For my birthday this year, we took a weekend trip to Zihuatanejo, a small fisherman’s town on the Pacific Coast. We had so much fun! It worked out great that we had the week off of school. We left Thursday morning at 7:00, not really knowing how long it would take us to get there, but we calculated anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. Map in hand, we headed off on what appeared to be the most direct route to our destination. What we didn’t realize was the route we were taking would lead us on a small winding road through the mountains with random speed bumps (without warning signs) and animals (such as donkeys and cows) on the road. Needless to say, it took much longer than we expected. We finally pulled into our hotel parking spot 10 hours later. We were very happy to get out of the Jeep! Thursday evening we walked along the beach outside our hotel. Friday we packed up all our beach gear and took a boat taxi to a beach that’s known for its snorkeling. OH, how I love snorkeling! A snorkel guide found me and showed me some things I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise, some of them I got to hold including brittle sea stars, a sea cucumber, and a crab. I also saw an eel and got to feed the fish out of my hand. Loren saw a manta ray within the first 10 minutes of going out. We sat under a palapa – a restuarant on the beach with umbrellas and chairs you can use all day if you order from their menu. Liliana had fun playing with the ladies who worked there. Saturday, my birthday, we sat in on a timeshare presentation at a resort in Ixtapa. We got a free breakfast buffet out of the deal and a tour of the resort. The man who did the timeshare with us was actually a missionary there who does the timeshares as his “tentmaking” business. He witnesses to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. It was very interesting to talk to him. After that we took another boat taxi to Ixtapa Island. The water there was rough. I tried to do some more snorkeling, but only saw 4 fish this time, including a puffer fish. Liliana took a long nap and then went for a walk on the beach with Loren while I took my own little nap on the beach. That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant on the hill in Zihuatanejo. The view of the bay was breathtaking. There was no electricity that night, so we ate by candlelight. We were the only ones in the restaurant that evening. We were surprised that such a beautiful restaurant had such slow business. But, this time of year is much less crowded than in the summer or winter (which was nice for us!). Sunday morning we walked along one other beach before heading home. We took another route this time and made it back in 8 1/2 hours. I’ll admit, it was a bit difficult to leave such a paradise. So now it’s back to the big city and Spanish classes.
Beautiful view of the mountains we drove through
Some of the animals that obstructed our way.
Heading to the beach!
Liliana taking in the beauty of the ocean.
Birthday dinner with a spectacular view
Wow! How beautiful. Looks like you had a great birthday.