The Christmas season in Sayulita.

JANUARY 4

I was pretty nervous about playing with Jeff today. It had been a year since playing and last year we only played a couple of times together. With the traffic so bad in Bucerias, and finding parking at the Sunshine Bar a challenge at best, Jeff likes to leave at 1:30 pm for his 4 pm gig. I walked to Jeff’s around 12:45. That gave me time to pack up my stuff and load it into his van. We got to the Sunshine Bar at 1:30. There wasn’t a parking spot, but we moved some big potted plants in front of the bar to squeeze the van in so we could unpack. Later a spot opened up and Jeff moved the van out of the way. 

We slowly set up, had a couple of beers on the house, and before we knew it, it was time to rock out. Although I struggled to find a good volume balance for the first set, I was happy with my playing. I didn’t make any mistakes, thank goodness. The two beers sharpened up my 70 year old brain and all those tunes came flooding back to memory. 

My mind sharpened up even more after I had a Sunshine Bar margarita. There are a lot of wonderful margaritas down here, as one would suspect. But Sunshine’s is in another league. Not only is it delicious, it is potent. With just two beers an hour before the gig, and one extra-potent Sunshine margarita that I nursed over the third set, I was feeling no pain by the time we were finished at 7 pm. I was also famished. I ate a burrito at the Sunshine Bar, their food is also excellent, and then Wanda and I went to Mr. Fish for fish burritos. I was famished no longer.

Although I miss playing at Buzzos, the beachfront bar that Jeff and I played at the last two years, the Sunshine Bar is another great Bucerias venue. (Buzzos closed down to make way for a new condo being built).

Apparently, Jeff and I were rocking so hard that we blew a few city circuits - ha ha.

JANUARY 5

The easiest bus to catch to another beach town is the Compostela bus that runs from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita. The buses on this route pass through Bucerias about every 5 minutes. We can wave it down at the end of our block and ride it to the fun town of Sayulita, the surfing capital of Nayarit. The ride is 20 miles and costs something like 40 pesos ($2.00 US).

When we first visited Sayulita in 2017, it was a cute laid-back hippie-ish beach town with a handful of expensive villas on the northern and southern fringes. It has since become the hot tourist destination. Ironically, the throngs of that now descend onto Sayulita come looking for that small town feel. The result is a fast growing crowded town that still manages to keep its slow hippie vibe, at least for now. 

Surfing is what put Sayulita on the map. Since Sayulita is not part of the Bay of Bandaras, its waves come straight in from the Pacific. We have never seen the giant Hawaii-like monsters, but they can grow to a hefty enough size to support about 20 surfing schools and board rental shops.

The downtown, with its rows and rows of colorful flags waving above the streets, is a wonderful mix of funky bars, open-air restaurants, street vendors, trinket shops, and the above mentioned surf shops. You can’t find a bad meal in Sayulita. We have tried many restaurants over the course of many day trips to Sayulita and each one is our favorite.

Sayulita is a small colorful town 20 miles north of Bucerias.

The heart of the downtown.

Aay Caraamba!!

Mexican towns are noted for great murals and cool art. Below is a painting hanging on a restaurant wall that caught my eye.

We have seen this guy before. A family of iguanas live in this tree just a block north of the downtown.

I wondered what evolutionary advantage this dangling throat flap brings to the table. My first thought was that it must really turn on the ladies. I looked it up. It is called a dewlap and is used for heat regulation.

Above and below: This is a courtyard of a senior center and it features some great murals of oldsters.

Another wonderful painting hanging in another restaurant. Being a black and white painting was unique.

There are three beaches in the vicinity of Sayulita: Playa Los Muertos, Playa Sayulita, and Playa Malpaso. Playa De Los Muertos (Beach of the Dead) is the smallest. Located on the southern fringe of town, just past a very unique above-ground cemetery, this beach is surrounded by dark angry-looking rock formations. From a distance, this looks like basalt from an ancient lava flow. Upon closer inspection, the rock appears to be dark grey granite with little speckles of white granite. OK, I am showing my ignorance here. I am just fairly certain that it isn’t basalt. 

Anyway, the beach occupies a small bay that is only 500’ wide. The walk to the beach is pleasant past some very nice condos and villas and past the cemetery. We headed there first.

On the walk to the Playa de Los Muertos (Beach of the Dead), we took the road that follows coast.

Along the road to Playa de Los Muertos, there are several exclusive condos. Most have a distinctive logo prominently displayed on their gates.

The above-ground cemetery that the beach is named after. Below is a grave that must have been for a baby or very young child.

Playa de Los Muertos. This is a small beach. It used to be very intimate, but it has been 'discovered' and is becoming more crowded each year.

The rugged rocks that border the beach.

Walking back to town, we view the large Sayulita beach as it curves around a bay.

The main beach sits in front of Sayulita and it stretches for at least 3 miles. The beach is crowded in front of downtown Sayulita, but it thins out the farther north you go. We always go far enough to find solitude and shade, which is about 2/3rds the way to the northern end where a tall hill separates Playa Sayulita and the next beach, Playa Malpaso.

Here we set out our beach towels and snoozed for an hour. The waves were pounding pretty well. There were precious few swimmers in the water. Only the surfers, closer to downtown, played in the surf. We walked the beach for a mile or so, waded a little bit, and got our pants a little wet. The water is weird in that at first touch it feels almost cold, but soon it feels warm as bathwater. Even just wading was refreshing and invigorating.

We didn't get to Playa Malpaso. We'll get to that beach next time.

We can always find a more secluded spot on the beach about a mile from downtown.

At the northern border of Playa Sayulita is a tall hill and rocks that jut into the water. Past that barrier is Playa Malpaso. Playa Malpaso is a very secluded beach. Very few people walk the difficult jungle trail up and around the tall hill and rocks.

On the walk to and from our secluded beach spot, we walk down a road that is lined with restaurants and a large shady market.

We rode the bus back to Bucerias. After two huge burritos last night, I was surprisingly not hungry all day. However, by the time we got back to Bucerias, after dark, we both needed a little something. In the main plaza, several street food carts are set up at night. We randomly picked one and it was terrific.

We topped off the evening with paletas. I got the strawberry cream and Wanda picked the blackberry cheesecake. Mine was great, but Wanda’s was magnificent. That will be my new go-to flavor. Or should it be mango? Ah, they are all delicious.

Dusk comes around 7 pm in Bucerias. That is when these street taco stands just get started.

PALETAS (on a stick) and other frozen treats. Paletas are the best frozen treats imaginable. They are made with real fruit and fruit puree - no artificial flavorings. The ones with cream added to the fruit puree are heavenly delicious.

Dave and Wanda

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