (and yes I too am a senior citizen).
The food was delicious as usual! Some of our favorite dishes/restaurants were:
Chuleto’s - lentil soup, the pork chop and the mahi mahi in lime sauce.
El Manglar - burre blanc fish roll and mahi mahi in lime sauce.
Casa Bahía - the marinaded flank steak.
Chef Pellin - robalo (sea bass) and the crispy shrimp.
Zihua Bay - tempura shrimp and avocado pie.
Trattoria - fresh tuna and the 4 cheese ravioli.
We are already counting the days until next year! It was a wonderful vacation.