Mexico

Ever since our first visit in 2005, we try to get to Mexico every year or two - usually Puerto Vallarta, but every now and again Daddy lets himself get talked into trying a new spot.  (See December 2012) On the flight back home last year, while Mommy was doling out the last of the Chips Ahoy Multicolores and unbroken crayons in 17A/B/C, over in 17D Daddy had a relaxing chat with a guy who was returning from a nice week in a smaller surf town called Sayulita.

Fast forward to 2014:  Bienvenido a Sayulita!

We're ready to spend Thanksgiving week in the sun, playing in the water, and eating as much ice cream as we can.

We stayed on the north side, in a group of condos called Los Almendros.  At first, we weren't too sure.... We did our best to stock up on groceries at the Mega mart on the way from the airport, but were a little haphazard, resulting in:  pancake mix but no butter, approximately 3 months worth of Bacdyn sanitizing produce wash, a couple of cheerfully awful bottles of Mexican wine, and 24 room temperature eggs, among other things. 

Our first digs left a little to be desired, too - entry was via a labyrinthine little path, the promised hot tub was empty, the hot water heater was off, and it was just a little...scruffy.  Going into "town" started with a journey down Calle Chiripa, which Brennan & Lucie lovingly dubbed "Dirty Alley".

But the pool was nice - 

- the beach had great sand, warm water, and nice gentlemen who bring margaritas -

- and even if some of the restaurants in town had food that was just OK, everyone was super friendly, tolerant of the kids and their incredibly gringo parents, and it's cheaper than Puerto Vallarta.

So I guess we'll stay.  We pulled Daddy back from the "I can't wait to get back to Casa Tres Vidas" brink, and did our best to have fun.

It was just for 2 nights, anyway - we had a bigger condo for the rest of the week.  Friday we hit the farmer's market, played in the pool, went to town for gelato, and moved our stuff back down the labyrinthine little path, over 2 buildings, and up the elevator (well, Daddy did) to our very lovely penthouse villa.

Sigh.  I mixed up a couple of palomas, set the table, and sat down to enjoy the sunset while our cook for the evening made dinner.

This photo marks the exact moment of the last time I was relaxed that night.  Shortly after, Brennan informed me he was cold, not hungry, and was going to lay down in his completely white bed.

Remember that chocolate gelato?  It's about to make an encore appearance.  And I'm about to learn just how far a veterinary degree and pidgin Spanish will get you in a Mexican pharmacy on a Friday night.  But the award for quote of the night goes to Lucie, who after watching her brother throw up for the 4th or 5th time, said, "If I do that, I will do that in that bucket!

Don't worry.  He was fine the next day.

And even more miraculously, no one else got sick -

Hooray!

So, what do you do in Sayulita?  Well, you amble into town to shop for colorful skulls, pom-poms, etc, and restock your beer supply - 

You say hello to all the friendly dogs wandering around - 

Watch the fishing boats go out & come back - or go out on one if yourself -

Saddle up and go for a ride on the beach and in the jungle -

Try the street food - mostly tacos, but we managed to find one spot right up the kids' alley:  Maniacos Longdog Truck, serving those mainstays of Mexican cuisine, hot dogs and Norwegian waffles.

But mostly, you go to the beach -

There's the quieter beach on the north side, with fewer people, fewer vendors trying to interest us in jewelry/etc; but you have to remember to bring all your beach stuff and refreshments, and the water can be a little rough - sand castles and bucket drumming is a bit safer -
(also Daddy wanted me to mention this is where he got stung by a bee)

And then there's the beach in town, with more vendors, commotion, chairs for rent, complicated beachfront restaurant politics to negotiate, unsuspecting-nice-childless-by-choice-regular-visitor-couple-from-Eureka to terrorize -

but it's nice to have food & drink delivered, bathrooms close by, sparkling sand, and a long gentle break - perfect for beginning boogie boarding:

Maybe next time Bren will graduate to one of these -

Just hanging around the condo was fun, too.  Nothing like starting your day with a post-breakfast soak on the terrace:

Another popular past-time was running through the huge curtains all along the sliding glass front of the villa:

When all else fails, there's always hide & seek with giant bugs:

I think Sayulita has won us over, despite a few hiccups.  Daddy's already talking about maybe spending Winter Break there next year - we just have to remember to buy more Spanish wine, less food, and to avoid sticking our hands we've just rubbed all over the ground/street/walls/etc into our mouths Brennan.

Even though we really wanted to stay, there was school & work to get back to, and St. Nicholas would be visiting soon - and our stockings were still in a storage bin in the garage!  So it was time to load back into the Suburban and get a ride back to PVR.  Also, due to some fluke in airfare pricing, we were flying back first class, which sounded great until we were the a--holes with 2 little shouty squirmy kids boarding with the 4 other first class passengers.  However, my embarrassment wore off quickly once that big seat reclined while I sipped sauvignon blanc from an actual glass...and for the record, Brennan & Lucie actually behaved very nicely.

Hasta luego, Sayulita!  We hope to be back before too long...