Friday 16 August 2013

Travel Journal Part 2: Mexico

¡Hola!

After an incredible week in Hawaii, sight seeing, hiking, swimming, bush walking and exploring, we were ready to sit back with some
 corn chips and a corona (or coconut ice cream in my case) and relax.


View from the hotel lobby

View of our balcony
The area of Mexico we stayed in is calledIxtapa-Zihuatanejo, though known to locals (thankfully) as just 'Ziuah'.
 I was lucky enough to have visited the place last year and had fallen in love with the incredible view. 
Our hotel (we stayed in the same one both times) is located on the side of a hill, much like what you'd see in the Greek Islands.
This meant we could see the entire bay from our balcony, including the beach and hotel pool below us.

I know I've been blessed with some beautiful and incredible sights in my short 19 years, probably more so than many ever get to see in their lives, 
but this one has always stood out as the most unforgettable. At various points during my stay I would catch myself staring out
the window in disbelief, incredulous that a place like this could really exist outside of postcards.



The days here were long, but in the best way possible.
I'd wake early to the sun streaming in on my face (my bed was right next to the giant windows), head down about two hundred steps to the beach, run along the bay and come back for a refreshing dip in the pool. For breakfast, I'd either go down for the free cooked meal by the sand (eggs, refried beans, wild rice), or, more often, order room service from the hotel kitchen. How could I pass up fruit salad, yogurt and an abundance of muesli for only $4?


How cool is the sink in our bathroom?

Enjoying the hot tub on our balcony one cloudy day


Enjoying breakfast in bed

The middle of the day was the hottest, so we would tend to stay at the hotel, swimming, resting in the shade, napping in our oversized beds or enjoying some Mexican tella novellas on the TV. One night I even indulged in some poorly subtitled Pretty Little Liars which proved to be greatly entertaining. By night, we'd head down the hill to blocks and blocks of family-owned restaurants, each promising enticing specials and emitting irresistible aromas (have you ever truly smelt real mexican chilli?). After stuffing ourselves full of complimentary chips and dip, tacos (both soft and hard), burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos and at least 3 bottles of water to kill the fire in my mouth, we'd head for the markets.






Collections of homemade bags, jewellery and crockery from the night markets




I could never get sick of getting my bed made - like this - every day, especially when they left the most delicious coconut cookies on our bedstands


Finally a climate warm enough to rock my sunflower set!



One afternoon we took a water taxi out to another bay called La Ropa. We walked along the beach and found ourselves in an old abandoned health retreat, where this sign was nailed to a tree.



My daily cup of fresh watermelon on the GIANT watermelon dish next to my bed

Street stalls near our hotel

Coconut ice cream. 80c. All day every day.




Morning ritual


Not bad for an entree.

The stack of books I read whilst in Hawaii and Mexico. I read more in those two weeks than I did the rest of the year

Looking sad because we were about to leave

Crazy beautiful.


We went to Mexico looking for some relaxation, and that's exactly what we got. Despite getting terribly sick towards the end of our stay there, I couldn't have asked for a better time. Even being cooped up in bed, unable to eat and having to get a needle in my butt were bearable when I could look out to my left and see this. I mentioned to a friend yesterday that I would take a sick, dizzy day in Ziuah over a cold, rainy one in Melbourne anytime. It truly is the place to forget all your troubles, read in a hammock, sleep on the beach and eat your weight in Mexican food. What's not to love?

A+ 10/10 would recommend.

Stay tuned for Part 3: New York!

5 comments:

  1. Ally, would love to know where you stayed! That view is incredible! email me on: winterlust@outlook.com if you can :)

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  2. oh my god! i'm so jealous! would have been an amazing holiday !

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  3. OMG!! it looks sooo nice! I would love to go to Mexico (one day I will take myself there!). I'm leaving the US tomorrow after my 3 week trip visiting family and friends, so gutted to be going back home to miserable England :(

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  4. omg, I love this post, I'm just a new follower! such a gorgeous location. I love your little sunflower two piece as well, you look lovely!

    frockled.blogspot.com

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