An adventure in Portugal - April 2017

As we have mentioned many times, Semana Santa in Sayulita is crazy with Mexican nationals from inner Mexico so we always try to leave during that time.  This year our friends suggested we go to Portugal and rent RV's.  We really had no business going because we are building a house using cash but I cannot pass up a chance to travel,  and then throw in camping and I will do whatever it takes to make it work.  So I took two weeks vacation in April which gave me the whole month off.  I knew we would need standby travel time on both ends.  I could write a small novel on us getting to Lisbon but will spare you and me.   With standby travel you do not even being to think about flights until a day or two before.  I needed to know routes and backups so I started about four days before planning how four people were going to get from Puerto Vallarta to Lisbon.  I became so overwhelmed because there were so many options.  Delta at that time did not fly to Lisbon which sucked for us.  We can fly on hundreds of other airlines for a very minimum price so I had all of those choices.  I could also get us anywhere into Europe on Delta and take a European airline, train or bus to get to Lisbon.  But we first had to get out of Mexico.  I also didn't want to pay a fortune for airfare. I had hundreds of scenarios so I finally had to make a chart to figure how in the hell we were going to get there.   I also knew that the plans could change within seconds so I needed it all in front of me.

My color coded chart.  Each country had a different color as well as each mode of transportation.

I soon learned that every form of transportation from anywhere in Europe to Lisbon was either sold out, way too expensive or took too many days.  I had already given us four days to get there and we had to pick up the RV on April 10.  It also didn't help that we were traveling during Spring Break and during the week of a serious shit show of rain, tornados and cancelled flights for Delta. Flights broke down and we had choices to make the could either make or break us including throwing Amtrak in the mix as well as spending the night in either Grand Central Station or the Train Station in Philly.  Ozzy not being comfortable with either decision.

So, to get to Lisbon we flew Puerto Vallarta to Minneapolis, spent the night at the Raddison Blu attached to the Mall of America for two nights.  I have been wanting to take the kids there because of the awesome indoor amusement park so this was perfect.  We stayed there two nights because we were flying TAP Air Portugal out of Boston on April 9.

Testing out our new selfie stick

Boarding passes for TAP

We did it.  We arrived in Lisbon on schedule, met up with our six other travel partners, and Ubered to pick up three RV's.  After being awake since the morning before, spending five hours getting the RV's, shopping and finding our first camp site, Amy and I headed back into Lisbon to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds play at an amazing music house.  Dave Matthews is by far my favorite musician, so when I learned he was playing in Lisbon the same day that we arrived I bought tickets.  He played what I think was the best set list I have ever heard from him and I have seen him many times.  I was so happy!!!

Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds

Beautiful Venue

 Peneche

Nazare

Alex was crazy about the pine cones.  I think it may have been her first time seeing one.

Amarante

Porto

Ereceria

This is unfortunately a post that was begun but never finished.  It was just too big an undertaking to do once we got home and eventually got back to.  So, we will put it in the blog just because though the stories are no longer fresh, the photos are so good we need to be sure our adventure to Portugal was included in the blog in part.

Semana Santa 2017

We managed to escape the crowds in Sayulita for Semana Santa again this year.  I kept up on the social media posts talking about the crowds but more importantly about the substantial volunteer effort that was organized this year to handle a holiday crowd.  This aerial shot of the beach during the holiday break was taken by Curt Barter gives you a good idea of just how packed it can get.

Circo de los Niños 2017 - Behind the Scenes

The Circus de los Niños program the kids have been participating in once again had their annual series of shows in March.  This is the program's big fundraiser production.  With the exception of  summer the kids train eagerly 2-5 days a week with the program.  This year's performance, the kid's 3rd, was spectacular as usual.

The amount of time and energy all the children, organizers, trainers, volunteers and parents need to put into this show is totally nuts.  This year's commitment was bigger than year's passed which I complained about often since it dominated our lives week after week after week. So much so that the kids had to give up their other interests and activities.  This session "Circo" did not even have space for new children to join the program.  Waiting list only.

This video follows the final practice days leading up to the performance and the action during performance week.  Really kind of enlightening seeing things behind the scenes.  Once spring break is over the kids will be back at it for 10 more weeks of Circo before summer vacation begins.  Such is life in small town Mexico.


Making Of_Sueño de una noche de verano_2017 from Monique Voyer on Vimeo.

Sayulita Scenes - Oz Sayulita?

I was out early this morning and looked up to see this.  The largest project going up on the south end received it's sign this week.  It is called "Oz Sayulita".  Crazy what you see in the morning and you can take the time to look up.  Not really sure how anyone will see the sign from the street level.  I guess we will have to consider a different name for our new casa here.

Driver's License Mexico Style

My Utah license was expiring this month so I needed a new one.  Since I no longer have anything that has my name on it with a Utah address I had to go to the local "DMV" to get signed up for one here.  So, here it is.  The latest document to add to my wallet that is all Mexico.  Interesting that the photo in the Utah license was one taken just before our first ever trip to Sayulita.

