LA MADERA VERSUS LA ROPA

Over and over I hear: "We've been told to stay 'on' La Ropa."

Answer:

YOUR PRINCIPAL REASON FOR GOING TO PARIS MAY BE TO SEE THE LOUVRE, BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO SLEEP THERE!

Getting you beach front on La Ropa is very difficult.
The few cheap places are filled in high season with repeat clients. (I will be happy to discuss options hotel on La Ropa with you.)
La Ropa is great for spending your days under a palapa, but as you can get there quickly walking or by taxi, consider before booking, the option of being BEACH FRONT on La Madera, which is closer to town.

There are many photos of La Madera on the page "Last Piece of Beach front for Sale."

La Madera beach offers better surf, is a short walk into town along a charming beach esplanade, and has been preferred by a significant sample of clients. Has two beach restaurants, soccer games, and palapas, and here is where you can find much more of that precious beach front housing stock. You go to La Ropa in twenty minutes walk or five minute taxi ride for less than two dollars.

Comments by visitors:

Hi,
We stayed near Cascada. It was nice and had a GREAT view, a
huge balcony and a pool, but we would like to get a little closer to
town so we could walk. I suppose we could have from where we were but it was
quite a hike.

It sounds like Casa Sun and Moon has a great location.
Any other places you handle that are similar we might be interested in. We for sure want a pool and sunning area off the beach, it is so much nicer than
lugging everything down to the sand.....

"My family and I stayed at La Madera in December. Many other postings (on Rob's web site) are correct: it's a terrific location because of its convenience to town...also because the lodgings behind it climb up a small hill, many have wonderful views and that really makes it special.

We tried out 4 beaches. A rundown:
1. La Madera -- if La Ropa wasn't there for comparison, people would think this beach wonderful because it's beautifully shaped. The water is calm and shallow for a long way out, making it very good for families with small children. It's a favorite of local families...great fun to watch the adoring Mexican fathers with their little kids. Not crowded even when other beaches are. But sand is naturally dark, which is why it's not as pretty as La Ropa. That even though we didn't swim there, our accommodations were there, and we believe that's the best location in Zihua! It's in a relatively quiet spot, and you have the best of both worlds on either side of you - La Ropa or downtown. Our humble opinion, only!

2. La Ropa -- a fabulous long expanse of postcard-perfect sand. Some lodgings are hillside, and thus have views, but some are on a relatively flat expanse and thus don't. Numerous places to sit and be pampered with drinks and food.

3. Las Gatas -- the drawback: you have to take a boat there so there's that (nominal) expense. The plus: you have to take a boat there so it feels remote, plus it's fun to see Zihua from the water. A fabulous crescent of clean sand backing up to palm trees. Simply stunning. Lots of beach side places to eat, drink, but no real "development," thus it looks unspoiled. Has a small reef, which makes it the place to snorkel. Because of the reef waves are minimal so it's not the place to body surf. Also not the place to put one's feet down close to the reef. Some mighty territorial fish live among the rocks and they bite! My daughter named them "chomper fish" and they can get you faster than you can blink. Ouch! Just know their rules and don't put your feet down. This is not a problem close to shore, and little kids would find this beach very safe.

4. Isla Ixtapa -- must take boat there, too. Provides best pelican watching. Good combination of places to swim, snorkel, eat. Not as physically pretty as La Ropa or Las Gatas.

In all, it's so easy to get around to all these beaches that in a week you can try them yourself and then pick your favorite. So if you're staying at La Madera and like La Ropa's beach better -- or vice versa -- it's no problem. And anywhere you go the water is wonderfully warm."

A BIG BIG DIFFERENCE, So much that the tourism board market's IXTAPA/Zihuatanejo as "two vacations in one." REMEMBER: the two are only a ten minute taxi ride apart, five miles, separated by a mountain. You can stay ANYWHERE. Explore...then you can return to the places you liked. There are many additional beaches outside of town also...YOU DON'T HAVE TO SLEEP WHERE YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS.

IXTAPA was built in the 70's. You enter coming down a mountain, passing an entrance up to the Westin, and ex- President Echeveria's home (he built another next door which you can rent) -- now a restaurant, Selva del Mar.

Back at that entrance to your right is an entrance onto Golondrinas Street which winds around and comes out at the Sheraton. This zone called "Campo de Golf," and comprises the luxury vacation homes of many Chilangos (Mexico City citizens), most of which give onto the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. The Golf Course can be seen as you stay on the main drag which cruises along the ocean with fifteen? high rise hotels. (There is a second, newer, more difficult, but unshaded course at the Marina.) Some of these hotels are better than others, most are all inclusive, all have ocean front pools, kiddie activities and tourists on packages.

On your right is a large centro commercial of many restaurants and shops. There is one overpriced grocery store, and innumerable convenience stores. At the end of this boulevard is the Marina: more condos, boats, restaurants.

The most popular Ixtapa nightclubs are Carlos and Charles and Christinas. There are three tennis courts, at the Sheraton, at the Campo de Golf, and at La Palma. There are also many timeshares. The hustle of timeshare-salespeople has been restricted to kiosks. Never buy a timeshare. The annual maintenance fee and other costs will eliminate any advantage they might suggest to you. You can buy one on the secondary market for peanuts.
North of IXTAPA: Club Med, Qualtan Club, the boats to IXTAPA Island, and horseback riding.

ZIHUATANEJO: It is said a Mayan king used Las Gatas beach as a safe place to sequester his women when he was in battle. It is also said Zihuatanejo means land of the women...the females in Zihuatanejo are famed for their beauty.

ZIHUATANEJO was a tiny fishing village when first seen by gringos who arrived by boat in the 50's (contrary to Shawshank Redemption, which took place in the 40's.) Timothy Leary invaded in the 60's, and Z has been much visited since then by people who have euphoric recall of both the place and the prices. It has the unusual effect of make its visitors (and residents) possessive. EVERYONE wishes to lodge their claim, "We were there in"...is a repetitive motif.
ZIHUATANEJO was 'settled' by about twenty families....whose children still run many of the establishments of the town, which is now about 70,000 (half under 21 years of age) people mostly living in outlying districts. The ex-patriate population is under about 150 people, many of whom are up in Trancones.
Is it still unspoiled? Well, yes and no. In 1962 a room was four dollars, and Dona Elvira, whose place I stayed in is still there in her rocking chair....

There was only one person on Las Gatas, and he is still there....but now the entire beach is restaurants... The market is still the heart of the town....but you can't buy half moon conures for fifty cents or macaws for fifty dollars....bird trafficking is illegal now of course...but mangos and papayas are practically free...

We still don't have neon lights, golden arches or any other NAFTA goodies...but we do have fantastic homes and hotelitos built by three master architects.. We have our first dot com millionaire....The school children, who never had the luxury of illustrated books, which are unaffordable, learn English and computers as a first priority. The culture jumped from pre-literate to television and computers. Do a good deed and bring picture books for the children of this town. They can be donated to the town library, which is (I'm being diplomatic) in dire need of contributions.

For ten years I have been marketing Zihuatanejo...and never had anyone who didn't love it.

EMAIL: zihua01@earthlink.net

ZIHUATANEJO TELEPHONES: 011 52 755 5543755 or 011 52 755 5545478 CELLULAR 011 52 755 5597396 (try several times as it only rings three times before it rolls over to voice mail and it is way down in my backpack!)