Feasting in Zihuatanejo
We all made our main course selections; lobster for Don,
shrimp for Joyce and sailfish for Ray. I chose one of their specialties, Pulpo
(octopus) Leo. Our meals arrived and I looked at my selection. It was an entire
octopus, minus the eyes, artfully arranged on my plate with vegetables and rice.
Our waiter told us the octopus was boiled until the meat was tender, given an
initial frying, and finally fried again after being covered with a spice
mixture. The tentacles were incredibly tender and tasty, although the body,
which I tried, were too chewy for my taste. The dish earned my highest rating
and certainly deserved to be a repeat order. A small glass of tequila ended our
meal.
There is an alternative to sampling all those great restaurants.
You can buy fresh fish or seafood direct from the fishermen and cook it
yourself. The fishermen return from overnight fishing early each morning and
pull their boats onto the La Principal Beach, the original Zihua beach. The
fishermen store all their equipment in large wooden boxes on shore and set up
tables or display their catch on top of the storage boxes or on tarps on the
sand. You need to go early for the best selection for the restaurant owners and
those in the know will be there to get the best selection.
We got to the fish market shortly after 8 AM on a Wednesday. That day there was
yellowfin tuna, red snapper, sailfish, shrimp and even a shark, variety unknown.
I took a photo of a 2 tunas and a rooster fish with long spines on its back.
We had been told the rooster fish was a popular game
fish but was not very good eating. Most sport fishermen catch and release but it
can be sold to those unfamiliar with the fish. We bought some shrimp and a piece
of shark, carved to our requested size by the fisherman.
We ate the shark that
night. I put some mild curry powder on it and fried it first with onions and
poblano peppers, than added zucchini and tomato. It was a very firm fleshed fish
and tasty. The shrimp made another excellent dinner the next day. There is
nothing like freshly caught fish.
Don and Joyce persuaded us we had to experience a
Thursday Pozole lunch at Santa Prisca restaurant. To prepare for this event, I
determined that a massage on the beach was in order. The women offering this
service are excellent and the price at 200 pesos (about $18 CAD) can’t be beat.
This would be my second massage and next year I am going to make it a weekly
session.
We enjoyed this sumptuous meal to the music of a five piece band, including a
vocalist who has become the favourite of several women who come every week. The
band played jazz and salsa music for the next two hours and were replaced by an
excellent Spanish guitarist, who is a regular of the annual Zihuatanejo Guitar
festival coming up in early March.
So ended our 2016 visit to Zihuatanejo. We had discussed what the 2017 trip
would be and at this point it will include a February trip to Zihuatanejo. We
cannot beat the climate, beach experience, good markets and the restaurants,
plus friends to share the experience.
Read Fun in Zihua 2016
or The Sting Zihua 2016 writeups
Choose one of the following links
Puerto
Morelos Xmas 2015
San Miguel de Allende March 2016
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