La Manzanilla

At the end of January, N & I headed down to Mexico with seven of our good friends. This trip had been a long time in the making. My MOH’s parents discovered this lovely little town about 30 years ago & have been going down regularly since. Last winter, she looked at this beautiful villa & proposed we plan a trip down.

We jumped on the idea & booked the villa last spring. So we’d been anticipating the trip for almost a year by the time we went down. It turned out to be well worth the wait.

La Manzanilla is gorgeous – the weather was perfect, the villa was beautiful, & the food was the best I’ve had on any Mexican vacation to date.

The town is full of Canadians that head down every winter so we were in good company as we collectively escaped the frigid temperatures at home. We did, however, lower the average age by at least 30 years. Everywhere we went we got comments about how nice it was to see younger people around. & I have to agree; it was pretty nice. I’d gladly do it again anytime.

Because of all the expats, the restaurant options were amazing. On the beach, we usually ate at little Mexican palapas – enjoying fresh shrimp and some of the best fruit money can buy. Everything was so fresh. I’ve eaten one avocado since coming home & it was a sad experience after the perfect ones in La Manzanilla. I’m sure I’m not the only one wishing I was heading to Jolanda’s tonight for the best fish & chips!

Most of our days were spent eating shrimp, drinking cheap beer & margaritas, & watching fisherman compete with pelicans for dorado. Luca took daily naps on a towel in the sand & got comfortable in the water. The adults boogie boarded, read, & enjoyed the beach every day. It’s hard writing this as it’s still very much winter in Canada.

This type of Mexican vacation probably isn’t for everyone, though. The town is small, the streets are dusty, & there are dogs everywhere. I loved every minute of it. In fact, I think we all did. We’ve all wistfully talked of returning.

I don’t usually do this, but since this post is so photo heavy, you can find the rest after the jump.