Ixtapa & Zihuatanejo · Mexico

Overview

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Although they couldn't be more different, Ixtapa (eesh-tah-pa) and Zihuatanejo (zee-wha-tan-EH-ho) are marketed together as a single resort destination. Zihuatanejo is a fishing village that's grown up to offer exquisite views of its drop-dead-gorgeous bay from restaurants and beachfront hotels. It still, however, retains its Mexican identity, with a fishermen's market that occupies the prime beach downtown and a quirky main plaza that doubles as a basketball court. Now home to some 75,000 inhabitants, it bustles -- but at a Mexican pace.

About 4 miles (7 km) to the south, Ixtapa was created in the 1970s -- by FONATUR, Mexico's National Fund for Tourism Development -- exclusively as a vacation resort. Although it's small and tame in comparison to FONATUR's poster child, Cancún, it's definitely been genetically engineered. Ixtapa is a "short stack" of high-rises fronted by the Pacific and backed by a row of mini-malls harboring restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and pharmacies. Neither place has much in the way of attractions, but they're both pleasant places to stroll and have great beaches. The most scenic sandy stretches line the Bahía de Zihuatanejo, where green-clad hills back right up to the sea.

Long before Cortés and Columbus sailed to the Americas, Zihuatanejo's beautiful bay was a retreat for indigenous nobility. Figurines, ceramics, stone carvings, and stelae found in the area verify the presence of civilizations dating as far back as the Olmec (3000 BC). Weaving was likely the dominant industry, as evidenced by pre-Hispanic figurines, bobbins, and other related artifacts. The original Nahuatl name, Cihuatlán, means "place of women. " Ixtapa, originally spelled Iztapa, means "white sands," and was ceded to (but not used by) one of the Spanish conquistadors.

In 1527 Spain launched a trade route from Zihuatanejo Bay to the Orient. Galleons returned with silks, spices, and, according to some historians, the Americas' first coconut palms, brought from the Philippines. But the Spaniards did little colonizing here. A scout sent by Cortés reported back to the conquistador that the place was nothing great, tagging the name Cihuatlán with the less-than-flattering suffix "ejo" -- hence "Zihuatanejo."