Sayulita, Mexico

Sayulita is a village of 4000-5000 people about 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Ocean. Despite being "discovered" for it's great surfing, the town manages to balance ex-pats and tourism while maintaining much of its local industry (fishing) and charm. The small town plaza is centered around an active Catholic Church. Walking down the several surrounding city streets, one can find wifi coffee bars, fish taco stands, traditional Huichol art, and co-op galleries.

Sayulita street, looking toward the plaza.

We drove through twisting unmarked streets and up a large hill to get to our house. I thought I'd never find my way back to the beach, but we quickly discovered that the town is quite small and very manageable.

View from our "tree house."

Our "livingroom" with plunge pool.

The kitchen and diningroom. We had a stove, microwave, dishwasher, and two small fridges.

Bedtime reading with Kyle.

Playa de los Muertos: a small beach to the south of the town. Named for the nearby colorful cemetery.

Elsa, Sam, Olivia and Ailee discovering "Sandy" the hermit crab.

After lunch in San Blas, prior to our boat ride in the mangrove swamp.

This guy was fenced-in, but we did see a few from our boat.

While Elsa napped, the older kids had storytime with Scott. They read all of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Traditional dancer and fire performer.

Elsa loved everything about the beach. Including being half-buried!

Sam was pretty much swimming by himself by then end of the week.
According to him: "If I don't come up for air, then I sink."

Surfs up! As a Mother's Day gift, Rachel and I were gifted a surf lesson. We were able to accomplish more than we had imagined. I started envisioning future mother/daughter surf lessons. Righteous!

Mother/daughter swim.

She loved going underwater!

Happy guy on the way home.