Sayulita Scenes - Semana Santa 2018

We have been out of town the last two years during Semana Santa so seeing the crowds again has been a bit sobering but not really unexpected.  The organization and support has been so much better than it has been in the past so kudos to the people doing that!  We are now living on one of the main arteries into town so we see all kinds of folks headed off to enjoy the holiday on the beach.  The peak will be over this weekend and slowly taper off early next week with a small increase next weekend.

Photo by Curt Barter

After the spring break is over then things will be pretty much back to normal in Sayulita which is busy but a far cry from these crowds.  We try to hit the beach by 8am to get some paddling in but it makes for a long day trying to avoid the extra 1000s of people in town.  Great people watching from our front terrace though.

Adventures In Our Own Backyard - Monkey Mountain, Wibit And Star Wars!

Yes, a bit dated but here it goes.

It was Christmas school vacation time and the kids had a break for about three weeks.  Seriously?  Three weeks?  Yep, that is how the school calendar is set up for this time of year so we had to have some things to do since the house was not in any condition to move into just yet.

Mom was home for Christmas(yea!) so for once she had some chill time during the holidays.  While she was here she motivated us to head off to a local hike that I have been wanting to do for a long time.  Monkey Mountain.

Literally beginning just 5 minutes up the road the trail summits at a prominent peak between Sayulita and Higuera Blanca.  It was great to be in the woods and on a trail again.  So much of our outdoor lives back in Park City was spent in places like this during the summer and winter.  Not so much here since the water and beach is our preferred destination for getting out and getting after it.

"Monkey" profile?

The peak provides views of Sayulita to the north and Higuera Blanca and Punta Mita to the south.  Provided one does not take a wrong turn(which we did), a round trip is less than half a day so it is perfect for a late afternoon or early morning adventure with not a lot of time.  Sayulita based "Mexitreks" takes guided trips as well and is how Ashley knew the route for our hike.

Trace is king of the world..his world at least

The kids have never known "hiking" here.  They have essentially grown up ocean people and "flatlanders" but took to the adventure of a hike with not one single complaint.  They were always driven to see what was around the next corner or get to our goal, the summit.  Super fun!

At the summit

Wibit, yes Wibit, is in Bucerias and is a inflatable floating island attraction just off the beach.  If you have ever seen the TV show "Wipeout" then you know essentially what Wibit is.  Trampolines, rope swings, slides, climbing walls and floating walkways sit just a little ways into the ocean.

Photo from Wibit's website

We arrived with a couple other families just as the place opened for the day and we had the place to ourselves.  With the floating obstacles moving underneath you with incoming waves, the slippery inflated amusement park was a challenge for everyone.  The kids of course found the biggest challenges and happily splashed down into the water.  The adults quickly faded as muscles that have not been used in years suddenly were asked to perform climbing, swinging and just plain falling down into exhausted heaps.  An hour was totally enough for pretty much everyone as late morning Cielo Rojos waited on the beach.

Wibit Island

What would Christmas break be without some movie time.  We ventured into Puerto Vallarta to go see the latest Star Wars installment, The Last Jedi.  A new "VIP" theater has been built into a large pedestrian shopping plaza complete with recliners, waiters, food and liquor selections.  Sushi, a Modelo Negro and a Don Julio tequila was delivered to my recliner without me having to move or miss a single scene from the movie.  Considering our whole family went to the movies, had dinner and drinks the cost was ridiculously reasonable compared to the US.  Movies in Mexico have been an excellent value provided you can find the English movies with Spanish subtitles.

Ozzy, Ashley, Trace, Alex and Ava

We are just beginning the next school vacation during Semana Santa as I write this but wanted to catch up on some old post writing.  We will be looking for new adventures this vacation as well.

A New Casa - Casa Pono Sayulita - Mid March Update

It is mid March and we have been in the new house apartment for just over a month.  Staying in touch has been tough since we do not have internet and the communication limitations of our growing pueblo have no way to accommodate our internet needs at this time.

We stumbled from our rented house after weeks of packing and moving into our new place with no running water, gas or functioning toilet.  Ashley headed north to Atlanta a few days before we moved in. We got the toilet part all sorted out quickly but it proved to be a rocky start to what we hoped to be some kind of amazing experience for our family.  Not really how it turned out since we arrived in a construction zone and lived for weeks among the concrete dust, piles of boxes, containers, surfboards, tools, archery equipment and items that will eventually be installed in the upstairs family spaces.

Immediately we started to really enjoy our new location in town.  Our neighbors have been extremely nice.  Some of them have grown up on the street and others have been here for 30+ years.  This is our 3rd location in town in 7 years.  One house was great but well removed from everything.  One house closer to town but still in it's own little isolated cul-de-sac.  Now we are on a busy street in a very local part of town.  We think at least half the town walks or drives by our house each day.  The crazy part is that it is actually quieter and calmer than the last place we lived.  Our new 5 minute walking distance to town has been fantastic!  Trace comes home from school, grabs his surfboard and goes to the beach.  We may not even see him until dinner most afternoons.  Alex goes to the beach some days too and other days attends art classes at a local gallery or heads off to a friend's house or her orthodontist appointment.  Both kids walk to school each day or even go into town to find dinner for us occasionally.

Window help give the house a more finished look.

Within a five minute walk we have a great coffee/breakfast place, pharmacy, wine shop, store, street tacos, high end dining, laundry, butcher shop, workout classes, pilates, hair salon, plaza, pub, organic food store and surfing beach.  But, at the same time, we feel we are still living in a residential area too not in a commercial zone.  I walk to the beach each morning to go get some exercise paddling and am back for the day around 9am ready to go.  No need to load up the car with surfboards any longer.

Looking at apartment bedroom from living room

Looking at kitchen and living area from bedroom.  Some details yet to complete.

Ashley came home for a quick stay and immediately put her skills to work and totally took charge of our small apartment sending lots of items downstairs into the bodega giving us lots more room to move around and enjoy the place.  She liked the results so much the king sized bed became her happy place even with construction happening upstairs and in front of the house each day.  She is even considering not want to even stay upstairs when it is finished she liked the apartment so much.

No, not a pool.  Grey water treatment.  Layered material will be installed and then accommodate plants.

So where does that leave the house currently?  Most of the work in mid February and early March has been in the front yard.  The garden walls have been finished as has most of the structure for the grey water treatment system that will be completed a bit later.  We are still without cooking gas, laundry dryer or hot water.  Something that will be remedied in the near future or else we may not see Ashley come home again anytime soon.

Pulido floors getting done by island and into dining area.

Kitchen and living areas

 Walls are being primed and painted, built in furniture/shelving is complete, some electrical/plumbing finishes are being installed and the concrete pulido accent walls and floors are getting done on the kitchen/master bath level.  After this weekend some of the crew will begin working on the second level(kids bedrooms) and the remainder of the crew will begin on the 4th level that will be a storage room/laundry/utility room and eventual terrace with ocean view.  At some point soon I will start completing the concrete work that I will contribute to the project but even finding a space to work in right now is a challenge with all the materials staged for the current parts of the project going on.

Pulido floors in dining area getting done.

Tough photo angle of master bedroom built in bed.

Central hallway.  Stairs to come.  Lower level is kid's bedrooms and main entrance.

The details that I have been pestering Ashley with for the last year and a half are finally coming together.  Hopefully she will like the upper levels as much as she enjoyed the apartment while she was here.  We cannot wait to give the kids their own individual spaces too.  The final design will still have a few rough transition spots that will have to be reworked, remedied or ignored but overall it is coming together!

Sayulita Scenes

Photo by Ed Dorsett