Unlike Acapulco, which is overcrowded and has traffic to rival Mexico City (at least during holiday season), Zihuatanejo, washed by the same Pacific Ocean, is far prettier and more peaceful. It has a bay with calm waters that genuinely invite you in, without second thoughts. Ideal for families with children, too. Ixtapa, for its part (just a few kilometers away), has never appealed to me personally. It was built artificially, and although at first glance it looks more modern, to my eye it has absolutely no flavor. Few places to eat, little to do, and a skyline of tall buildings that only uglify the surroundings.

This is more or less how it came to be: eighty percent of the population there is from the capital, and families flee the city's chaos to hole up in their condominiums with every amenity included. The idea is that you can decompress from the stress of it all, and having everything bundled inside those compounds saves you the trouble of having to plan your own fun. For people like us, who have never lived that way, it holds absolutely no appeal as a vacation destination. For that reason, we went to spend a week in Zihuatanejo and only visited friends in Ixtapa. We had a wonderful time again, enjoying the beaches, the Mexican-style hotel where we stayed, and the food. The hotel is a little worn around the edges, but it has its charm. Nobody tries to entertain you. It sits on a hillside and forces you to go up and down stairs, which is actually very good for you, and even if the service isn't exactly five-star, you feel right at home.Going during low season made it even better. We stopped vacationing during peak season so long ago that I can't make much of a comparison anymore, but we've seen enough on television to know what those beaches look like during school holidays. On top of everything else, prices in Zihuatanejo are lower than in Ixtapa. Since Ixtapa doesn't really have a town of its own, during the off-season it turns into something of a ghost city. We didn't notice any great changes since the last time we were there. If anything, fewer restaurants, more closed storefronts, and very little life on the street. Zihuatanejo, on the other hand, is an actual town, one from which the whole idea of making the area more touristy was born, and it has a life of its own. You can eat simply or, if the mood strikes, rather elegantly. We thoroughly enjoyed our wedding anniversary with a simple dinner just a few steps from the ocean, on the sand itself, much as we had done the year before in Thailand, on the island of Koh Samet. Only there, it was done in the Asian way.

Here I'm including the curious history of the hotel where we stayed. I think it's worth sharing, and I'm reproducing it from one of the hotel's brochures.........

"Zihuatanejo enjoys a wonderful and colorful history spanning several centuries. From the times of its pre-Hispanic inhabitants to the days of pirates and Spanish galleons crewed by exasperated sailors, through to the present, from visits by film stars and heads of state from around the world, the once-small village of Zihuatanejo has long been home to a luminous company of adventurers drawn by the tranquility of this hidden and comfortable refuge.

Built by Mr. Alfonso Galindo Mackintosh in 1952, Catalina Beach Resort (formerly Hotel Catalina) was the first hotel along the protected and beautiful shoreline of the bay. Nestled among lush tropical plants on a cliff overlooking the crystalline, white, and unspoiled bay, alive with tropical birds, wildlife, and the remarkable fauna of the area, Hotel Catalina was the preeminent commercial property along the bay and the magnificent Playa la Ropa for nearly a decade.

In 1956, Mr. Carlos Breuer and a group of investors purchased Hotel Catalina from the Galindo family. In 1973, Mr. Carlos acquired sole ownership of the hotel. Mr. Carlos Breuer and his companion, Miss Eva Bergtold, then embarked on a 35-year vision of expansion and service improvement that quickly became known among the highest elite circles in their ongoing search for peaceful and serene retreats. National and international artists, film stars, writers, aristocrats, painters, diplomats, and dignitaries all eventually found their way to the privacy and tranquility of Hotel Catalina. Peggy Guggenheim, King Umberto of Italy, Count Stauffenberg, the Ludwigs, the Guinnesses, the Mac Nies, Alice Adams, Henry Calvin, Lauren Hutton, Larry Rivers, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Liz Taylor, George Hamilton, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, and others all experienced the warmth and gentle privacy that has long been the heart and spirit of Carlos and Eva's vision.

With the sincere grief of a virtually global community, Carlos passed away in January 2002, leaving Eva as the owner of Hotel Catalina. With her characteristic courage and continuing devotion, Eva is presently committed to a series of property improvements, beginning with the recent renaming of the hotel to Catalina Beach Resort.

For more than five decades, Catalina Beach Resort has been an unrivaled treasure, a truly intimate and still-unspoiled retreat. From its beginnings to the present day, the new Catalina Beach Resort continues its long tradition of 'Keeping the Promise,' the promise that will always remain in the inimitable Zihuatanejo."

Sanuk (the Thai spirit of finding joy in everything)