Sleepless in Sayulita
In February, fifty Smuggers went down to beautiful, bountiful Sayulita Mexico to work for a week. A true meeting of minds, we embarked on our own journey to meet the extended family and see what treasures Mexico had to offer.
We'd never considered going to Mexico before. It's hot, buggy, and we don't speak the language. Moreover, Mexican food is awesome but there's only so much corn, bean, and rice (and any configuration thereof) one can take. But this was an opportunity that we couldn't miss.
Instead of wasting a whole day traveling, we took an overnight flight from SFO with a slight layover at Guadalajara. Maybe not the best for getting restful sleep, but we ended up trying to nap and instead got coffee and watched the sun rise over the mountains.
They look different there, in a subtle way. They look sharper, more wild, but also calm.
Once we landed at Puerto Vallarta, we had a bit of a drive to get to our house. This was a very educational experience in not only the aggressiveness of Mexican taxi drivers and resort employees, but also in how foot traffic behaves this side of the border.
Smuggy was scattered in different houses all around the north end of Sayulita. Some were on the beach and some were on the hill, but they were all inviting. This was my favorite house of the bunch, with a gorgeous pool open to the air and the Pacific. We were treated to a couple of nice sunsets before the rain arrived:
This was our house. They didn't really have numbers, but names. I couldn't imagine a better way to do it.
The back patio was practically bigger than the entire house itself. It was my office for the week.
(If you're interested in real estate abroad, the house is actually for sale for just under $600k USD)
Sayulita is a prime location for surfing enthusiasts. While it is not nearly as touristy as Puerto Vallerta, most of the people there are either American or Canadian. One of the local legends is the burrito stand, Burrito Revolucion.
IMHO it's good, but a bit overrated. Sayulita does marlin quite well, though, I'll give it that.
When not working, we had some great moments. There was food, drink, and sombreros. Some of you may recognize this fellow as one who allows you to upload photos to your SmugMug galleries:
This guy helps keep our site running:
I had a slight mishap with my camera on the beach the very first night we were there. A couple of days later I was ready to get out and enjoy the ocean again, if only because it was a more interesting way to get to the main town than the street.
Not entirely sure what kind of birds these were, but they had yellow feet which was very cute.
The town is a riot of colors, characters, and canines. While there are plenty of tourists and visitors like us, I'd say have the town in population are stray dogs. Or not-so-stray dogs, but "free" dogs. And dog or human, everyone goes about their business each day as they will.
This is Coco. Her owner was a wedding photographer who was worried about the ongoing rain.
I don't know who this was, but he was very, very cute!
There are flags everywhere. Mexico is in a constant state of celebration.
And of course, the food was great. Here's fellow superhero Lindy with one of the famous street vendor churros. We bought the guy's entire supply two nights out of the week. The other nights he was the White Rabbit of our vacation -- always sought, never found.
I love a fresh young coconut, and there's always a guy with a machete who is willing to sell you one. But watch out: Sometimes they've been sitting around a bit too long and have gone rancid.
One morning we were looking for breakfast and because of a sudden downpour, ducked into this little restaurant which was scarcely more than a shack with a corrugated metal roof. The menu was just a couple of items scrawled in broken English on a cheap whiteboard. "FRENCH TOAST." We just needed a way to pass the time until the rain stopped, but what an unexpectedly incredible gourmet breakfast. I'd much rather not expect 5-star quality and get it than hope for it and be let down.
Coffee in Sayulita isn't really much to speak about. But again it was raining, so you duck into the nearest cafe and get some to warm up. Here's another guy who keeps our site running:
Street vendors are an awesome way to get a taste of local cuisine without paying out the nose. Each morning a woman with a huge tray of baked goods would come down the street. If you're lucky, you could catch her. If you were even more lucky, she'd even ring the bell at your gate.
Some of the things you'd see in Sayulita:
Cobblestoned streets, sweet jungle blooms, happy families going to town for dinner. You'll eat well, but you'll also be grateful that the streets really are that steep so you can walk it off.
You can also look across the street and see the turret of your neighbor's house. Since all the houses have open plans and sometimes no walls (or windows), it's kind of amusing. This particular tower held a fellow that many of you might know. He designed a very, very slick shopping cart if you've ever ordered a print or a gift off of a SM site.
If you're, um, lucky, you'll see a host of unique creatures. We saw a trail of busy leafcutter ants at night, but thankfully everything we met was more or less harmless. But even if they're harmless, sometimes having them be huge is enough of a shock. A giant tailless whip scorpion crawled out of our bathroom on night, and friend, colleague, housemate, and photographer gluwater was excited to capture it:
The local children play football during their morning break.
Politics:
Lizards of all sizes. This one was perched on a grave in the cemetery.
You cannot move ten feet in Mexico without seeing an advertisement for Corona, but occasionally it'll be done well.
Permanent parking spots. Location, location, location.
There's some rain, but it brings lovely sunsets.
There really is a lot to offer in this beautiful town, and even without speaking Spanish you can tell they have a rich history. Now we are back to our land of cold, fog, few bugs, and drinkable tap water but we are all the richer for it in experience.
Happy traveling!
We'd never considered going to Mexico before. It's hot, buggy, and we don't speak the language. Moreover, Mexican food is awesome but there's only so much corn, bean, and rice (and any configuration thereof) one can take. But this was an opportunity that we couldn't miss.
Instead of wasting a whole day traveling, we took an overnight flight from SFO with a slight layover at Guadalajara. Maybe not the best for getting restful sleep, but we ended up trying to nap and instead got coffee and watched the sun rise over the mountains.
