February and March are popular vacation months among Coloradoans anxious for a reprieve from the cold and snow. A dose of 80-degree weather, ocean breezes and balmy nights are enough to carry some through the remainder of the below-40-degree days and occasional below-freezing nights. Goodbye ski and sledding turf, hello sand and surf.And the sand and surf is popular in Mexico.Mexico has been a hot spot – a tradition for many Colorado wintertime travelers. Cancun, Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and other areas are common destinations for the fun-in-the-sun seekers. Cancun is the “Miami of Mexico,” with U.S. franchises, like the Outback Steakhouse, lining up across the street and alongside the hordes of beachfront hotels. If you need an American fix, you’ll get it in Cancun.Nightlife is plentiful, and the all-inclusive hotels cater to Americans. (Just don’t end up in a hotel that is under construction, like my friends and I did last year in Cancun. There is something annoying about trying to relax on the beach or by the pool with the sounds of a jackhammer in the background. Riding on the elevator with an old commode beside you is rather unpleasant.)This year, two of us decided to venture to new territory in Mexico, starting the New Year out right – beach bound.A work colleague recommended the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo area, which is located in the southern part of Mexico on the Pacific Ocean – the “Mexican Riviera.” It’s different from the Gulf Coast (Cancun, Cozumel), where the water is calm and see-through turquoise. The coast in Ixtapa is not exactly “surf’s up,” but the water is rippled, Pacific gray-blue and the waves have enough play to entice a mini surfer, if there is such an animal! It’s the difference between the Florida Gulf and the East Coast, if you know what I mean.What attracts some to Ixtapa and places on the Pacific, like Puerto Vallarta, are the mountains co-existing with the sea – it makes for awesome scenery.We flew into Ixtapa and eventually landed at our hotel, the El Presidente, owned by InterContinental Hotel & Resorts. The El Presidente is an all-inclusive hotel – food and drink is free. (Well, you pay for it upfront, but once you get there you forget you paid for it, so psychologically you think you are making out like a bandit.) However, this time, the hotel didn’t cater to Americans and didn’t appear to like their brothers and sisters to the north, either. Americans were definitely in the minority, outdistanced by inland high-rolling Mexicans, a few Canadians, Spaniards and a few French people. It wasn’t a friendly hotel – we were imposing on the staff, for sure.There was no recognizing the food items, and after awhile the taste buds screamed bloody murder or Bloody Mary (to drown the raw hash browns) at the mere suggestion of eating. On the second afternoon of our stay, we ordered shrimp cocktail, hoping it would be safe. How can you mess up shrimp cocktail? The waiter hedged and looked disturbed by our request. He brought us four jumbo shrimp and announced that it was not included in the all-inclusive price – our two-shrimps-apiece snack added another $16!We soon discovered that hotel guests rose at the crack-of-dawn – around 4:30 a.m. – on their vacations, just to reserve a poolside lounge chair or a palapa on the beach. When the rest of us finally scrambled down to the breakfast buffet – complete with runny pancakes – at around 9 a.m. (is that late for a vacation?) – there was not one lounge chair available. On each chair was a yellow beach towel provided by the hotel, a pair of sandals or a magazine. It was the sleepyheads cue that the early risers had saved their seats – grabbed a spot for their tired behinds before anyone else. Of course, the chair hogs didn’t actually plant their butts on their precious findings until about noon. (We had dreams of getting up at 5:30 a.m. and ripping off the towels.)Despite the hotel, which we don’t recommend, Ixtapa was quaint and delightful. Downtown Ixtapa harbored the usual Mexican gift shops, restaurants and bars, which were homegrown and unrivaled in chain-driven Colorado Springs.A visit to Ixtapa Island during the day on New Year’s Eve proved to be the best part of the trip. The snorkeling was good – on a scale of one to 10, about a four. The island people were friendly and happy to see us, which was a breath of fresh air. The rum and juice mixture served in a gigantic pineapple knocked our socks (uh, fins) off. The setting was exquisite and the vistas amazing – a must-see, must-visit, if you’re in the area.Another must is Zihuatanejo – (see-wha-tah-NEH-ho) – a little fishing village surrounded by ocean and mountains; the hub of the town facing a picturesque bay scattered with sailboats, yachts and fishing boats. Dotting the hillsides are old, dilapidated houses inhabited by Mexican natives. If this old fishing Mecca was in U.S. territory, those hills would be blanketed with million-dollar-plus mansions!The shops and restaurants in downtown Zihautanejo are Mexican authentic and distinct. And tucked away around the corner from the bay area is Ziwat’s (as the diehard, return-every-year fans refer to it) claim to fame. Coconuts is a restaurant unparalleled, where you can actually taste the coconut in Coconut Shrimp, where the Irish coffee (go figure) is seductive, where the soft lights strung on the palm trees that engulf the outdoor patio could tempt romance between a Democrat and a Republican, a Coloradoan and a Texan and bring Brad and Jen back to their senses. Whew!So, there you have it: a taste of Ixtapa and Zihautanejo in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Don’t visit one without the other. Forget the all-inclusive – there are too many diverse and charming restaurants, where the food is tasty and the service is neighborly.There’s a couple 18-hole golf courses in Ixtapa, too, and the area offers great sky diving and parasailing.And there are those sunsets – captivating.For more information, check with a travel agent or visit or www.mexonline.com/ixtapa.htm
