Ixtapa

Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo are sister cities on the southern Mexico coast. From here cruisers are within striking distance of the Guatemala border and Central America. That’s not in our plans this year but maybe someday…. We anchored at the beautiful Isla Ixtapa in a spot that was protected from the Pacific swell. After we awoke after our 32 hour passage nap from Manzanillo we, along with our buddy boat S/V Salt Whistle (Rob & Dawn), began to explore the area. The guide book pointed us to the many palapa restaurants on Isla Ixtapa. There is a constant flow of water taxis back and forth from the mainland beaches and pier at Ixtapa to Isla Ixtapa. At 5:30pm all of that abruptly shuts down and the restaurants close up. We took the dinghy to the island and walked around and had some of the excellent coconut shrimp that is available EVERYWHERE we go. In the evening tiny deer, rabbits and squirrels began to inhabit the spaces between the restaurant tables in anticipation of having the whole thing to themselves for the evening. The next day we flagged down a water taxi and got a ride to the mainland for a walking and combi tour of Ixtapa. One of the things we wanted to see was the crocodile preserve located near the bus/combi stop just off the water taxi pier. Kevin had already taken a look at the cyclone fence immediately off the fishing panga beach while taking Riley ashore and saw several crocs just on the other side of the fence 🙁 We walked over to the preserve viewing area and saw turtles, lots of crocs, and numerous birds and iguanas. A particularly beautiful bird is the roseate spoonbill (pictured above). They were busy nesting and raising chicks just above the crocs. The flamboyant Roseate Spoonbill looks like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with its bright pink feathers, red eye staring out from a partly bald head. They get their beautiful pink color from eating shrimp. We continued to look around and walked across the bridge over the croc preserve and saw a trail down into the trees and more crocs. This is where you could go walk right up to the crocs and feed the if you wanted because there was no fencing. Maybe it’s the petting zoo part of the croc preserve! I’m always struck by how fenced off may parts of the US are as if to protect the dumbest of us from our own dumbness. Not so in Mexico. If you’d like to pet crocodiles in Mexico you are absolutely free to do so. I find that oddly refreshing. The next day the wind changed direction and sent swells into the anchorage we were at for one of the rockiest and least sleep-filled nights we’ve had in two years. Time to leave here and sail to Zihuatanejo for the International Guitar Festival.