We just returned from 8 days in beautiful Ixtapa, Mexico.
We stayed at the Bay View Grand residential. We've stayed there before with my parents and absolutely loved it! We had a 2 bedroom condo with a large lanai that overlooked the pool and ocean.
As soon as we arrived the kids ran to the ocean. They were so surprised with how warm the ocean was! They were obsessed with the ocean from then on.
The first night we stayed at the pool and beach until sunset, and then went into town for dinner.
Lance woke up early every morning and walked to the end of the beach for sunrise. He saw some cool sights during his walks- people fishing, turtles, birds, and interesting fish (see below Puffer Fish) that had washed ashore. Carson joined him on his morning walks the last few days of the trip.
On Sunday we met up with our friend Kathy and a couple of her friends from high school, Cheryl and Matt. We met up at Isla Ixtapa for an afternoon of relaxing.
Before going to the island we checked out the nature reserve at Playa Linda. There were alligators, baby flamingos and iguanas. All just on the other side of a "small" fence.
We took a small water taxi from Playa Linda to Isla Ixtapa.
The island has two sides- we started on Playa Coral which is better for snorkeling. Lance and the kids snorkeled for a while but didn't see much do to water clarity that day. We met Kathy and friends on the other side of the island, the water was calmer and the beach was great for the kids to play on. We had lunch and relaxed all day, taking in the beautiful views.
Lance and the kids got up bright and early to go fishing the following day. They went out on this little boat- The Mariana, with Capt. Juan.
They caught a lot of fish- Black Tuna, Mackerel and Dorado. Everyone had a great time.
They did a little shopping in Zihua after fishing. Rylee got a bracelet, and Rylee, Caron and I ended up with cute straw hats.
We had dinner in town almost every night. Our favorite place was Emilio's pizza. They had delicious wood fired pizza and fun drinks. We ate there twice it was so good! Almost every restaurant we went to had outdoor dining and live music. So much fun.
Lance and I went on nightly beach walks. One night we were lucky enough to see this mama turtle looking for a spot to have her babies. We watched her dig a hole for quite some time before some bystanders scared her away. It was amazing to watch her digging with her back flippers.
The next morning Lance went on a sunrise walk and saw someone releasing baby turtles! He got to watch and even release one himself. Lucky!!!
We took a taxi to Zihuantanejo one evening for dinner. We ate on the beach at Daniels restaurant, and then walked along the beach boardwalk. I would have loved to spend a little more time there. Next trip for sure!
There were lots of fun signs, statues and swings along the boardwalk to take pictures with.
We had a jacuzzi on our patio. It was nice but took so long to fill!
We went swimming one evening. The pool water was so pretty! There was a wedding next door and they happened to set off fireworks. What a treat!
The kids went parasailing one day. I was a little nervous, but they were excited! They loved it and would have done it again if we would have let them!
They absolutely loved the ocean. It was warm, and the waves were the perfect size to play in. Big enough to jump and boogie board on, but not overwhelming. They loved being in the ocean more than the pool! There was only one casualty- my new prescription sunglasses. So sad! But my own fault for wearing them in the ocean.
The pelicans were so funny to watch. They would dive straight down into the water to catch fish. There were a couple pelicans that loved to ride on the front of this boat. We loved watching them every day!
We met a family from Canada that had a 13 year old boy, Nate. The kids had a great time boogie boarding with him.
The kids loved playing in the ocean until sunset. Every night brought a new sunset with different colors. Heaven!
We are at El Faro one night. It's part of the Pacifica Resort and up on the cliffside. We walked down the beach and rode a gondola to get there.
We had a beautiful view of Playa El Palmar from our table. The meal was delicious and we had amazing service. The kids absolutely loved the bread bowl! We watched the sunset as we ate dinner and listened to live music.
We rode the gondola down after dinner and walked the beach back to our hotel. A perfect night!
It was an amazing trip. We had lots of time to relax and spend time together. A perfect spring break!
