These feet were made for walking

And that’s just what they’ve been doing. When we’re not glued to the seats of our car, our feet are out walking. We’ve walked high and low around every coastal Mexican town between Tijuana and Acapulco.

Before we left home I was distraught over which shoes would come and which little darlings I had to leave behind (after my husband, shoes & bags are my second love). Wrestling between the practicalities of walking on cobblestone roads for the next year and my never ending need to participate in love for the fashion world, I think I may have left with 7 pairs in my bag. Mostly practical footwear, like tennis shoes, hiking boots and Chacos (ewe, I hate how they look), I did find room for some ballet flats (they don’t take up much room) and my beloved Frye boots (they will be my main accessory in the cooler months). Of course I also threw in a pair of flip-flops and have another pair waiting in the bag we left in Xela. Well, little did I know that after our first night in the desert, my feet would never again see those closed-toe shoes on this trip! I’ve been hoofing (and showering) all over Mexico in my comfy Havaianas and it’s a good thing because my bunion and I weren’t getting along very well before we left Denver.

Now for the first time in my life I have something that I have always wanted, something that I have always been secretly jealous of when I see them on other people – foot tan lines! Yes that’s right, this fair-skinned, freckle-covered, girl has a sandal tan on my tootsies and I couldn’t be more pleased. It may not be obvious to you, but it’s there! I guess when you wear the same shoes for a month it’s bound to happen, but I don’t care how I got it as long as it stays!

I swear it's more obvious in person!

Now these feet need to get a pedi. Even Ben has commented on the nastiness of his own feet. I’m trying to talk him into a day of indulgence with massages and pedicures, but I don’t see that happening any time soon Oh, and if you were noticing my black toe-nail, Ben kicked it off accidently the day after I took this photo (I’ve had it ever since I dropped a can of bathroom cleaner on my foot back in September. I’m hoping my tan lines distract from the nubbin of a nail I’m left with.

Z-what?

Last winter Frontier Airlines ran this add for their new service to Ixtapa/Zihuatenajo Mexico. Nearby our apartment on Colfax there was a billboard that read “Z-what?” and we quickly latched onto the joke and have been using it ever since. So here we are in Z-what-tenajo, a few frown lines later, smiling again.

Once we arrived in Zihuatenajo we lucked into a great, quiet, little RV Park (while trying to following directions to another) called Villas Los Arcos, owned by David & Nancy, snowbirds from Idaho. Tucked in behind their property (which also includes a few villas they rent), the RV park is just steps from their beautiful swimming pool. When we rang the bell a relative, Don (who happens to have the only other RV here) welcomed us in. Only a block from the best beach in Zihuatenajo (Playa La Ropa), our first day we joined the masses on the sand (by Monday they had cleared out). For Easter we ventured over to Ixtapa to explore that area on (what else?) bicycle – a tandem bicycle to be exact.

a tandem ride in Ixtapa from Krista on Vimeo.

Before pulling out of Zihua we also went deep sea fishing with a local captain, David. The water was calm and the ocean breeze made for a nice day at sea. We got to see dolphins, sea turtles and a few manta rays in their natural habitat. While we didn't catch any big ones (but David was pretty sure we got a bite from a Marlin) we did catch a whole bunch of little tuna, that David cooked up for us when we got back on shore. In between reeling in my catch, I took to napping on board the boat. I've come down with la gripa (common cold) and the rocking of the boat mixed with my Sudafed made my feel really drowsy.

it didn't take long for me to get some bites

veteran fisherman Ben wasn't as lucky at first

the perfect place for napping

the end result - tuna ceviche

If you're thinking about a trip to this part of Mexico we think you should give Zihua a try. Smaller and less expensive than Ixtapa with it's Las Vegas feeling resorts, Zihuatenajo has a peaceful feeling that we have really enjoyed. If you're looking for a smaller hotel, David and Nancy's villas are in a great location. Ask for the "bird's nest" if you've always wanted to shower, sleep and cook in an open air palapa. I'm already planning my return trip to stay up there!

Villas Los Arcos

the beautiful pool at Villas Los Arcos

Betseyville

For a cool $5,500 (in low season) you can 7 of your best gal pals can check into Betseyville, a boutique private villa in Barra de Potosí (20 minutes south of Zihautenajo), owned by designer Betsey Johnson.

If this bungalow style getaway isn't your thing, then maybe you'd enjoy the more upscale Villa Betsey, a glamorous, secluded Italian Rivera-esque Villa.

Life doesn't get much more fabulous than having your own boutique resort(s) in Mexico!

PS: You can reach me at kristalengacher@gmail.com if you want to invite me along!

Driving la costa bonita

Although it might seem like we had a miserable 2 days getting ourselves down the Michoacán coast due to all the busy beach towns, really the drive itself was quite nice. We spent several winding down the beautiful, untouched Michoacán coastline taking in the stunning views. This area could quite possibly be the most beautiful part of Mexico. The cliffs and rocky stretches of shoreline reminded us a bit of the Napali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii. We really do hope we get to experience it (and it's solitude) again sometime in the future.

