Sayulita 2013

Wow.  I LOVE this little town, with it's cobblestone streets, fruit carts, friendly locals, and perfect longboarding waves.  And sunsets, iguanas, sparkly sand and warm water.  I could go on and on, but I'll just show you (warning, photobomb)...

Here is our Penthouse bungalow, where we ended up spending most of the trip (since Sisi still sleeps at least 13 hours a day.) 

 We cooked almost every meal at the bungalow.  Here's fresh mahi mahi, plantains and guacamole.  

Boiled lobsters!

We went to the beach 2 or 3 times a day.  

A local fisherman took us out on his boat spur of the moment.  It was awesome! Until I got horribly seasick, my body went numb, and my fists clenched in some strange muscle spasm.  What the heck???  Some mixture of motion sickness and dehydration maybe?

 The quaint, colorful village, filled with hippie surfer expats, tourists and local folks who loved patting Sisi on the head (Sayulitans revere children!) 

Iguanas everywhere!  This guy was at least 4 feet long.

Can't forget to mention the main reason we came to Sayulita, our surf camp at Lunazul! Our teacher Kalle Carranza is an former pro-surfer with such a kind heart and love for teaching. We were honored to learn from the best.

Our other teacher, Papas.

Goodnight Sayulita!  We miss you already. We'll be back someday.

Note: A big concern before coming was safety.  Lots of well-meaning friends and family advised us not to go to Mexico.  I totally get it, and respect those cautious travelers.  But Mexico is a big, diverse country, and there are lots of very safe spots to travel.  And sure, lots of very unsafe spots to avoid, too.  I can only speak for Sayulita, but I felt extremely safe there.  A few days in, and we felt like we knew half the village.  It's a super tight-knit, laid back beach community.  Our surf instructors also had our backs, and I knew they would take care of us.

For a mellow, convenient family trip, I HIGHLY recommend Sayulita.  Everything was loads easier than Costa Rica- the plane trip was shorter, the weather milder, and Sayulita is a teeny tiny town, so everything is just a few minutes' walk away.