Relaxing in Sayulita, Mexico (Thursday, October 18th, 2018)

We left the hotel this morning at about 11:00 to catch the bus to Sayulita.  Sayulita is a small, artsy town north of Puerta Vallarta.  It took us about two hours door to door by bus.  

We walked from the hotel to the bus stop near the park where we catch all of the buses heading north.  We rode our first bus from the park to the Walmart near the marina (7.5 pesos each or about 40 cents).  There we got off and switched buses to the bus that would take us to Sayulita (42 pesos each or about $2.25).  The bus to Sayulita wasn't too bad, but it didn't have any A/C and had a rough ride, so during the slow parts of the trip, it got pretty hot with no air moving.



This bus headed north through Puerto Vallarta, then through the town of Bucerias (this was the slowest part of the trip, the bus makes a lot of stops in Bucerias), then through La Cruz, up by Punta De Mita and then into Sayulita, following he coastline around.  

As we entered Sayulita, Steve watched on his phone, and it looked like we were starting to leave the town, but then it turned and headed down the hill pulled into the parking lot of the Sayulita Bus Terminal.   This is our bus as it pulled into the terminal. 

Again, it took us about two hours to get here, so after morning coffee the restrooms were a welcome sight.  It cost 5 pesos to use the restroom, but they were nice and clean.

The inside of the bus terminal.  Steve dropped a pin here, because this is where we will catch the bus back to Puerto Vallarta at the end of our day.

As we began to walk through the town of Sayulita, we noticed these signs directing us where we needed to go.  We thought it was pretty clear.

We walked through the hippie market to see what they had to sell.  They had a lot of nice bright goods.

When we finished at the hippie market, we made our way closer to the beach.

When we got to the beach, we headed to a restaurant that Betsy, from our hotel, had recommended for lunch.

The beach view from our table.  We also could have chosen a table out on the sand, but we thought under the palapa would be nicer.

Prices here in Sayulita are lower than those of Puerto Vallarta.

These are peso prices.  today conversion rate is about 19 peso to one US dollar.  Steve and I both ordered the fajitas de cameron (shrimp fajitas). they we a little under $7 US. The portions were huge, and the food was great!

This chicken was just wandering around the restaurant, 



but he wasn't the only one.  There were vendors everywhere.  They weren't just selling on the beach, they were wandering through the restaurant as well.  I loved the meal we had at this restaurant, but by the end of my meal I was getting really tired of the vendors.  

After lunch we headed out to the beach.  It was quite crowded, and the crowd was much younger than the crowd in Puerto Vallarta.  There are a lot of beautiful villas in Sayulita!

The view south.

The view north.

A shrimping boat off shore.

We walked each way along the beach and then decided to take a seat at a place called Captain Pablos.  



They had umbrellas, chairs and tables on the beach that were free to use with their restaurant and bar service.  We were ready to relax for the rest of the afternoon, so we grabbed some seats and made ourselves comfortable. 

We were really surprised that there weren't nearly as many vendors on the beach as there were in the restaurant.  It was actually pretty peaceful on the beach, it was great!

 Sayulita is a surfing town.  It has very consistent, small waves that make it the perfect place to learn to surf.  So we sat on the beach and enjoyed watching the surfers for most of the afternoon.

The guy in the above picture was actually surfing backwards.  We enjoyed talking to some fun people on the beach, watching the kids play and of course the surfers.

This is a fun, little beach town with a great, artsy vibe.  We really enjoyed our time here, and would definitely come back, but the sun was starting to sink low in the sky and it was time for us to head back.

We headed back to the bus terminal and bought our tickets back to Puerto Vallarta.  Instead of going around the point, this time the bus took highway 200 right through the middle of the jungle.  It went a little quicker than the drive there, which was nice.

We met a great guy on the bus home named Roger.  He lives in Bucerias and works in Sayulita and was on his way home (with his dog). 

Roger spoke great English, so we talked to him most of the way to Bucerias where he got off.  I'm sure he enjoys using his English, and we enjoyed hearing his story.

It was dark by the time we got back to Puerto Vallarta and we were both tired from our long day, so we walked down stairs and enjoyed another nice dinner at 116 Pulpita, right below our hotel.

Tonight tequila mules were the 2 for 1 special, so we each enjoyed one.  They were amazing!  I don't typically like any type of mules, but these were very light and refreshing.  They make them with a mash of fresh ginger and mint, tequila and ginger ale.  Amazing!

Then we each ordered their beef sliders with salad.  

The sliders were nicely prepared with lettuce and tomato, and their secret ingredient was a little bit of blue cheese made right into the patty.  They were also really good, and just the right amount of food after our big lunch on the beach.  We are so glad we have discovered this little gem right below our hotel.  So easy and so good!