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| on the road to Zihuatanejo MEX200 in Guerrero |
Driving west on MEX200 along the Pacific Coast is a wonderful adventure. The road twists and turns while hugging the coastal edge, just as its climbs high above to a panoramic view. Looking back on the lay of the land, shows a painted picture of this regions coastal beauty.
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| Pacific rolls in on the road to Zihuatanejo MEX200 |
Taking in the epic vistas, I'm on the road to Zihuatanejo the once sleepy fishing village portrayed as Tim Robbins refuge in the film Shawshank Redemption. Sleepy it is not, Zihuatanejo is current very clean and with a moderate pop. level, busy but not over crowded. Streets are easy to walk, the covered sidewalks shade you from the afternoon's heat.
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| Zihuatanejo main street covered sidewalks |
Plenty of locally owned businesses line the streets of the old towns small core. The market place has all the services, shops and restaurants as a convenient one stop shop. Getting around is easy, the city grid is laid out in neat rows with a small canal flowing through.
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| top Playa la Ropa bottom Playa la Ropa looking towards Zihuatanejo |
Looking for camping I headed to
Playa La Ropa just south of the city core a stretch of white sand beach tucked into a tropical cove.
Hotel Real De La Palma has a small RV parking lot behind the cabanas. Full hook-ups
regaderas banos and access to a very sexy infinity pool. I camped here for two nights, setting out on foot each day to explore.
Zihuatanejo is a wonderful place, clean, lively, not overblown, a real livable city. Food is delicious, tasty-fresh and very reasonably priced as by local standards. The large tasteful swank hotels, stretched out over the cliffs looking down on white sandy beaches not a bad place to consider.
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| Zihuatanejo market place, pickled veg, carnitas, fresh veg&fruit |
Ixtapa is a different animal than
Zihuatanejo, 7km away the sister city is filled with large hotel complexes, golf courses, tourist village markets and sightseeing tours coining themselves as the
Cancun of the
Pacific. Extensive efforts have been made to mold
Ixtapa's new future. With all hopes too preserve
Zihuatanejo as a wonderful humble Mexican city.
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| to;p abandon playa Zihuatanejo bottom; Urban Assault Cruiser abandon complex Zihuatanejo |
Pulling up stakes and heading west on
MEX200. The winding road is a pleasure to drive, delivering me to some fantastic scenery. I spotted a abandon community, a gated-living-complex and
drove in to look around.
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| wheeling abandon property Zihuatanejo |
At least 10yrs of overgrowth if not more choking out the roads, curbs, street lights and a handful of unfinished houses under different stages of construction. Unfinished and overgrown a water-park with a massive pool configuration, dominating the shore of the community's beach and pool area. A huge tree growing in the middle of the unfinished crumbling cabana structure, mother nature on the move!.
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| top Costa Aquila overview bottom Colola sleepy village (no gas) |
Getting back on the road heading west to
Manzanillo on
MEX200 surely doesn't disappoint as the views keep coming. Cruising through little villages like
Colola and
Costa Aquila I secured camping for the night at
Helena Arteaga Campground in
San Telmo a small village on the edge of the
Pacific.
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| sunset at San Telmo Pacific coast |
About 50 meters from the rocky beach I popped my
RTT listening to the surf, sipping
cerveza's as the night closes in.
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| enjoying the view MEX200 Pacific coast |
Hope to see you on the Trail!!..
🚙.....
