Zihuatan-What?

I think most everyone’s introduction to Zihuatanejo is from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption. I know it was mine. Leaving Manzanillo in the morning we continued to head south. A short 268 mile, 6 hour drive ahead of us we settled in for another day in Chivo.

We rolled into our AirBnB around 5pm and they were kind enough to let us use the garage. This place was pretty cool, centrally located in the city and waking distance to the beach. Bosco was exhausted as usual (you know, from all of the sleeping he does on our drives. Seriously, he just sleeps all day on Shannon’s lap). It was pretty hot & humid out and there was only AC in the bedroom of the apartment so he was taking a break on a chair.

After settling in for a little bit we decided to explore the city and get some dinner. Zihuatanejo felt different than our past stops. It has this older feel to it. It probably helped that we were in the City Center and there were many shops and restaurants everywhere. It was bustling as well. People were everywhere. I was taking in everything. We had found a Tapas bar on the beach we wanted to go to so we set out. I love seeing murals and art on walls and was treated to some pretty cool pieces.

We had to conquer a giant hill and on the other side was the beach. Walking along the beach towards our restaurant, we saw many people playing in the water and lots of people relaxing. The sun was slowly making its way to the horizon and it was a perfect scene.

Once we got to La Tasca we were given the “Gringo” menus and sat at a nice table overlooking the ocean. This seems to be a pattern we are falling into. Another great thing that Mexico has afforded us with these great eating-while-at-the-beach spots is that we can bring Bosco with us. He has gotten used to going to restaurants and just chilling.

A couple of Tecates ordered and since this was a Tapas place we ordered 3 plates. A trio of tostadas, 1 shrimp, 1 tuna, & 1 octopus. Some portobellos on bread with goat cheese and calamari. The portobellos with goat cheese were fantastic and the calamari was pretty good as well. The tostadas were ok. The tuna and shrimp were cooked too much and the pulpo (octopus) was fantastic. Grilled octopus is one of my favs.

After dinner we walked back to our apartment and settled in for the night. The next morning we didn’t have leave super early so we were going out for breakfast. Honestly, I was probably more excited for breakfast than any other meal we have had in Mexico. We went to this place called Bananas. It was a short walk and we were there. There was only 1 other table there and I knew right away we had picked the right spot. This was a table of locals. This is what you want to see. This place is known for their fruit smoothies so we each ordered one and I also ordered Chilaquiles con Huevos and Shannon got a Vegetarian Omelette. Both meals were amazing as were the fresh fruit smoothies. We were not disappointed.

Next post – Acapulco