Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo are two small towns on the southwestern coast of Mexico that are, for purposes of tourism, sold as one package. They were once simply small towns with an abundance of coconut plantations. In the early 1970s, the streets of Ixtapa were paved and modernized and a series of resorts were built to bring in the dollar from tourists.



We had the opportunity to visit both towns during our time in Mexico. Ixtapa is very much a center for tourism. The first “mall” we visited was complete with very modern buildings and expensive clothing stores (I wouldn’t even shop in such places in the states.) Our group was a bit disappointed, to say the least.


Everything about Ixtapa was clean and modern.

After a little searching, however, we came across the mercados de artesania (handicraft markets) where we found more of what we were looking for. In Ixtapa, however, the vendors were extremely aggressive. The booths or stalls were side-by-side and each seller did his best to draw you in and make the sell. “How much you pay?” some would ask. Others would throw out a number and quickly drop it if you turned away uninterested. There is obviously some skill to negotiating purchases, and it is not an area where I had much talent.

One of my favorite lines from a vendor was, “I give for you so cheap it almost free.” It wasn’t, of course, but I was at least entertained by this kind of banter.

Zihuatanejo was a more traditional village (at least as far as I could tell, keeping in mind that this was my first experience in Mexico). It had a less polished look about it, lots of buildings and people in very little space with areas that were fairly full of trash and downright dirty. There was a very haphazard feel to the structures, every crevice was filled with a business of some sort and there seemed to be little regard for planning. We saw an old window well, for instance, filled in with car batteries. One wall had been built around a tree which was growing and cracking the very foundation of the building. Dogs ran loose everywhere, and we even crossed the occasional chicken on the street. I would almost say that I found Zihautanejo charming... fascinating at the very least.


One of many copy shops in Zihuatanejo.

The first mercado we found in Zihuatanejo was actually the place where the residents of the area go to buy their groceries, clothes, and shoes. It was kind of like Wal-Mart (you could find everything there) with a days-before-yore presentation. The vendors here were much less aggressive. While the products were very similar, the shopping experience was perhaps not quite as thrilling.

Should I return, I hope to spend a lot more time exploring the city of Zihuatanejo. The authenticity of the city was very appealing to me.