On The Road During Semana Santa 2019 - Part 1

We were not exactly sure what Semana Santa held for us this year until the kid's SUP Team coaches put out the idea of going to the USA for a race in North Carolina.  Coach Bicho was going to be competing again so our question to Alex and Trace was, "Do you want to race"?  The answer came back an affirmative "Yes" so a few days into Mexico's Spring Break we headed off to the airport.

The hope was to take the kid's new boards, paddles and other gear to Atlanta and from there rent a car and head north 3.5-4 hours or so to Ashley's parent's house in South Carolina.  Their house was a great mid-way stopping point between Atlanta and the race location in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.  We had not seen the Templetons for a few years so the plan of an SUP race coupled with a grandparent visit was put in motion.

After successfully getting seats on a flight out of Puerto Vallarta, we ended up with a brand new upgraded rental in Atlanta and we were off just before dark!  Not far down the road I could see that the loaded boards were shifting on the rooftop.  There was a permanent rooftop antennae at the rear of the cab which prevented us from putting the boards down the middle of the car.  So after several freak outs, a few board loading ideas, lots of time wasted strapping and re-strapping the boards to the roof we settled on a side by side load that still caused me some frayed nerves.  Even at 60 mph it felt like the boards would fly off so we ended up going north very slowly and we eventually arrived at 1am in Columbia, South Carolina.

One of our goals while in Columbia was to get the kids on their race boards for a paddle.  The nearest place to do that was Lake Murray about a half hour from Ashley's parent's place.  We had contacted a SUP outfit called California Republic and met up with the owner, Steve, who was happy to go out for a paddle with the kids and safely show them around the lake.  The kids really have no experience paddling on a busy water way where there are boats zipping around.  The morning we met up with Steve was grey, cold, windy and drizzly so while the kids dealt with the conditions Ashley and I found some coffee and sat in the warm SUV.  The water was flat but the headwind on the return trip of the paddle was tough and Trace was less than impressed with the morning's 6 mile outing but the kids got some needed paddle time and that was the goal.  What we did realize is that we are woefully unprepared for cooler paddle temperatures and perhaps rain.  A quick trip to get the kids outfitted with some colder weather gear was needed as well.

Paddling with California Republic

We spent most of the week doing some shopping, shopping some more, running around, going to church functions(at Grammy's request), yard work and meeting up with some of Ashley's friends that still live in the area.  Needless to say we did not get sit still long enough to get bored and it felt like we were always getting ready to go do something.  The kids clean up pretty well in their new clothes as the photos below show.

Trace dressed up and ready for church.  Yes, he did wear shoes eventually.

Alex in her awesome new dress.

Trace's new "dry land" passion is basketball so we picked up a ball for him and found a local playground where he could shoot a bit.  One of the afternoons we were at the playground court when the boys from the after school program came out to play and before Trace knew it he was a designated captain to select a team for some local "pick up" games.  It was great to have him included and get some game experience especially since the boy's style of play was a little bit different than he was use to back in Mexico.

Trace playing some playground pick up with the boys.

Ashley's friends in Columbia are good people and we look forward to hanging out with them when we come to town.  Ashley makes sure I am along so I can drive her home since "the girls" like to party it up a bit.

We took this crew bowling too and then out for beer and wings at the joint where Ashley worked during college.  Ozzy was top scorer at 154 after not bowling for almost 10 years.  Let's just say that, with the exception of a few turns like this one we can honestly Alex can dance and paddle a whole lot better than she bowls.

After a day going for a short hike in a nearby state park and some last minute shopping we packed up and were off to Wrightsville Beach to check-in to the Blockade Runner Resort.  Only a 3.5 hour drive away from Columbia, we were happy about our short travel day since it allowed us to get the kids out on the water late in the afternoon.

A blog post about the race coming soon!

Sayulita Scenes - Semana Santa 2019

Photo by Dorsett Photography

Photo of Playa Los Muertos by Curt Barter

Completion of Sayulita’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade & Emissor Pipe Project

Text from Sayulita Life's El Sayulero.  Photos, video by others.

On Thursday, April 11th, 2019, the emissor pipe was successfully installed to the newly upgraded wastewater treatment plant in Sayulita. The Gobernador Antonio Echevarria Garcia,the Presidente Municipal de Bahia de Banderas, Jaime Cuevas, and the director of the CEA (Nayarit’s potable water authority), Martha Patricia Urenda Delgado were at the treatment plant yesterday, on April 16th, to tour and inaugurate the newly upgraded and fully functioning plant and emissor. Sayulita is now the only beach town in the area that does not dump grey water directly onto the beach. Many people turned out today to tour the plant and grounds, and it was great to see everyone involved in the process. There was also a noticeable lack of odor at the plant, which was a pleasant experience. The government of Nayarit also tested the water quality and the latest test results showed between 10 and 20 NMP / 100 ml enterococci, which is well below the 200 NMP / 100 ml limit set by the government for safe swimming.

 The treatment plant was previously only able to process 20-30 liters per second when both sides of the plant were in optimum running condition, which could not always keep up with the demand due to tourism growth, but it now has now been upgraded to process up to 80 liters per second, which is a huge improvement, and can handle the busiest tourist times, such as Semana Santa and Christmas / New Year’s Eve holidays. With the emissor pipe in place and functioning, there is no treated water entering the river or emptying onto the beach. The fully treated water is instead emitted through a pipe that is anchored to the sea bed and emits the treated water 2.3 km into the deep ocean. With good maintenance, this newly upgraded plant will serve Sayulita for the next 25 years as the population continues to grow. The government is now overseeing the management of the plant, so there will be regular inspections and upkeep.

