A couple of days ago, I returned to La Manzanilla, a small beach resort located about 45 minutes north of the Manzanillo Airport on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Affectionately known as “My Secret Paradise”(a nickname that I coined), La Manzanilla is not really a secret anymore - the cat has been out of the bag for sometime now.

A longtime favorite beach town among Mexicans from Guadalajara, there is increasingly steady flow of Americans and Canadians who vacation here. Not surprisingly, there is a growing expat community of gringos here in La Manzanilla - many of them are snowbirders, which is a popular term used to describe North Americans who fly migrate south during the cold winter months (November – May) before returning home sometime after May. Many of these snowbirders have summer homes situated in the hills overlooking the town.

It seems that everybody is enchanted with “My Secret Paradise”; whenever I go to one of the more popular cafes like El Girasol Bistro, I always overhear conversations about buying property from gringos who are vacationing here for the first time. As expected, land prices are going up as more and more gringos try to set up shop here. Stay tuned…

I’m feeling somewhat nostalgic about My Secret Paradise - the small resort town of La Manzanilla on Mexico’s Costa Alegre - so I thought I would share with you my adventure from March 2007. Hope to see you down there - there’s enough beach and sun for all of us. Cocktails at El Quetzal!

The Cabo San Lucas that I visited for the first time in 1980 was one of the beautiful places that I have ever been to. Located at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific ocean meet, Cabo has some very dramatic desert and sea landscapes. Cabo lost some of it’s luster and appeal to me when it became too popular and morphed into an international resort destination. The impetus for this transition happened in 1986 with the inaugural opening of Cabo’s international airport located about 35 miles up the coast. Cabo of the early 1980’s was a real special place…

If you’re curious how Cabo looked like in those early days, feel free to check out my special Cabo photo gallery.

Over the years, I have seen several vacation destinations grow from small tourist enclaves to big time resorts. Typically, beach resort destinations by and large evolve from a small fishing village that has both beautiful beaches and are blessed with considerable natural beauty. Once such an idyllic place is discovered, usually tourism development will follow shortly thereafter and over a period of time, tourism can overwhelm and change the basic personality of a place. More often than not, this is what happens to the vacation paradises of our yesteryears to the point that we start looking for new unspoiled places to go to.

Two of the places that come to mind are Cabo San Lucas in Mexico and Negril in Jamaica, I visited both of these popular vacation destinations in the winter of 1980 when both Cabo San Lucas (Cabo for short) and Negril were still relatively undeveloped and there were only a handful of legitimate hotels and resorts in each area. Over the ensuing 14 years, I visited Cabo on four occasions and went to Negril every year as I personally witnessed both these resorts grow up from toddlers to young adults so to speak. Today, both Negril and Cabo are truly international resort destinations. My last visit to both Cabo and Negril coincidentally was in the summer of 1993.

At the time of my first visit in 1980, people were just starting to discover Cabo, an area that had long been a favorite among the sports fishing crowd, celebrities and the jet set. People fell in love with the rugged, natural beauty of the Cabo area and for its small town frontier ambiance - there were no tourist crowds here and it had not been yet tainted with the commercial excesses of mainland resorts like Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and Mazatlan. The dramatic desert and seaside landscapes as well as deserted white sand beaches were breathtakingly beautiful. In particular, the vistas near the tip of Baja California, where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez merge and where the mountainous desert terrain plunges into the sea were truly spectacular. Since the international jet port in nearby San José del Cabo hadn’t opened up yet, most visitors to Cabo flew into La Paz (the capital of Baja California) located further up the coast on the Sea Cortez side, whereupon they either rented a car or took a bus for the scenic three ride along a relatively good highway to Cabo. I remember the bus ride as being rather enjoyable as we traveled through some rugged mountainous desert terrain. After the international airport opened up in 1986, tourism to Cabo really took off.

On my last visit to Cabo in October 1993, the new Marina had been built and there were many new hotels and resorts at the tip and along the Baja corridor. As evidence of the tourism growth, a number of championship caliber golf courses had sprouted up along the Baja corridor. The downtown area had grown considerably and there were quite a few more restaurants, bars and shops - the downtown area throbbed with activity as tourists paraded up and down the streets not to mention the many sales representatives who were pitching naïve tourists to attend some slick condo time share presentations. As more and more Californians and residents of BC established 2nd homes in the area, Cabo started to assume a real Californian (gringo) personality. Being in Cabo, was like never leaving the States. The small, quiet village of Cabo of 1980 - with its dusty downtown streets, quaint Mexican cafes and deserted beaches - was well on its way to becoming an international resort destination. After that last visit to Cabo, I never returned and I never looked back. The Cabo I knew was gone forever and so was I. However, for somebody who is visiting Cabo for the first time, they will probably love this quaint, relatively unassuming but throbbing resort town, but they have no prior knowledge of what it was like before as I do (when Cabo was a relative toddler as a resort town). Such is the phenomenon known as the Kathmandu Syndrome.

