Arriving early to mainland, we decided to head straight to Sayulita, make a day of it taking the free roads.  On the ride south we immediately realized how much more densely populated mainland is than Baja. The freedom and lawless atmosphere we found in Baja is very much alive and well in mainland.  Outside of shooting a place up, it seems that most anything goes.  You really have to be on your toes when driving.  Not sure I would call it aggressive driving, because the hostility normally accompanied is lacking, but surely reckless. 

 

When we arrived in Sayulita the streets were buzzing.  We took a quick cruise through town and found a funky, shakedown street vibe, complete with street food, street vendors, and street performers.  After backing into our spot at the trailer park, we ran to the beach and looked at the left hand break we could glimpse from our camp spot. Wow!  Rolling hills shaped a small bay, giving the feeling of tranquil remoteness, with a scattering of houses overlooking the ocean. The beach was packed, but there was only a manageable number of surfers in the water.  Nice, shoulder high waves peeling in one after another.  Surely looking to be a place to burn a little time. 

 

 

 

Everything lined up and before we knew it we had set anchor for two months.  Physical therapy for my shoulder injury, Spanish lessons, mellow surf break, water delivered to our door, and plenty of friends passing through made it easy to forget time.  

 

 

 

  

Speaking of Spanish, upon crossing the border into Baja, one of the most popular road signs we found was, “no tire basura”.  Because the sign was usually accompanied by a shit load of old tires, we came to the obvious gringo translation of, “no tire trash”.  We would see these signs randomly in many strange places, maybe downtown, maybe by a park, and we would think, who in the world would throw tires here?!  Approximately 5 months later, after leaving a Spanish class, we walked through downtown Sayulita and read the sign for the thousandth time. “No tire basura”.  As we both proceeded to make our usual, snarky jokes about throwing a tire…Duhh!  It hits us both at once!  Tirar = to throw!  Duhh!  “No throwing trash!”  No littering!

 

 

 

 

Sayulita is a damn good place to spend a winter vacation.  Plenty of travelers and expats from all over, eateries and shops to satisfy most anyone, warm weather, warm water, and a splendid beach.  Fly into Puerto Vallerta and take a taxi to your accommodations. Forget about a car, you won’t need it.  Bring your Spanish phrase book, but you probably won’t need that either.  Enjoy yourself a real experience, and for potentially less money than a trip to Florida. 

 

 

Our feet were itchy, but we found ourselves torn to leave the coast and the tranquilo beach vibe.  We finally said our goodbyes to all of our new friends. Sayulita, hasta luego, we will certainly see you later.