Ixtapa
Ixtapa
Zihuatanejo (aka: Zihuatanejo de Azueta) is located in the municipality of José Azueta in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico about 240 km (approximately 145 miles) northwest of Acapulco. The modern tourist resort of Ixtapa is only 5 km away.
Zihuatanejo is the seat of government for the municipality and the principal community in the region. Ixtapa is a government-planned tourist resort that was begun in the early 1970s and constructed on what was once a coconut plantation and mangrove estuary. The approximate population of Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa is 85,000 inhabitants (source: INEGI).
An old-world Mexican fishing village nestled around a small bay dotted with beautiful protected beaches and no high rises, residents of Zihuatanejo hope its location at the water’s edge will not discourage tourists who fear the occurrence of tidal waves. (source: zihua.net)
Zihuatanejo has the old-fashioned charm of traditional Mexican culture. It is a town that sprang up from a handful of families who were mostly fishermen. Fishing continues to be a way of life for a large number of families, and the increasing popularity of the area as a sportfishing destination has given new impetus to their livelihood. (source: zihuatanejo.net)
Zihuatanejo
The name Zihuatanejo is from the Nahuatl “Cihuatlán”, meaning “the place of women” because it was a matriarchal society. In pre-Columbian times, the Tarascan leader Calzonzin settled in the area and constructed the rock barrier on Playa Las Gatas (named for the harmless whiskered sharks found there) to provide a sheltered swimming area and harbor for the women and children, and that barrier continues to protect the beach to this day. With the arrival of the Spanish, the name Cihuatlan was transformed first into Cihuatlán and then into Ciguatanejo. Zihuatanejo’s current name form has only been in use for the past couple of centuries.
The Spanish Conquistadores believed Cihuatlán to be a land to the northwest with beautiful Amazon women, gold, and precious gems, and perhaps another name for the Seven Cities of Cibola
Flights
Zihuatanejo can be reached by air, bus and highway and has its own airport, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International. Flights are available from Mexico City and various places in the United States.
Film
Zihuatanejo is the dream “getaway” where prisoner Andy Dufresne escapes to in the film “The Shawshank Redemption”, although the scene in the movie that supposedly takes place there was shot in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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