| | |  Travel & Outdoors | December 2008 
A Quiet Surfer's Paradise
 Chelsea Peters - North Shore News
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| | Surfer's paradise Sayulita is a glimpse into the Mexico of yesteryear. (PromoVision) | |
Every year Canadians flock to Mexico by the thousands.
Cheap and accessible, it seems to be our perfect holiday destination.
Charter packages take us to Mazatlan, Cabo and Cancun, but some of the best spots to relax are just a stone's throw away from the big tourist towns, like Sayulita, a surfer's paradise just north of Puerto Vallarta.
There are no direct flights to Sayulita, but the hour and a half bus trip there from Puerto Vallarta is beautiful and idyllic. The road winds through groves of swaying trees and small towns. Snowbirds that have been travelling south for years say that Sayulita is much like Puerto Vallarta was in the '70s when it was a small fishing village. If you're not interested in the commercial party scene in Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita offers quality relaxation.
You will not find any all-inclusive resorts in Sayulita, nor will you find any of the big hotel chains. Instead in Sayulita you will find a variety of houses for rent and small to mid size bungalows along the beach or just off of it. If you want to go a bit more rustic, there are camp grounds along the beach where you can spend the night in your tent or in one of the numerous hammocks, sleeping under the stars.
In the morning, clouds of dust sweep along Sayulita's cobblestone streets. Local residents and visitors can be seen strolling along the beach, doing yoga or taking a morning jog. Inevitably it seems that everyone congregates at the central plaza at Choco Banana, Sayulita's most popular coffee shop, where the menu includes fresh baked pastries and typical American breakfasts alongside Mexican classics, like huevos rancheros and chilaquiles. To whet your appetite later in the day, the beach is lined with a variety of different restaurants offering up mouth-watering dishes. A guaranteed pleaser are the cheap and delicious fish tacos, and no meal is complete without a freshwater popsicle from the Michoacana, the best dollar spent in Sayulita. If you're travelling on a budget or simply not interested in leaving your lounge chair, vendors pass up and down the beach selling baked goods, fresh cut fruit and skewers of fresh shrimp and mahi mahi.
In Sayulita there is no McDonald's, 7-11, or any other major American chain. Instead, the streets are lined with real estate agencies and small art shops. Art galleries sell original paintings, sculptures and crafts. In other stores, handcrafted jewelry is on display alongside bright fabrics. Throughout town there are a bevy of surf shops selling new and used boards as well as clothing, sandals and surf emergency repair kits.
Travellers of all backgrounds are drawn to Sayulita's black sand beach and consistent waves. Beginners can grab a long board and a lesson from one of the many surf schools set up on the main beach. A lesson will set you back about $25 and a group of Mexican and American surf instructors will have you on the beach practicing your moves before taking you into the water with the promise of standing up on the board and riding a wave before the afternoon is over. The surf scene changes slightly in winter when more experienced surfers head down to Sayulita for various surf contests and bigger swells. If the idea of falling off a surf board doesn't strike your fancy, you can still enjoy the waves, just rent a boogie board and cruise in and out of the surf at your own pace.
Sayulita has only one pace: slow. However, with frequent bus service to Puerto Vallarta you can always hop onto a bus into the big city for a day of shopping and tourism hustle and bustle, and then bus back out to Sayulita where the only thing you will hear at night when you go to sleep is the soft crashing of the waves hitting the beach. |
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