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Published: January 18th 2008
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Solecito Bungalow
Our humble domicile at Solecito, a collection of similar bungalows, pool, outdoor kitchen/grilling area, and garden. We've just arrived and spent our first day in beautiful coastal Guerrero, Mexico, where we're staying in a quaint little fishing village by the name of Barra de Potosi, just a few miles south of the more infamous resort towns of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo. Our two-story bungalow is beautiful and fits right in with the Pacific Mexican coastline. It's shaping up to be quite a relaxing vacation; so far, the most difficult parts have been the language barrier, the heat, and bargaining - nothing that can't be dealt with using a little Spanglish and drinking some refreshing beers (more Coronas = better Spanglish). I expected things to be incredibly cheap here, and so far I haven't found it to be that way. I wanted fifty-cent Coronas, not dollar-twenty Coronas. It's only been one day, though, and perhaps I just haven't found the bargains, yet.
I woke up at dawn this morning and went for a run on the beach . . . it only lasted about 15 minutes before I realized running on sand (even wet and semi-hard) absolutely sucks. My heart rate was about 180. Unless the tide is low enough to uncover the really hard-packed sand good for
Playa Blanca
The view north from in front of Solecito. running, I think I'll stick to the road. As short as it was, though, the run was good. Great scenery - lots of seabirds like gulls, terns, pelicans, frigatebirds, and boobies. At the south end of the beach, there's a string of beachside restaurants called "
enramadas," which specialize in fish and other seafood. They're very colorful places, both in terms of ambiance and actual hue. All the tables are on the beach, with palm-frond thatching for shade. In between each pole that supports the roofing hang multi-colored hammocks (perfect for a siesta after stuffing face). I actually enjoyed a nice nap on such a hammock in front of our bungalow after working out - quite relaxing. My nap was followed by lunch at the aforementioned
enramadas, where we enjoyed cerviche (raw fish in a salsa-like broth), fried dorado filet, and garlic-fried shrimp. Quite a meal; I think we'll be eating there at least once a day. The only downside is having to deal with hawkers, but they generally get the idea you want to enjoy your meal
sans the pestering after a confident "
no gracias."
After lunch, I sought refuge from the 90+ heat in my room for a
Inside las [i]enramadas[/i]
[i]enramadas[/i] are situated cheek-to-jowl, so it's not easy to see where one ends and the next one starts. Some [i]enramadas[/i] have differentiated themselves by having unique color schemes for hammocks, flags, or roof supports. couple hours - the overhead fan and cross-breeze make it about 15 degrees cooler. Shortly thereafter we ventured into Zihuatanejo to look around, find some dinner, and stock up on supplies for the next couple weeks. The view of the bay from Playa Ropa in Zihua (as the locals call the town) is stunning. In better light, I'll have to try and take a picture because my words simply won't do it justice. The entire bay, which hosts a plethora of small fishing boats, sail boats, and one awesomely enormous and obtrusive Carnaval cruiseliner, is a deep blue and is surrounded by vibrantly green hills with impressive hotels built into the southern side. Only an opening on the north side allows access to the Pacific, into which dozens of fisherman venture on a nightly basis to fish by handline. Wild. Fishing from dusk 'til dawn in the open ocean in little skiff-type boats . . . unreal. I'm slightly tempted to go on an adventure and join them. If I didn't have a phobia of getting seasick (which is the only reason I have ever become seasick - quite the paradox), I would probably go.
Many of the fishermen
Camarone Frito
Fried shrimp for lunch at one of the many [i]enramadas[/i] at the south end of Playa Blanca. were pushing their beached boats out to sea, using palm trunks as rollers, as we enjoyed the sunset. Frigatebirds wheeled in the dimming sky as they caught lofted morsels of baitfish from the departing fishermen. You have to see these birds to understand their magnificence (they are called "Magnificent Frigatebirds," after all) - their wingspan is something like 7 feet, and they have a long, deeply-forked tail. Males have bright red gular (throat) pouches that they inflate during breeding and courtship displays. But they're also natural pirates, and are colloquially known as "Man-O'-War-Birds" for chasing terns and boobies until they regurgitate their recently-caught fish, which the frigatebirds then victoriously gobble up. Yuck.
Anyway, we searched for a cheap place to have dinner, and settled for Mexican-style Italian. Not Mexican, obviously, but not quite Italian, either. Not really sure what it to make of it, but it was good and filled our bellies. We then went to the local supermarket, which was the Mexican version of a Walmart. We got everything we need for the next couple weeks, so the register read $2,180 when it was all said and done. Fortunately, it's ten pesos to the dollar - do the
Playa Ropa
A dusky view of the bay in Zihuatanejo from Playa Ropa, an image much more mesmerizing in better light. math and it was actually US$218. The most important things we bought were 7 bottles of wine, 6 6-packs of beer, and a bottle of Jose Cuervo. I'm going to bet we'll need more of everything alcoholic before two weeks is up, since there's not much to do but drink, fish, and enjoy the rays of the Mexican sun as we relax on the beach. The perfect vacation.
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