A Beach Town Gone Tourist Central

OK, OK, my ignorance shone through on the Lázaro call. Fail. After you read this, you will see I think I’m learning to like the small Mexican towns much better. But as a first timer, I gotta see the “names,” though I am thinking maybe that will fall by the wayside also.

The Ride — Less Twisties, More Heat
Didn’t rush out of Lázaro Cárdenas this morning. No need. Wasn’t far to go today. Fueled up, got on the road, and made my way toward Zihua.

The road started out with a few curves, but as the miles went on, it straightened out more and more. No dramatic ocean-hugging cliff roads, no mountain passes. Just a solid, good road (still with potholes, this is Mexico) that kept getting better as I got closer to Zihuatanejo.

And surprisingly uneventful. No snakes, no cows in the road, not even a random mystery critter darting across my path. Not much traffic either, just a smooth ride in warm air. 32°C or 90°F again today. Hot, but not unbearable. Humidity is there also but not unbearable.

One thing I realized—checkpoints have been very few and far between. I honestly can’t even remember the last real one I went through. Maybe somewhere back around Punta de Mita? Yesterday, there was something that kind of looked like a checkpoint—some barricades, a few senior local-looking guys sitting there, but they never got out of their chairs. There was a half-hearted wave-through happening, and I just nodded, kept rolling, and that was that. Definitely not the military or federales. Kind of seemed like the coffee shop crowd decided to police who was going through their town. No guns, no ambition, just sitting in the middle of the road as opposed to on the side. Weird. Very possibly lookouts or hawks. Seemed more busybody-ish than anything.

But what do I know, I stopped in Lázaro. Ha.

First impression?
Busy. Full. Touristy. Definitely not a sleepy little fishing village anymore.

Lots of tourists, also seemed lots of Canadian and American expats. The town is clean, well-kept, full of shops and restaurants. More polished than I expected. There’s definitely a tourist town vibe, but not in a bad way. It still feels like Mexico.

Finding a Place to Stay
That took a bit of work. In Centro, there were plenty of hotels, but parking was a problem. Some of the better spots had nowhere secure to stash the bike—street parking only, and I wasn’t feeling that.

Left Centro, went up over the hill and down into the Playa La Ropa area. More small hotels, a bit quieter, and found a great little spot with everything I needed. Secure parking, decent room, and close enough to town, just don’t get to be in the thick of it.

Exploring the Town
Wandered around for the afternoon, taking it all in. First stop—El Principal, down by the pier. Lots of people fishing, plenty of boats tied up, moored, and coming and going. Just a good spot to hang out and take in the people.

They don’t exactly have a malecón, but there’s a nice street and path with shops and restaurants along the beach. And the beach? Packed with fishing boats—everywhere. This place is a fishing, beach, tourist town on the ocean, no mistaking that. Lots of tour boats, but fishing is big.

Didn’t cover all of downtown. Never even made it to the mercado. Figured I’d save that for tomorrow. Instead, I just took my time, walked the streets, checked out the shops, asked questions, and eventually found a restaurant off the main drag for a late lunch.

And oh man, the tacos. I got pictures of them, because these were yes, that good. Just incredible.

After that, started to get dark. I wandered a little more, spied a really simple church, but yet with a unique feature. Of course, in Mexico. You can see it in the pics. Then I called it a night.