Dan and I recently spent a week in Sayulita, Mexico. We hit on it a few months ago in a Facebook post - Dan asked the Internet where we could go that's warm, beachy, and tourist-friendly but not overrun with resorts. Husein and Carly, who live and teach in Sayulita and who had invited us to visit in the past, were like, "...guys?" And the decision was made.
It was a perfect vacation spot. The town is a little bit crunchy, filled with Mexicans who run family businesses and work in or out of the tourist industry. It's their town, they want you to love it, and they want it to stay a community. There's one large hotel, and no resorts. We rented a condo on the beach and were upgraded to a villa upon arrival.
Its size was wasted on us, but not the view. We woke up to this every morning:
Ladies would come by with pastries and tamales, and Dan and I would sit on the balcony, staring at the ocean as we munched away.
I brought my new camera, which takes fantastic, idiot-proof photos. Why have I been spending $150 on basic point-and-shoots when I could have had this one for a hundred more? After borrowing Scott's fancy SLR for our trip to Paris and having it on the wrong setting the whole time (the pictures are fine, but a point-and-shoot would have done just as well), I wanted something little and automatic. Carrying an SLR around creates a sense of obligation - you feel like you need to be taking photos constantly, and that they should be photographs rather than pictures. I found in Paris that it took me out of the experience a little. So in Sayulita, I didn't take as many, and there were days I just left the camera at home. How many pictures of the beach do you really need? Anyway, if you're in the market for a fancy point-and-shoot, I recommend the Canon S100.
I also recommend Sayulita. We met people who'd been going there for 10-15 years, loving the vibe and the beach. It's not for everyone - there are no resorts, and it's a little bit crunchy and rustic - but we loved it. We swam, drank, biked, boated, and saw about a thousand whales.
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| Poqueta! (Hus & Carly's cat-dog) |
And ATE. It was a 70% fish taco diet, and I had to wear stretch pants on the plane ride home. Worth it.
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Chilequiles, aka nachos for breakfast. |
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| Quesadilla purchased from a lady making the tortillas in front of you. |
Great vacation.
