Public Health Warning Closes Mexican Beach Made Famous by Shawshank Redemption Sarah Gordon - Daily Mail
go to original April 9, 2014

Western promise: The beaches on Mexico's Pacific coast are popular with tourists and Easter is peak season for travelers. (Alamy)

The beach that Tim Robbins dreamed of escaping to in the 1994 film Shawshank Redemption has been closed to the public due to contamination.

The Mexican beach of Zihuatanejo, on the Pacific Coast, is where Robbins' character, wrongly-convicted Andy Dufresne, dreams of seeing out his days, fixing up a boat and taking tourists out for trips.

But anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps is advised to stay out of the water, due to high levels of pollution in the water which are causing health problems among the locals.



Mexican dream: Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman starred in The Shawshank Redemption, in which they dream of a simpler life in the Mexican fishing village of Zihuatanejo. (Alamy)

A sign has been placed on the sand, reading: 'Dear tourists, the quality of the water is not suitable for recreational swimming. Please avoid swimming in this area.'

Levels of the enterococci bacteria equal 399 per 100ml of water on the beach, significantly higher than the 200 per 100ml limit imposed by the Mexican authorities.

Zihuatanejo is in Guerrero state, about 150 miles north of Acapulco, and is where Dufresne talks to veteran inmate Red (played by Morgan Freeman) about escaping to in Shawshank Redemption.

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