Aribe, al centro, baja, al dentro in Sayulita

The trip began on a Saturday morning when a good friend dropped me off at the San Francisco airport for the first leg of my 5ish month adventure. There was a lot that happened leading up to this "trip of a lifetime" as many people have dubbed it however that's for another post. 

I got into Puerto Vallarta around 4 pm where my friends Sean, Pam, and little dog Foxy were awaiting my arrival. Our first item of business was to find a sports bar to watch the football playoffs since my team, the San Francisco 49ers, were working on their Quest for Six. After the 30 minute drive to Sayulita we headed straight to a sports bar and managed to grab a great table outside by the projector during the second quarter. The game was great and I for sure thought the Niners would take it but alas we were thwarted by the Seahawks. The game was a blast to watch in Mexico with locals and visitors alike all cheering for their team (most of which were Seahawks fans unfortunately) sipping on 100% blue agave tequila and Pacifico's and munching on nachos. When that fun had finished we headed to the house that I would call home for a week and that Sean and Pam had been at for 3 weeks already. It was an awesome spot with a pool right in front, steps from the beach. For dinner we walked back out to the town and had pizza at Pizza Venezia which was a hole in the wall place with only seating outside and essentially in the street. Honestly it was some of the best pizza I have ever had and the calzone was even better. On our way back to the house we heard some loud music playing and thought we may have stumbled on a party. I was in an adventurous mood having just started the trip so Sean and I took off in search of some fun. It turns out it was a family just having a great time! We joined in the fun for a bit until we headed on back for bed. 

The rest of the time on Sayulita was filled with adventure. I tried a TRX work out style class that was up on a hill overlooking the water and hiked to a remote beach. 

On the second day in Sayulita, we went sailing on Sayula 1, a trimaran, out to the Marietas Island with Sean and Pam's friend Darren who is the captain/owner of the boat along with a group from the states. We saw whales up close and personal on out way out to the islands!

It was open bar on the boat and Sean and I hit that hard. Mini bottles of Pacifico's and Corona's for days along with food to settle the booze. Once we got to the island, we went snorkeling through a couple different cave spots one of which led to the most amazing spot ever "Hidden Beach" or "Playa de Amor".

I think in this case a picture speaks a thousand words. On the ride home from the island we kicked it up a notch and had rum punches and baja fogs (drink the neck of a Pacifico or Corona down and put tequila in the open space). When we got back to the dock we met up with Sean's friend Giselle for buffalo wings and beers. There was a sweet deal for 55 pesos for a beer and 10 wings. They were good wings too.

On day three we went to breakfast at Tropical House which was the closest restaurant to our place and has really good free high speed wifi, something that was hard to come by in Sayulita! I had an amazing smoothie...pineapple, strawberry, basil and a Mexican burrito. It was delish. After breakfast we wandered the town a bit and Sean and I decided to go ATV-ing to an amazing secluded beach called Nula. 

We went on the actual beach and Sean and the guide got air, I kept it lowkey until we had to go out around these rock points that were getting hit by waves but we weren't allowed to touch the salt water. 

I almost died. Just kidding although it was actually scary but super fun. The timing had to be spot on. Then we traversed through a river up a huge hill and I broke the chain to the ATV I was driving and had to ride on the back of the guides ATV. I think he liked it more than I did. We made a stop along the way back for beers and some tequila tasting. Great success. 

That night we decided to head out to dinner in Puerto Vallarta at Pipi's and got HUGE margaritas. I got watermelon flavor and Sean got Midori apple. Both delish. We both got supreme fajitas with steak, chicken, and shrimp. Fab and way too much food. If you go there, order one portion for 2 people. Tequila shots came free after dinner, always a plus. Then we walked the malecon (boardwalk) of Puerto Vallarta and all the bars/clubs were beckoning people in with promises of free drinks. We stopped at this small bar to get drinks before going out that also sold pizza. The area for drinking was upstairs in a low ceiling room with cushions for the ground so you are basically laying down or seated Indian style. The atmosphere was super cool and they served large drinks (1 L sizes). We went to Vaca nightclub. Cow decorations were every where and there was a swing that I decided not to get on because I was in a dress but we did go up to the elevated platforms and dance and drink. 

The following day we made breakfast burritos with our Pipi leftovers and then sailed to El Faro point and watched the surfers, while Sean, Darren and a few others went surfing. I chilled on the boat, read, swam, and tanned. Very fun day in my opinion. Went to Buceria after and had amazing micheladas and walked around their night fair and ate corn with cheese, sour cream, and chile powder in a cup, and finished the night with some pastor tacos. 

For my last full day in Sayulita I slept in and relaxed...I then wandered the city on my own for a bit. I headed back home and Sean and Giselle were hanging out and Pam was getting a massage from the clay magic man in the backyard. Giselle and I made food...she boiled octopus to make an octopus ceviche and I made some guacamole. We had an awesome lunch with some beers. 

Sean got a massage with the clay man and I decided to get one too. It was...interesting. The guy is small but he packs a punch. He is extremely strong and knows how to stretch out the body. He moves knots within your muscles and allows them to crack out of your joints. He covers you in clay and massages with the clay. Super strong but incredibly strange.

 We all left for dinner after we were all cleaned up and headed out to downtown Sayulita. We went to Rellenos and Pam and I shared tortilla soup and 2 orders of chille relllenos...one shrimp and one chicken. Both were tasty, but the shrimp was better. All dinner we were drinking margaritas and at the end they brought us out complementary tequila shots. We got drunk...after that we headed to this tiny cumbia bar that had a band playing and that was pretty much all that could fit in the bar. We got our beers and drank outside and danced like pretty much everyone else. PS beers were only 20 pesos. Super cheap! We hung there for a bit and made our way over to the campsite in town Camarones and there was a bar built up above the beach with cheap beers as well. We drank and danced to a mixture of hip hop and cumbia/salsa music until 2 am when I pulled the plug since I had to get back and sleep since I had to wake up at 6 am to catch the first bus to the airport in Puerto Vallarta. 

Overall I would most definitely return to Sayulita and encourage others to do the same. It has a much more authentic feel then PV and the people were all a delight.

Cheers until the next post!