This was our first stay in Mexico together – Rufus had never been except for our bus transit through from Belize to Cuba (Dec 2014) and back but I visited areas on the Caribbean side, on a weekly basis, while I was working on cruise ships after my studies. The “surfing” village of Sayulita is on the Pacific coast in the province of Nayarit, an hr or so drive north from Puerto Vallarta. We flew in to PV from Ft Lauderdale and then took the bus from there.
Luckily for us it was off-season so it was quiet and relatively peaceful except for a few nights when the “gringos” got rowdy in a couple of the nearby bars. We spent the first 3 days exploring the town and nearby beach on foot and then we rented a car and visited a few beaches further on where Rufus could surf while I made friends with the other surfer widows, read and took photos.
There is a vibrant design and craft scene – thankfully not in the typical cheesy (and boring) touristy way though – which we thoroughly enjoyed. We got to observe some of the artisans at work, speak to a couple of the expat designers and get some insight into their collaborations with the locals and how they have integrated centuries old traditional Mexican craft with their modern design aesthetic . My two favourites were Evoke and Artefakto but there are so many more to choose from with an almost overwhelmingly huge variety of beautiful items to choose from, no matter what your budget.
Everything was within walking distance of our little “boutique hotel”, a myriad of different options for delicious food and cocktails, some live music and evening strolls through the cobblestone streets. We stayed in, what the owners describe as an “artistic apartment” in the heart of the village, 2 min walking distance from the square. The owners, Lucy and José, also own La Esperanza which is a “health food Café, Restaurant & Bar that creates and serves conscious and nutritious food for the health of their community”. It’s located directly across the street from their accommodations but unfortunately we were never able to sample their food as it was closed for the slow season. The accommodation itself was lovely and I was super snap happy with my new Fuji, as you will see below. We booked through AirBnB and you can see my review here.
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