Week With My Parents, Part 3: Sayulita!

Last Wednesday, we rose early to catch a bus to Mexico city.  By 11:30 am, we were on a flight to Puerto Vallarta to begin our half-week of relaxation.  When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, a taxi was waiting to bring us to the resort.  The drive from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita was reminiscent of driving across Costa Rica; it was terrifying.  Fortunately, we made it to Playa Escondida without any mishaps.  The resort is absolutely beautiful. My parents insisted on letting us have the room directly on the beach which was awesome.

The front porch/view from our room.

We could wake up looking out on the beach and the ocean and fall asleep listening to the waves crash. To be honest, the waves were a bit too loud to be a peaceful lullaby, but it was nice nonetheless. The first afternoon and night, we just relaxed at the hotel since we'd already spent some 8 hours of traveling. The people at the hotel are extremely outgoing and friendly, especially Jorge the bartender who helped us organize a whale watching trip to the Marieta Islands.  On Thursday we took a trip into town to check out the beach there and see all the little shops and restaurants.  Sam, my mom, and I walked to town on the beach and through some jungley trails but my dad took a taxi as his ankle would not allow him to scramble over the rocky parts of the beach.

Sayulita from afar.

We met up in the zocalo of Sayulita. Sayulita is very small and very touristy, but very pretty.  It is even smaller than we imagined as there are only three main streets with restaurants and shops.  So, we managed to see the entire town and spend a little while on the beach all within 3 or so hours of arriving in Sayulita. Our plan had originally been to stay in town for dinner, but it was only 4 when we had run out of things to see, so we headed back to the resort for dinner and swimming.  Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to do in Sayulita, just not for free. There is the beach which could occupy most for at least a couple days, surfing lessons, paddle board rentals, whale watching tours, fishing charters, restaurants, shops, etc. On Friday we were set to go on our whale watching tour when we witnessed a showdown between the owner of the tour company and the local taxi company which monopolizes transport in and out of Sayulita. The owner wanted to transport all of the people on the tour in a big truck/bus he owns, but the taxi drivers refused to let him in mafiaesque style.

He eventually conceded and got us all taxis down to the marina in Puerto Vallarta.  The tour itself was a blast.  We were on the boat from about 11am to 6 or 7pm and it was everything Jorge had promised: open bar, breakfast, snacks, lunch, whales breaching, Marieta Island, and very amiable staff.

Yes, this actually happened several times.

Was I not so prone to motion sickness it would have been a perfect day.  Regardless of my seasickness everyone in the family had a great experience with the ChiccaLocca tour.  Leaving Sayulita on Saturday morning was a bit depressing, but we had an easy flight back to Mexico City.  We said goodbye to my parents in the airport and hopped on a bus back to Puebla.  I had a great time showing my parents the beauty of Mexico and I'm sure they did too.