February 1, 2019

For the past four years our Troncones casa where we commence our Mexican vacation each February has been The Inn at Manzanilla Bay. The style is invitingly rustic with vaulted timber ceilings and exposed beams, thatched roofs, and colorful casitas – each with their own outside terrace. The entire estate is surrounded by mature palms, bougainvillea and tropical landscaping creating a lush paradise around their small swimming pool at the epicenter of the eight individual bungalows. Resident iguanas and geckos abound and it’s always a bit of a surprise to happen upon one, startling them into scuttling away! Surfside hammocks and lounge chairs with ocean views and beach access are steps away.

An open-air restaurant/bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and their signature label “Big Boy Tequila” (as well as other adult beverages) “whenever” seals the deal! In the short time we have been visiting Troncones, more boutique accommodations have popped up and we always think we might try new place. Maybe next year… Troncones is located 2 kilometers from Majahua Village and about 35 kilometers from the Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa airport and is home to about 500 people who make their living mainly from the sea.There are small tiendas (convenience stores) offering basic necessities, a weekly fruit and vegetable stand in the village and “the fruit truck” goes up and down their main drag every day making it easy to stock up on local produce! We hear that there are beer and soft drink trucks that come by nearly every day, too, yet we have not personally seen them. We discovered this town years ago by hopping a Zihuatanejo city bus – a Memorable Adventure unto itself to be sure!!! The bus hauled ass on the highway, coming to a screeching halt multiple times enroute to pick up all sorts of locals! One with a bucket of herring, one with a cage of chickens, and even one bearing a machete which thankfully had to be checked at the front! We were abruptly deposited on the side of the highway once we reached Troncones and didn’t know until we started walking that we were still three miles from the town! Some hombres in a truck picked us up though, further adding to our thrilling encounter and making our discovery a little easier on our feet!! This small village treats us to about three miles of beautiful, unspoiled, golden sand beaches where flocks of pelicans skim the crests of the waves and endangered sea turtles lay their eggs in the warm sand. We love strolling through rock outcroppings, checking out the abundant tidal pools and stopping in at any of the alluring variety of traditional thatched roof restaurants for refreshments. And the fiery sunsets are beyond description, leaving the entire massive expanse of sky shades of violet, fuscia, rose and indigo!

Some of the best “secret” surfing beaches in Mexico are here and are known to surfers worldwide. Construction is happening all around yet basically that’s a slow process. All in all though, it still feels like a secret, uncrowded, tiny village – perfectly suited to our preferences!

We took our leisurely time getting going this morning – we are on “vacation“ after all (whatever that means in the state of retirement…!) Ultimately we walked along the beach all morning! One of our goals was to seek out The Villas – a property near the center of the little town of Troncones, boasting nine villas ranging from one to five bedrooms, a pool and “ocean view” – a given since the place is actually On The Beach! Friends of ours from home, Dave and Shelly, bought a unit there last year and we heard that they were actually in residence. We failed to find them onsite yet lo and behold – they were just coming out of Cafe Pacifico! We made a “date” for dinner at Roberto’s once again – this time early enough for the release of baby turtles!

We continued beach walking all the way to the lighthouse south of “town”, and then made our way back to Café Pacifico for our own breakfast logging in four miles in the increasingly toasty morning sun. Yay us!!

Bill had another omelette to rave over and I tried the detox smoothie – quite delicious! Not exactly “Keto” with mango and orange, however it did have spinach, I added coconut oil and rounded my meal out witha side of bacon in my efforts at compliance…

Another mile and a half back to The Inn where our pool was a welcome oasis!

Dinner and the sunset at Roberto’s was surreal – another day in paradise! Oh, and I saw the infamous “Green Flash” as the sun dipped into the ocean!! First time EVER!!