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.



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.

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.

The surfers got a quick on-shore demonstration.



And then it was time to head into the water.

Meira got up right away!




And the instructor stayed in the water working with the whole gang for quite a while.




There were some good rides...

...and some spectacular wipeouts.




But everyone agreed it was worth it...

...especially those of us who sat on the beach with cold drinks, and delicious snacks (oh, the Sayulita donut man, how we love thee.)



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:-)


Roving merchants periodically interrupted our conversation and I felt sorry for the mothers especially, selling trinkets in the hot sun all day.


I spent a good portion of the day debating a chair hammock purchase.

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!




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.




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.