Sayulita Scenes - The New Boulevard Update - March 2017

The New Boulevard project continues to progress and is nearing "functionality".  I say "functionality" because it appears to be close to being able to handle car traffic in the near future.  I might even say that it may be able to handle traffic in another 6 weeks or so.  But...."it's Mexico" as they say so who knows.  At this time there seems to be a lot of other detail type things going on outside the general roadway like burying conduit and hooking up light posts etc.  Some of the businesses on the entry corridor are actually accessible to car traffic now but it is a dead end once you reach the mid point in the roadway.  Locally owned businesses along the corridor have been essentially cut off for months from the easy access and drive by traffic they were so dependent on.

Ashley and I went for a walk yesterday, 3/3/17, to check it out and I shot a handful of photos beginning from the old bus stop and walking toward the intersection with the Punta Mita highway.
My impressions?  It looks to be very "grand" and "tidy" but drab and a bit lack luster.  When town received it's new updated sidewalks and plaza improvements 5 years ago it was all slated to be grey stamped concrete.  Some locals got involved and were able to get the stamped concrete colored to the terra cotta color for the sidewalks we have now.  An improvement over plain grey in my opinion.  Sayulita is so very colorful and is part if it's character.  I love the bold and sometimes gaudy colors of Sayulita.  The new entry is just kind of "blah".  I am guessing there will be landscaping of sorts to be added before the end of the project which may help.  Yes, it will be functional but as a "welcome corridor" to Sayulita it just does not quite fit as it appears now.  We will now have three different looks in town when completed.  Three different puzzle pieces stuck together.  The entry corridor, the north end and then the downtown/south end.  All have their own look and character.

Town and I am sure visitors will be so thankful this project is done and more normal traffic flows can happen once again.  Completion still to come.

In front of the bus stop.

Approaching the bomberos office and Animal Love.

Approaching the old Esteva Clinic.  Bomberos on the right.

Near the Sayulita Car Wash

Looking towards the Punt Mita Highway intersection.

UPDATE: 3/21/2017
Some color arrives.  The new sidewalks that will frame the new boulevard appear to be colored the same terra cotta color as the stamped concrete sidewalks that were completed in town a few years back.  Happy to see this.

A New Casa in 2017- Building A Place Of Our Own

We are now into year 6 renting in Sayulita.  I don't think a single person who comes here to live would question just how difficult and expensive it can be to find housing.  We are a family of 4 who is growing up and it is time for our kids , 9 and 11 years old, to have their own personal space.  Even for a fairly well connected family here year round finding a decent 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for long term rental is hard.

We spent three years in a great house on the north end until our landlord decided to remodel and rent the unit we were in nightly.  We are now in our third year on the south end of town and our landlord has also decided he wants to fix up and sell or rent the house nightly.  Such is the way of things.  There is money to be made with vacation rentals.  Less so with long term tenants.  Nearby towns like San Pancho and Higuera Blanca are the same scenario.

It is a very familiar story coming from a high end ski town up north.  A destination sees an increase in popularity and visitation.  Real estate prices go up, rents go up and the ability to find full time housing goes down driving people to find housing elsewhere or leave.

So what is a family to do?  We have a life here now.  We want to stay.  Do we take our chances every season trying to find a place to live?  No.  We build a place of our own.

2017 will be the year when we will break ground on our own house here in Sayulita.

...details to come.

Support Our Team!!! Sayulita JR SUP Team

Please support our Team!  Click on this LINK and you will be taken to the the Gofundme.com page set up for raising funds for this great local team.  There you can read all about the details about the program and specifically what they are raising money for.

Briefly, some of the equipment and donation needs are:

1) 20 SUP boards to cover each training group - $8000.00
2) paddles for each board (20) - $500.00
3) 20 PFD’s (portable flotation devices) - $200.00
4) Scholarship funds for low income youth $3000.00
3) Team Uniforms-$300.00​

Program needs are ongoing as the Team grows.  Any and all donations are appreciated!  Gracias!

Sayulita Scenes - A Visitor

The vacationers next door came to our house asking if they could see our pet iguana.  I looked at them puzzled and they said they saw an iguana go into our house.  I laughed and said yes, there are iguanas in the trees around us, on the roof etc and wouldn't be surprised if one had walked through the house.  We've even seen one run through our house who was being chased by a cat.

About an hour later I looked into our bedroom to see this critter walking from our bathroom to along side our bed.  Those are 13" x 13" tiles it is sitting on just to get an idea of how large he is.  He seems very much at home.  Hopefully he decides to go back outside before he needs to go to the bathroom.  Good looking critter for sure.  Not the biggest we've seen.  Just another day living in the jungle.

Hunting iguana under the bed