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sayulita

i booked our holiday to sayulita several months ago and then promptly forgot about it. two days prior to our trip, i looked up our flights and discovered we were meant to depart at seven IN THE  MORNING! i must have had a good reason for choosing a flight at an hour that meant we would have to get up in the middle of the night, but i honestly can’t remember it. so at the last minute, we decided to go the night before and stay at the lovely westin at DIA. this hotel, designed by gensler, is in the shape of those little wings they used to give children on flights when i was a kid. the best part is the pool on the top floor in the dip between the wings. we stayed there once before when we got blizzarded in right before christmas and no flights were leaving. the view then was pretty surreal as there is nothing around the denver airport and there was so much snow it felt like we were on the moon. on that trip we spent hours in the restaurant brunching (i still think about this delicious breakfast sandwich we ate with bacon, egg, cheese and avocado that i could never properly replicate), watching movies and swimming. it was a wonderful way to start our vacation. this time was not as relaxing because we still had to get up at 4 am, but we did have room service at 4:30 am… there are not many things better than someone knocking on your door bearing a little trolley of coffee and warm breakfast.

so we were pretty wiped by the time the driver picked us up at the airport in puerto vallarta (which is about 45 minutes south of sayulita.) he offered to stop at “la comer” so we could buy water and snacks. thank goodness for this stop because on the flight, lucy asked me which bathing suit i brought and i realized that i hadn’t brought any at all, which is ridiculous because i have LOADS of them, mostly because this isn’t the first time i’ve failed to pack a swimsuit when going on a beach holiday. but it WAS the first time i had to buy one at a supermarket. i wasn’t too worried since i had brought a bunch of “mrs. ropers” i could cover up in if my comer suit didn’t fit properly. in an effort to be efficient, i asked the kids to get the snacks so i could focus on finding something to swim in. as a result, we ended up with all kinds of mexican candy and sweets: some rectangular gummies in a rainbow of colors, some little pink and brown cubes that tasted like cookie dough and lots of chocolate covered cakes with marshmallow or jam or both inside. i did manage to throw in some milk and cereal, but of course, i forgot the most important thing… coffee. 

much of the drive to our hotel was through bright green jungle… there were huge twisted trees whose branches arched over the road and hanging vines and mossy looking things. and then towards the end, we went by a big, gorgeous cemetery with gravestones painted hot pink or bright yellow. there were large vases of colorful flowers and strings of bright, vibrant flags stretched over the grounds. this cemetery is right next to a beach aptly names “playa los muertos” (beach of the dead) that we visited the next day. 

we started out being pretty careful about what we ate, but by the end of our stay we had tried shrimp sticks and doughnuts and big coconuts filled with fruit on the beach, crepes in the square with nutella and caramel and guacamole and smoothies just about anywhere we could get them. and praise jesus, we did not get sick! maybe all the day of the dead spirits were looking after us…

other restaurants we really enjoyed:

burrito revolution - OUTRAGEOUS burritos, calle jose mariscal 10

cafe el espresso sayulita - super yummy smoothies and breakfast, directly across from sayulita plaza

si señor at our hotel, the villa amor - beautiful views, delicious seafood and impeccable service. we also LOVED our room and the hotel grounds.

when we weren’t eating, we spent a lot of time wandering through the town. our hotel was maybe a seven minute walk from the center on a direct road with only one left, but somehow i managed to get us turned around both going in and out on the first day. i’ve decided that my ability to get lost is actually a TALENT of epic, genius proportions… not many could have pulled that off in sayulita!

by far, our favorite shopping discovery was the sayulita pom pom. bright, colorful strings of them were sold everywhere and lucy and i got a bit obsessed. we just couldn’t stop adding to our collection because they were so cheerful and happy. we did learn (on the last day) that the ones sold in the “hippy flea market,” just over the bridge, were the best price point. some shops we really adored:

revolucion del sueno - pom poms of all sizes, beach bags and jewelry

manyana - gorgeous baskets and candle sticks

evoke the spirit - stunning ceramics, jewelry and art pieces

but the highlight of our stay was definitely the day trip we took to the marietas islands with allycat tours. we left at the crack of dawn and enjoyed breakfast on the boat as we traveled away from the coast to the group of islands formed thousands of years ago by volcanic eruptions. the marietas are now a protected, national park because of the incredible array of flora, fauna and wildlife. we saw the darling blue-footed booby birds who looked slightly crossed-eyed and walked with a funny lilt, as if they’d had too much tequila. we snorkeled in the sparkling waters around the islands and saw schools of fish in every hue. we explored some of the caves on the islands and then we ate a yummy lunch as we slowly made our way back to the harbor. a few miles out, we dropped anchor and paddle boards were lowered into the water. the kids were allowed to jump off the boat and theo awed us all with back flips - CHINGON! (“badass” in spanish, we learned from another passenger.) the crew on the boat was tip top… so knowledgable about the islands and helpful with the kids and extremely warm and gracious. it was an absolutely perfect day.

MUCHAS, MUCHAS GRACIAS to all the friends who gave tips and recommendations for sayulita… we can’t wait to go back.

to read more about going to sayulita click here