Next up: Kathmandu Syndrome Revisited (Part 2 ) - A Look at Negril

I pride myself as being a veteran world explorer, having traveled extensively throughout Thailand and Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Costa Rica and Central America and having journeyed to parts of West Africa and South America. However, after reviewing the recently proclaimed ’ New 7 Wonders of the World” - Chichén Itzá (Mexico), Christ The Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu (Peru), Petra (Jordan), The Roman Coliseum (Italy) and The Taj Mahal in India - I realize how truly impoverished I am in the travel department.

I admit to having visited only one of these legendary historical sites. In January 1974, while traveling through Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, I took a day tour from Merida to the nearby Mayan archaeological site of Chichen Itza. This huge spiritual-metropolis complex was the heart of the Mayan empire during its postclassical era in the 9th century. While 1974 seems like another lifetime, I remember my day at Chichen Itza as if it was yesterday. As part of a mixed Gringo-Mexican tour group (mostly tourists from Mexico City), we were led around the site by a tour guide who gave us his canned narration of the history of the site and of the Mayan empire. The guide gave the whole spiel in Spanish; fortunately one of the gals from Mexico City gave me the translation in English. We walked the length of the famous ball court and climbed up the steep stairs to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun where we had a birdseye view of this massive complex which towered high above the rainforest. I imagined myself being one of the human sacrifices to the Sun God, my heart being torn out by the one of the Mayan Shamans. By the way, did you see Apocalypto, Mel Gibson’s film?

Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the grandeur and history of this ancient city-temple complex. One thing that I was quite disturbed about was the number of large tour buses in the parking lot. Hey, if Chichen Itza was a tourist trap in 1974, I can only imagine in the ensuing 33 years, how its popularity has truly gone off the charts. If there were 20 tour buses in the parking lot in 1974, I can easily imagine 60-100 tour buses sitting there in 2007. The old Mayan Gods would literally be salivating at the chops if they saw their old spiritual stomping grounds being overrun by gringo tourists. More sacrificial lambs to choose from. Talking about the Kathmandu Syndrome, this is an excellent example how tourism has spoiled and desecrated a place of magnificent grandeur. Oh well……

In my humble opinion, Angkor Wat, the massive Hindu-Buddhist archaeological complex located in the jungles of Northwestern Cambodia, was even more impressive than Chichen Itza. The city of Angkor was built in the 12th century and was the capital of the powerful Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia. There are over 100 temples in a 10-20 mile radius - that number is literally astounding. The Khmers were the mother culture of this region and have significantly influenced all the civilizations that followed in its wake. Angkor Wat was nominated as one of the finalists for the 7 new wonders of the world but for some reason it failed to make the top seven. While visiting Angkor Wat in November 2005, I was literally awestruck by its magnificence and grandeur.

OK, I have visited two of the seven wonders - that leaves me five more to visit before I leave this planet for good. The good news - I am going to Peru and Ecuador in late August, and of course this intrepid traveler will explore both the legendary Incan capital of Machu Picchu located high in the Peruvian Andes as well as the Galapagos Islands. Stay Tuned…

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On my recent trip to Mexico’s Costa Alegre, I had a very interesting experience on my final night in Barra de Navidad. Located just down the coast from La Manzanilla, ‘Barra’ is a small picturesque beach town, very popular with ‘spring breakers’ and families. Looking for a nice wholesome meal for dinner, I went to Casa Sol, a small garden café that I read about on the Internet. Some previous visitors gave this place some very favorable reviews - according to the press clippings, the small cafe featured live music nightly by some of the local musicians in the area. In addition, there was a hint of some vegetarian entrees being available. Just what the doctor ordered!

Walking into the café, I was given a friendly welcome by the proprietor, a middle aged lady who was stationed in the small kitchen. With a variety of colorful indigenous arts and crafts decorating the place, the small restaurant had a lot of ambiance. The place was virtually deserted and I was the only customer for the night. I asked the proprietor who was doubling as chef and waitress, if she could prepare me a nice vegetarian dinner? No problem she said, suggesting a Mediterranean salad and a spicy vegetarian pasta dish (not on the menu). Situating myself at the best table in the house, I began chatting with the proprietor whose name was Olga as she began preparing my meal. It’s always interesting to hear the stories of expatriates from North America, Europe and other ‘first world countries” who have relocated to the tropics to developing third world countries like Mexico.

