Sayulita, Mexico

 I don't know if you remember, but back in January of this year, we had a bit of a mishap with a canceled flight out of Cancun. Well, we got some Southwest vouchers out of it that was about to expire, so we ended up booking a return flight to Mexico - to Puerto Vallarta this time! 

The nonstops options are different here in California, so we figured we should take the opportunity to visit somewhere new. We had heard great things about Sayulita, Mexico, so we took a quick nonstop and a quick $20 Uber and we arrived at our home for the next 4 days!

Sayulita is such a magical little town. It's basically one main loop, a town square, and a beach. We explored all over, but both agree that we'll be back to check out more restaurants next time around! On our first afternoon, we stopped in a Mary's for guacamole and fajitas before walking to the beach. 

Everything was SO cheap here - a perfect example is the gigantic slices of tres leches and banana cakes we got from the cake lady in the square for 20 pesos each (less than $1). The two beers were 25 pesos. Our favorite tacos were 35 pesos each.

The next day we went on our tour with AllyCat Adventures to the Marietas Islands. It was such a fun and relaxing day out on the water - we got to snorkel, paddleboard (we're pros now!), see blue-footed boobies, and maybe renew our vows? I'm not exactly sure! I don't remember telling them we recently had an anniversary, but they definitely made sure we were celebrated. Tons of fun and couldn't recommend this tour/company more!

That evening, we followed the sound of fireworks into the square. There were fiestas celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe, so this meant fireworks every morning at 5am as a call to mass and again around 7:30pm as a call to MORE mass. We were told to make sure we saw the "toritos" - which we came to find out is essentially grown men wearing a bull frame wired with fireworks and chasing little kids. HA!

We had the BEST meal of our trip at Burrito Revolution. The shrimp tacos were honestly the best I've had in my entire life. The staff was tons of fun and the signs were super amusing (see below).

The next morning, we went to the beach. I took it easy and read a book a day and Jason learned to surf! We spent the rest of the day at a beach club drinking $1 beers and eating ceviche and guacamole. Total bill for 8 hours? Less than $30. 

 

This evening, we did a tour of the street cart tacos! We went to a total of 3 and really enjoyed them all! My favorite was an al pastor taco and Jason's was a fried shrimp one. Add in some beers from the corner store and we feasted like kings for about $10!

On our last morning, we went to the beach again. We made some dog friends and just soaked in the sun for a bit longer. The water here literally was flecked with gold dust, I swear! I had to grab a chocobanana (a perfect cold treat for a hot day) before we left as well.

We couldn't leave without having our favorite taco again, so we went back to Burrito Revolution. This time, we got to meet the owner, who sat down and chatted with us for an hour. All the while, giving us free tequila. He was sure a character and it was a perfect end to our time in Mexico!

Sayulita was a PERFECT quick getaway! 

Up Next: Not much for a while beyond some quick day trips, but we're loving exploring Northern California so much.

Day Trip to Valladolid & Coba, Mexico

After a few days on the beach in Tulum, we were itching to get out and explore a bit. It was so easy to make the hour and a half drive because we had rented a car. After a morning session of yoga, we left for Valladolid. Once we arrived, we made our way along Calzada de los Frailes - it was a beautiful pastel street with cute little boutiques everywhere.

After walking and exploring, we arrived at the Convent de San Bernardino de Siena. It was a few pesos to walk inside, and definitely worth it. The convent sits on top of a cenote and there is a museum inside that talks about the excavation. Everything was so pink, so we definitely took our time snapping photos of everything.  It was close to lunch time, so we walked across the street to have a delicious lunch at La Taberna de los Frailes.

In the center of town is the Catedral de San Servasio. The inside is very sparse, but still worth a look. We walked along the plaza in the center, picking up some helado from the vendors that are everywhere. 

Not quite ready to head back and also knowing that we drove right through Coba on our way to Valladolid, we decided to make an impromptu stop at the ruins. We got there around 2:30pm, so I knew it was a good idea to rent bikes if we wanted to see everything. It ended up being a perfect decision as the walks were long and it was a great way to cool off as well.

We were able to see all of the areas, sometimes even having the area to ourselves! It was much less touristy and reminded us of Tikal! The main pyramid itself was crowded, but we were able to climb to the top and enjoy the jungle views below. We basically closed down the park at 5 and made our way back to Tulum.

That evening, we were pretty tired from exploring all day, so we grabbed picnic stuff from the supermarket and enjoyed it with a bottle of champagne on the beach at sunset. What a wonderful end to the trip (or so we thought...)!

Up Next: We're heading to Japan for a few weeks in March, so we don't have much going on before then. I have a work trip to Atlanta and South Carolina though, so look for some snaps of that on my instagram!