Thursday, March 27, 2014

Surfing in Sayulita

At some point during Ryan's trip, we cooked up a plan to spend a day in Sayulita with David and Carolyn from CrazyLove. David, Ryan, Bryan, and Meira all wanted to surf and Hannah, Carolyn, and I were considering spending some of our Christmas money on a paddleboard rental. So after we got settled in La Cruz, we headed up the road for a surfing day. Public transit to Sayulita is a multi-stage process so, in the interest of maximizing our beach time, we pooled our resources and hired a taxi to pick us up at the marina--what luxury! David had arranged sufing lessons with a little surf shop in town, so we walked up and down the beach until we found their surf shack.
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We'd arrived a while before the best time of the tide, so we checked in a took a few minutes to wander around the little town checking out the souvenir options.
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The ocean looked great for surfing but for paddleboarding, not so much. Carolyn, Hannah, and I found some chairs under some beach umbrellas and settled in for a day of intensive relaxation.
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The surfers got a quick on-shore demonstration.

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And then it was time to head into the water.08-P103064509-P1030646

Meira got up right away!
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And the instructor stayed in the water working with the whole gang for quite a while.

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There were some good rides...
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...and some spectacular wipeouts.
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But everyone agreed it was worth it...
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...especially those of us who sat on the beach with cold drinks, and delicious snacks (oh, the Sayulita donut man, how we love thee.)

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There were plenty of good people-watching opportunities. This small singer was a crowd favorite. He had no trouble with breath support or the concept of projecting his voice. Maybe he'll tackle pitch and tone quality next:-)
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Roving merchants periodically interrupted our conversation and I felt sorry for the mothers especially, selling trinkets in the hot sun all day.
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I spent a good portion of the day debating a chair hammock purchase.
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Early in our time in Mexico, I'd seen another boater swinging in one of these from the end of her boom. Since we hadn't rented a paddleboard after all, I justified spending my Christmas money on a bright, rainbow colored one that makes my inner 8-year old smile.

Late in the afternoon, we went for a walk down the beach to take a look at a beach-side bungalow CrazyLove had rented for some visiting family. We crossed the stream that cuts the town in two. I can only picture it during the rainy season!
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The bungalows looked just as good in person as they had on the internet--phew! Like grown-up summer camp, there were small cabins and wall-tents scattered throughout the property. Hammocks hung in the courtyard near the ocean and at the bar, instead of bar stools, some creative carpenter hung a line of wooden swings.
















We ended the day back at the Octopus' Garden with cold drinks and good music.
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I think it might be easy to assume that for cruisers, every day is this kind of day. And of course, that's not at all true. But we do get a few here and there, mixed in among enough days of problem-solving and chores to keep us really, truly grateful.
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