Olga was born in Holland, but moved to the California during her ‘free wheeling hippie days” sometime in the mid 1970’s. She eventually settled down in Mendocino, a small coastal town in Northern California. Sometime in the late 1990’s, she bolted to Barra de Navidad after the dissolution of her marriage to start a new life. A light bulb went off in my head when she mentioned she had lived in Mendocino. I passed thru the area with a friend sometime in summer of 1998, staying overnight at a beautiful private home in the forested hills overlooking the coast. The house was owned by a client of mine by the name of Richard Redfern, who worked as a medical doctor in nearby hospital. Almost everybody in the area knew Dr. Redfern, who had the deserved reputation of being a very friendly and hospitable fellow, who often invited musicians of touring bands to crash at his place when they passed through the area. Of course, Olga, having lived in Mendocino for so many years, also knew the good Doctor fairly well, having visited him at his home on a number of occasions. What a coincidence!

Continuing with the story - Before heading to Richard’s house, my friend and I had an early dinner at the Mendocino Café and Grill. Shaking her head in disbelief, she related to me that during the 1990’s she was part owner (and a chef) at this very same establishment, before bolting to Mexico sometime after the summer of 1998. I distinctly remember my dinner there - I had one of the best salads that I’ve ever had, all the produce was organic and locally grown.

It is definitely a small world after all!

As a sidenote - there was no live entertainment that night, as the musicians pulled a no show. Boo…..

Has anybody had the experience of unexpectedly running into a friend or somebody you know during your travels overseas? Well, I ‘m sure it’s happened to many people. It’s a small world after all! (an expression popularized by the Disney attraction in Anaheim) Let me tell you about a couple of my unusual encounters.

It was shortly before the Christmas Holidays in 1973, when I treated myself to a 3-week trip to Mexico as a gift to myself for graduating UC Berkeley. For the first week of my trip, I stayed in the ‘up and coming resort’ of Puerto Vallarta. My hotel, the Marsol was located at the beginning of the popular Playa de los Muertos on the southern end of the strip. Sauntering along the beach, I ran into David Whitehurst, a college roommate of mine during my senior year in college. He was vacationing with his father, a medical doctor and his younger brother. After graduating from college, Dave moved back to Chicago to live with his peeps. I spent over an hour chatting with Dave, mostly reminiscing about the wild times we had during our final year at college. Shortly before he returned to his hotel, I invited him to a party at the Marsol that I was involved in. That’s another story in its own right.

Well, after that one hour on the beach with ole Dave in Vallarta, I never saw him again. I’m guessing he’s either practicing medicine or ODed on drugs… oh well!

The next unusual story involves my parents, who were vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico sometime in the early 1980s. While walking around town, they were approached by a young American fellow who was aggressively hawking condo timeshares. Sizing up my parents, he was able to gather a lot of background information on them. Upon learning my parent’s last name and where they currently lived, a light bulb went off in the guy’s head. Apparently the young man grew up very in the same general vicinity (in the adjoining town). Chatting with my parents some more, the young man, asked my parents if they had a son about his age, to which they replied yes. Aha, the young man replied - “I think I know your son, Is his name Hanumann?” My parents nodded. The young man continued, “Believe it or not, I attended the same Junior High School, 1962-1965 with your son.” It’s definitely a small world after all!

Located two doors down from Posada Tonala (the place where I stayed) on the main street in La Manzanilla is Jolanda’s. Specializing in European and Southeast Asian Cuisine, Jolanda’s is probably the most eclectic restaurant in town. Jolanda, the co-proprietor and her husband Leon have a most interesting story about how they ended up in La Manzanilla, but that is another story in its own right. Jolanda spent 9 months in Ao Nang, Thailand in 2001, and was trained in all styles of Thai cookery by a renowned gourmet chef who owns the Laughing Gecko Bungalows. Since the chef was shorthanded, he allowed Jolanda to work for him for 9 weeks.