They look different there, in a subtle way. They look sharper, more wild, but also calm.
Once we landed at Puerto Vallarta, we had a bit of a drive to get to our house. This was a very educational experience in not only the aggressiveness of Mexican taxi drivers and resort employees, but also in how foot traffic behaves this side of the border.
Smuggy was scattered in different houses all around the north end of Sayulita. Some were on the beach and some were on the hill, but they were all inviting. This was my favorite house of the bunch, with a gorgeous pool open to the air and the Pacific. We were treated to a couple of nice sunsets before the rain arrived:
This was our house. They didn't really have numbers, but names. I couldn't imagine a better way to do it.
The back patio was practically bigger than the entire house itself. It was my office for the week.
(If you're interested in real estate abroad, the house is actually for sale for just under $600k USD)
Sayulita is a prime location for surfing enthusiasts. While it is not nearly as touristy as Puerto Vallerta, most of the people there are either American or Canadian. One of the local legends is the burrito stand, Burrito Revolucion.
IMHO it's good, but a bit overrated. Sayulita does marlin quite well, though, I'll give it that.
When not working, we had some great moments. There was food, drink, and sombreros. Some of you may recognize this fellow as one who allows you to upload photos to your SmugMug galleries:
This guy helps keep our site running:
I had a slight mishap with my camera on the beach the very first night we were there. A couple of days later I was ready to get out and enjoy the ocean again, if only because it was a more interesting way to get to the main town than the street.
Not entirely sure what kind of birds these were, but they had yellow feet which was very cute.
The town is a riot of colors, characters, and canines. While there are plenty of tourists and visitors like us, I'd say have the town in population are stray dogs. Or not-so-stray dogs, but "free" dogs. And dog or human, everyone goes about their business each day as they will.
This is Coco. Her owner was a wedding photographer who was worried about the ongoing rain.
I don't know who this was, but he was very, very cute!
There are flags everywhere. Mexico is in a constant state of celebration.
And of course, the food was great. Here's fellow superhero Lindy with one of the famous street vendor churros. We bought the guy's entire supply two nights out of the week. The other nights he was the White Rabbit of our vacation -- always sought, never found.
I love a fresh young coconut, and there's always a guy with a machete who is willing to sell you one. But watch out: Sometimes they've been sitting around a bit too long and have gone rancid.
One morning we were looking for breakfast and because of a sudden downpour, ducked into this little restaurant which was scarcely more than a shack with a corrugated metal roof. The menu was just a couple of items scrawled in broken English on a cheap whiteboard. "FRENCH TOAST." We just needed a way to pass the time until the rain stopped, but what an unexpectedly incredible gourmet breakfast. I'd much rather not expect 5-star quality and get it than hope for it and be let down.
Coffee in Sayulita isn't really much to speak about. But again it was raining, so you duck into the nearest cafe and get some to warm up. Here's another guy who keeps our site running:
Street vendors are an awesome way to get a taste of local cuisine without paying out the nose. Each morning a woman with a huge tray of baked goods would come down the street. If you're lucky, you could catch her. If you were even more lucky, she'd even ring the bell at your gate.
Some of the things you'd see in Sayulita:
Cobblestoned streets, sweet jungle blooms, happy families going to town for dinner. You'll eat well, but you'll also be grateful that the streets really are that steep so you can walk it off.
You can also look across the street and see the turret of your neighbor's house. Since all the houses have open plans and sometimes no walls (or windows), it's kind of amusing. This particular tower held a fellow that many of you might know. He designed a very, very slick shopping cart if you've ever ordered a print or a gift off of a SM site.
If you're, um, lucky, you'll see a host of unique creatures. We saw a trail of busy leafcutter ants at night, but thankfully everything we met was more or less harmless. But even if they're harmless, sometimes having them be huge is enough of a shock. A giant tailless whip scorpion crawled out of our bathroom on night, and friend, colleague, housemate, and photographer gluwater was excited to capture it:
The local children play football during their morning break.
Politics:
Lizards of all sizes. This one was perched on a grave in the cemetery.
You cannot move ten feet in Mexico without seeing an advertisement for Corona, but occasionally it'll be done well.
Permanent parking spots. Location, location, location.
There's some rain, but it brings lovely sunsets.
There really is a lot to offer in this beautiful town, and even without speaking Spanish you can tell they have a rich history. Now we are back to our land of cold, fog, few bugs, and drinkable tap water but we are all the richer for it in experience.
Happy traveling!
0
Comments
Glad you put my 5DII to good use
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Jim Carrey?!
A lover of all things photography.
Olympus E-500
My Smugmug Gallery
www.morffed.com
My Gallery
I finally have stopped itching and my bug bites have healed. Maybe next week I'll be ready to eat Mexican food again, too.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Very nice set :smo looks like it was a fun time! Sorry to hear about the little mishap, but glad to see you got passed that, photographically speaking
www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
Even an egret and a Corona sign, it just doesn't get better.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
enough to see vallarta several times, but long to the see sleepier places of the mexican riviera like this. Love your story and photos, thanks for the trip
You should totally do this if you can! I didn't get a chance to get out in Vallerta apart from driving around the airport vicinity but it seemed vastly different from Sayulita. My husband and I are not resort people so renting a house for a week in a smaller town an hour away was just perfect. You have almost all the conveniences of home without being in a bubble.
Also, I'd venture a guess but it would seem that staying in towns a little farther afield may also be more affordable.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Work hard, play harder. bloggy