Ixtapa, Mexico: Day 2

Day 2 of our Ixtapa vacation began with a very late start to our morning. Andi and I slept for twelve straight hours Thursday night. TWELVE! I can't even remember the last time I slept until 9:00am and was afforded the luxury of leisurely laying around in bed. It is no surprise to anyone who knows me, I prefer to move at my own pace in the morning so this was one of vacation's most simplest pleasures. Absolutely delightful.

When we finally got our butts in gear, Andi and I had breakfast at Las Rocas restaurant within our hotel. Breakfast is included in our room package, so I choose Option #1: fresh fruit, granola and a selection of baked breads. The fresh croissants were particularly wonderful. Andi selected Option #2 and when he asked to substitute his eggs for enchiladas, the hotel staff happily obliged. It's one of the greatest parts about staying at Capella so far; the staff here does whatever they can to make our experience the best it can be. Andi's authentic enchiladas were deliciously warm and flavorful. He raved about them all day long.

Enjoying a beautiful outdoor breakfast.
Color-coordinating with the flowers - total coincidence.

Next, we staked a spot in comfy lounge chairs by the pool where we spent the next few hours alternating between wading in the pool and laying in the sun. Unfortunately all the umbrellas were being used, so we lathered ourselves in sunscreen and hoped for the best. Oh, stark white Minnesotans, what a mistake! Around 2:00pm, Andi and I both knew we needed to peel ourselves away from the sun. My chest and Andi's back were beet red, despite our best efforts at repeatedly and generously applying sunscreen. The hotel staff did do their best to keep us cool in the hot sun with complimentary poolside frozen hibiscus pops. Nice touch.

We decided to venture into nearby Zihuatanjeo and putz around on La Ropa beach for a few hours. By luck of the draw, we had a fantastic taxi driver named Thomas who spoke perfect English and gave us a quick little tour of Zihua on his own goodwill before dropping us off at the beach.

Playa la Ropa Overlook 

Once at Playa la Ropa, we stopped at La Perla restaurant for Coronas and lunch. Andi and I split guacamole and chips (because I'm quite obsessed) and chicken fajitas. Perched at the bar, the people watching was excellent and the music was pumping with a mariachi band performing in the sand.

Next door to the restaurant, a beachside massage parlor was calling our names so we stopped at Yadi's Spa for a little pampering action. I was fully expecting a half-ass 15 minute massage because beach treatments are never really that great, but I was surprisingly mistaken. Our 60 minute massage (for 200 Pesos or $15 each!) were pretty fantastic. I'd left my wet swimming suit back at the hotel and changed into regular clothes by this point so it was a bit awkward laying on a beachside table stripped down to my underwear somewhat (but not really) protected from the random slue of people walking the beach and restaurant patrons next door. Half-way through my massage, I decided not to care and enjoyed the pampering. When we were finished, Andi outwardly laughed at my fro-hair standing straight up from my head. The massage lady ran her lotion-covered hands along my scalp and I was left feeling super greasy from head to toe. A shower was definitely in order, so I convinced Andi to head back to the hotel to clean up a bit before dinner.

Private / not-so-private beach massages

Greasy beast, but relaxed

Playa la Ropa

Freshly-made guacamole, tortilla chips and two local beers awaited us in our room when we arrived back to the hotel. I was seriously stuffed by this point, having eaten so much food on this trip, but I made room for a few more delicious house-made tortilla chips. We changed and made our way back into Ixtapa for dinner, then drinks with Andi's business partner who happened to be vacationing nearby.

Andi was craving fresh lobster and I was too stuffed to even think about eating again, so he chose The Lobster House for dinner. The restaurant had overlooking views of central Ixtapa, so we watched tourists on the streets wander in and out of nearby restaurants, bars and local shops as we ate. Andi ordered a grilled lobster with butter and I ate chips and guacamole with a side salad because I felt horrible for the waiter not to order anything to eat at all.

Andi's Lobster dinner

After dinner, we met up with Tom and Niki and had beers at a few bars in town. Everyone says to visit General's Sports Bar where a lot of Midwestern tourists gather, but it was packed so we went to a few others instead including one tree-house bar and Beer Planet. At the second place, the bathrooms were discusting enough to make you hold it, they didn't have any limes, were out of Corona and the service was horrible. (Great beer joint, eh?) ... But! While we were sitting on the patio, we say a guy unload a giant truckload of tuna fish, just caught in the ocean. Andi grabbed his camera and went to investigate. Their size was unreal.

A great end to Day 2 in Ixtapa.