Jolanda’s has legions of fans and is one of the most popular restaurants in town. As someone who loves spicy Thai cuisine, I decided to sample Jolanda’s her curried tofu dish on my first night in town. While the curry was fairly tasteful, I was a little disappointed that it did not have any vegetables, that usually accompany this type of dish. Upon Jolanda’s suggestion, I ordered a side dish of red cabbage. My 2nd time there, I had a tasty homemade tofu burger which was loaded with tomatoes, onions and lettuce. In addition, I had mustard soup, a traditional Dutch peasant dish. The soup was a little too rich in my opinion, but maybe that’s just the way it is supposed to be prepared. The menu is varied and there are lots of yummy non-vegetarian dishes to choose from. As far as the service goes, Leon is the headwaiter and he is very attentive to the needs of his customers.

Jolanda’s has a very quirky and artsy ambiance, exhibiting a variety of paintings, ceramics and indigenous arts and crafts from all Mexico. On Wednesday nights, they have a special Rice Table (Reservations only). During the season, the upstairs dining room is often jamming on Rice Table night.

My reviews of three of the restaurants that cater to gringos in La Manzanilla.…

#1 El Quetzal
This French owned restaurant specializes in crepes. On two separate occasions, I had dinner there and on both occasions I had a vegetarian crepe filled with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and peppers. It was very tasty with large, generous portions. A small salad and some French bread came with the entree. I think the cost was about 5.50USD. Service was fairly good. The owner plays a different style of music every night- one night is reggae, another night it might be classic jazz or blues. On my last night in town, I returned to El Quetzal with a Mexican friend of mine and I had two very powerful and delicious margaritas. Needless to say, I felt a bit happy, and slightly intoxicated afterwards. Definitely a good value for the money!

#2 El Girasol Cafe© and Bistro
A carefree outdoor café located directly across the street from the zocalo, El Girasol is a wonderful place for breakfast. Not a bad choice for dinner either! They make their own pastries and serve shade grown organic coffee. The fruit salad with or without yogurt and muesli was pretty good and contained a variety of fruits in season. Portion sizes were pretty generous and service was friendly. As a real bonus, the cafe had free Wifi on a secured digital network for patrons of the café. I had breakfast there 7 of the 9 days that I was there (on Sundays the café is closed) and had dinner there on two occasions - the first time, I had a wonderful Mediterranean-spinach salad with feta cheese and vinaigrette dressing along with a bowl of tortilla soup with avocados (completely vegetarian). I guess you could say that I liked El Girasol a lot! The fact that the owner of the cafe, Davison Collins, is a dedicated environmentalist and is active in conducting ecological tours of the nearby mangroves was another reason for me to patronize this cafe. It can get kind of noisy on Friday nights and on Saturdays, when the music concession on the zocalo is playing their Mexican hip-hop CD’s at a deafening volume! Ouch!

#3 Coco Loco
A beachside restaurant, Coco Loco was taken over recently by an English chap by the name of Jason, his Italian buddy and a well versed Mexican chef from San Miguel de Allende. At the time I visited Coco Loco, the new management team were busy giving Coco Loco a complete makeover. The new menu will emphasize gourmet pasta dishes and seafood. Upon some encouragement from Jason to give his restaurant a try, I went over to Coco Loco one night for dinner. I had a vegetarian Pasta Primavera - the cost was about $7.00USD. While the pasta dish was good and tastefully seasoned, the service could use some improvement.

Coming up is Dining around in La Manzanilla (Part 2) - A look at Jolanda’s

I don’t pretend to be a professional restaurant critic, but as a strict vegetarian and health nut, I am a very harsh critic of restaurants and I have very high standards. To me there are five important elements that I use to evaluate a restaurant .

* Food- How the food tastes and quality of preparation
* Aesthetics -The presentation of the food
* Service - attentiveness and attitude of waiters and staff
* Ambiance - décor and layout of the restaurant
* Value - equating the whole dining experience in terms of value for the
money

What makes things a little more complicated for yours truly is that I’m 90% vegan (a vegetarian who refrains from eating eggs and all dairy products). Also I lean toward places that use strictly organic produce, even if it costs me extra money.

While I was in La Manzanilla for 10 days, I had all my meals at four different restaurants; considering that there are approximately 8 restaurants that are geared for the “gringo business” in this small town, I sampled 50% of the available places. Keep in mind, my evaluation is strictly subjective and it may differ from your experience and other patrons of the reviewed restaurants. All I can do is be honest, right?

The four restaurants I patronized ranged from the eclectic Southeast Asian and European Cuisine of Jolanda’s, the wholesome filled crepes of El Quetzal, the carefree El Girasol Bistro and Bakery to the nouvelle Italian cuisine of Coco Loco.

To follow in a subsequent post, my reviews. Stay tuned…