Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico: ZIHUATANEJO, GUERRERO: Enjoying the Bay, the Beaches, the Seafood, the Old Town, and Zumba!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

ZIHUATANEJO, GUERRERO: Enjoying the Bay, the Beaches, the Seafood, the Old Town, and Zumba!

Zihuatanejo Bay - View From Town Plaza

Seafood in the Afternoon.......
Zumba in the Evening

Zihuatanejo was still a sleepy, fishing village when I first visited in the early 1980's. Then the resort town of Ixtapa was built next door, and the area became a busy tourist destination and a cruise ship stop. The cruise ships don't stop here much now, so the beach area and downtown were fairly quiet when we stayed for a week in February.

We took a day trip to the Playa Del Puerto (Port Beach or Municipal Beach), also called La Playa Principal which is in front of the town Zócalo (town square with its pretty gazebo) and next to the port. The walk around town was brief, following the cobblestone streets past the older, original buildings, the fisherman's statue, and down the malecon with it's beautiful view of the Bay of Zihuatanejo and the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains as the backdrop.

We had a delicious lunch of shrimp quesadillas at Café Marina, a casual restaurant with a friendly staff, set on the Paseo del Pescador (Fisherman's Passage), also called the malecon, the walkway along La Playa Principal. This part of the bay is where the fisherman still line up their boats on the sand and sell the fresh fish that they have caught that day. There are many small shops selling tourist souvenirs and t-shirts in this area, though they did not seem to be doing much business while we were there. Without the cruise ships stopping in Zihuatanejo, the tourist traffic in town had definitely slowed down and we liked the more mellow pace. The atmosphere downtown was friendly and relaxed, just the way we like it in Mexico.

Jon & Bella Walking the Cobblestone Streets

Fisherman Statue on the Malecon

Zócalo in Zihuatanejo

Pretty Gray Heron in Mangrove Trees

After a day of playing tourist, enjoying our seafood lunch, and taking our afternoon siesta on the beach, sitting in the shade with a good book, we decided it was time for an evening Zumba class. 7:00 P.M. is not my favorite time for a Zumba class, but the promise of the best pizza in town at Jungle Pizza afterward kept me going.

Zumba at Colorful Centro Atletico Vive Gym

Zumba with Melissa - A High Energy Workout!

MeLi and Me after Zumba Class

Free Zumba Class with Claudia

Read more about Zihuatanejo in my upcoming book, "Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico: A Search for Sunshine, Sassy Exercise, Savory Food, and a Simpler Life".

Read more about "Zumba with Melissa at Centro Atletico Vive in Zihuatanejo, Guerro, MX" at www.ZumbaMexico.blogspot.com in the article dated 2/27/14.

Read more about "Free Zumba with Claudia Torres in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero" at www.ZumbaMexico.blogspot.com in the article dated 3/18/14.

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