Zihuatanejo, or Zihua as it's affectionately called, is a Pacific paradise of beautiful beaches, friendly people, and a laid back lifestyle. Until the 1970's, it was a sleepy little fishing village, but with the construction of Ixtapa next door, Zihua's tourism industry boomed practically overnight. We saw this first hand. Our first experience in this area was in 1996. We camped on the beach at Playa Linda, which is next door to Ixtapa. The only structure on the beach was a small pier, and the only person working there was a guard at the small river where 12 crocodiles live, and still do. In Ixtapa there were a handful of hotels/all-inclusives, restaurants, bars, with the majority of the area still barren only hosting a bit of infrastructure. Ixtapa and Playa Linda are now unrecognizable from our first trip here.
Parts of Zihua are very touristy, but for the most part it has retained its historic charm. The narrow cobblestone streets of downtown hide wonderful local restaurants, bars, boutiques, and artisan studios. Fishers still meet every morning on the beach by Paseo del Pescador(Fisherman's Passage) selling their catch of the day. At night, people of all kinds stroll along the romantic waterfront. Zihua offers the best of both worlds.
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