Michoacán coast

Get a feel for what our drive was like!
(Do you think we were getting a little bored?)


Untitled from Krista on Vimeo.

Spring Break or Semana Santa?

semana santa beach from Krista on Vimeo.

This whole Semana Santa thing is quite interesting to us outsiders. We understand the importance of the Easter holiday and love the idea of spending quality family time, but we’re beginning to wonder “Is Semana Santa just an excuse for an extended Spring Break?”. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the holiday, Mexican schools give their students a 2 week break and during this time it is a tradition for families to vacation on the coast. Even though the beautiful coastline goes on for miles and miles, when everyone floods out of the cities inland, there isn’t even 1 square inch of sand that doesn’t have a tent popped up on it!

Everywhere we turn, families, friends and teens are crowding the beaches, popping up tents, cooking up delicious smelling food…..and celebrating with lots of alcohol to boot! We know Jesus had wine at his table, but did he have tequila too?


Forgive us for our bad attitudes, please. We hadn’t planned on the celebration getting this rowdy. Nowhere in Lonely Planet did they mention that we should veer inland for 2 weeks during our coastal drive through Mexico, though we quickly learned from seasoned snowbirds, that is exactly what we should do. While we did end up skimming over a few many of the small towns and out-of-the-way beaches we had hoped to boondock on, we have luckily found refuge in Zihuatenajo, but not before spending 2 miserable nights sleeping in parking lots!

keep in mind that they say these beaches are usually almost deserted!

Puerto Vallarta in a nut seashell

Because of the craziness of this past week, when we drove into Puerto Vallarta Wednesday afternoon we knew it was going to be short lived. Really quite large and busy, PV is more of a city than a nice beach town. It does have charm with it’s cobblestone streets and meandering malecón, but not enough to help us stay, knowing that there were possibilities of small, quaint beach towns further south.

With ridiculously difficult directions to both of the RV parks, we gave that up and headed straight for Hotel Emperador (Lonely Planet’s author’s choice) – that was after first calling to see if they had availability. In a nice part of town (the Gay/Romantic area, the guy at the front desk told us), Hotel Emperador was good enough for a night, but would certainly not recommended by us.

We spent our night navigating the malecón, dining with water front views, and shopping for new trunks for my too skinny husband. The next day we spent a few hours taking in Old Vallarta, but didn’t find it nearly as charming as Old Mazatlán. Before we had even been there for 24 hours we were saying good-bye and not feeling too sad about it.

Sipping mojitos at La Bodeguita del Medio

Voladores de Papantla

Ben's firey dinner

the malecón at night

Love it or Leave it

The Sayulita Shore

Around noon on Sunday we pulled into Sayulita and found our way to the Sayulita Trailer Park despite the main bridge into town being closed down. The owner didn’t recall us making a reservation only a few days before, but not to worry, he had a great beach-front spot still available where we met our neighbors, Lyman and Susan, sunbirds from Oregon handing out in Mexico in their 1977 custom painted Dodge Camper Van. Well, this got Ben all worked up, being that he himself used to drive a 1977 Chevy van, Sam, and soon we were old friends with our new neighbors.

The church in the center of town

In days to pass we felt popular around the trailer park, making friends with several other campers there. We certainly can’t take the credit as all of these people first approached us to ask about our vehicle (John at Ecamper was right when he told us we’d spend hours explaining our camper!). Another nice couple we met (also from Oregon), Pat & Ray, offered up lots of travel advice, yummy granola, and the use of their boogie boards (Thank you!). We really do hope we have the privilege of meeting up with so many of these folks again sometime throughout our year of travel.

Bungalows at Sayulita Trailer Park

Boogie boarding addict

During our 4 days in Sayulita we fell in love with a lot of things - the almost white-sand beaches, the just right waters, the cute artsy town, everything about Sayulita Trailer Park – we know we’ll be coming back someday. But just so it doesn’t sound too perfect, there were a few turn-offs that weighed heavily on us. First off - the crowd. Granted it is Spring Break /Semana Santa, so lots of tourists were there, both Mexican and American. The other turn off was the attitude of the people from Sayulita. Many of the shop owners and waiters had an arrogance about them. We understand they have this prime piece of real estate that can’t be found in many other parts of Mexico (we’ve looked), and that they have to deal with annoying tourists all the time, but seriously be grateful that we’re here, making your town thrive!


All in all, Sayulita is a great small town and much more our style than it’s not-so-distant counterpart Puerto Vallarta. While it has tons of charm, if you hope to vacation to a place that truly feels like Mexico, Sayulita may not be for you. But if you’re simply looking for a relaxing vacation on the beach where you can try your hand at surfing and not have to stress out about traffic and crowds, you should book a flight right away…...just remember not to schedule it during the 2 weeks around Easter!