This massive infrastructure upgrade could not have happened without the actions of Grupo Pro Sayulita, who took the initiative to get studies in place, engineering plans, apply for permits, and also the many donors who helped the project get underway. The new sewer line beneath Manuel Navarette, beneath the river bed,  and the new storage tank at the plant were all funded by Grupo Pro Sayulita as well as private donations. The newly elected Mexican State and Federal government then took over the project and have been working diligently for months to bring about the completion of the project, which they funded in excess of 41 million pesos.

This is the best news Sayulita has received in a very long time; thanks to everyone who stood by this necessary project and donated their time and money to bring about positive change for the health of everyone in Sayulita. There is still more to do, so please consider becoming a member of Grupo Pro Sayulita, or you can always pick a cause and donate directly to that fund. You can donate to Grupo Pro Sayulita here.

More Tear Downs - Sayulita Centro Will Never Look The Same

Virtually overnight a large part of Centro has vanished!   This week demolition crews took down two what many consider historical buildings in the heart of town.  The Casa de Cultura and the Sayulita Ejido Building are no more.  The demolition size is enormous considering the small size of downtown stretching from Calle Revolucion all the way back to Manuel Navarrete.  If you are not familiar with street names then picture the buildings across from the Sayulita Cafe totally gone all the way back to the Kiosko.

Standing in front of Mary's looking toward ocean.  This was the Ejido building.

Standing in front of la Morada

Of course the speculations are already flying about what is going to be built in this prime location, how big will it be, it's effects on downtown, the overall design, who the money is behind such a project and who is benefiting behind the scenes. The latest rumors are that the ejido was looking for a new source of income for it's members and sold off some of it's most valued land holdings.  Talks are that a large "boutique" type hotel with parking and commercial will occupy the space..

Standing in from of Hotel Kapuri.  Looking at former Casa de Cultura location

Standing in front of Hotel Kapuri looking back at the remnants of the Ejido Building.

Former location of the Casa de Cultura

There is no doubt that the face of Sayulita is changing at lightning speed but this hit the heart of many of the residents who had memories made here.  Even our kids had a presentation at the Casa de Cultura when they were in Kindergarten our first year here and now it is a pile of rubble.  It is sad to see and many locals have voiced their disappointment in the ejido's decision to make a drastic change to the heart of Sayulita. 

Standing on the corner by Su Casa Restaurant

The debate is already heating up about employment opportunities that may be available to the local population vs the destruction of part of the history of Sayulita and it's effect on infrastructure. Things like this happen overnight and rarely does the general public know about it before the heavy equipment shows up. I had not even been downtown in a week and actually had to go look for myself this morning to believe what the town Facebook page was saying. Don't blink. You may miss something in this town the way things happen these days.

Million Dollar Tear Downs Have Begun!

I was out for a run a few weeks ago and on my way back to the house I looked up and a house I walked by a couple hundred times was missing.  Totally gone from where it stood the last time I was in this particular part of town.  These pics are from the fisherman's beach area. There is a road and several large houses that are as close to "beach front" as you can get on this end of town.

Some of the houses have been there for a long time since this is certainly prime real estate for those wanting a house on the beach.  Many of these homes need lots of work to bring needed upgrades and systems to this high rent district in town.  So much work that it appears that buying and tearing down these places has begun.

An older property just a few doors down from this lot is for sale for about $2.5 million USD.  Two doors down the other direction a small new condo complex has been under construction with the penthouse unit going for about $1 million USD and rest of the building's units selling for a bit less.

So, when a buyer has millions of USDs and they know they can just tear down and rebuild something bigger, better with all the modern amenities that will fetch a better return, tearing an older existing place down and building something new is a no brainer.  The time of Sayulita's million dollar tear downs has begun.

Computer rendering.

UPDATE:  This condo complex that I just saw online is now available for sale in this exact location.  4 of the proposed 6 units are already sold pre-construction.  When you can buy a property for a couple million USD, tear it down and sell 6 new units for over 3.3 million USD I'd say the investor appears to have done well enough that this will not be the last tear down and rebuild that we will see in the near future.

Sayulita Scenes - SAYULITA!

New letters appeared in the Plaza just recently.  BIG photo op spot in town.

Sibling Support

So proud of these two. They both raced their hearts out and did amazing in their races today. But what I am most proud of is the support they gave each other. Trace board caddied for Alex and Alex was there at the finish line with hugs for Trace. It makes my heart so big!! It isn’t always like this so I especially enjoy these moments.

Sewer Treatment Plant Improvements Update Part 2 - March 2019

Just a quick update on the emissor pipe installation for the upgraded sewer treatment plant.  The work has begun connecting the pipes and attaching the concrete weights to keep the pipe from coming to the surface.  Interesting to watch.  Photos by Capas Sayulita and Ed Dorsett.

Sewer Treatment Plant Improvements Update - March 2019

From Sayulita Life El Sayulero March 5, 2019.

As many of you have noticed, professional workers and engineers have begun the construction and placement of the new emissor at the river bed which connects to the main beach.  This is part of an ongoing project from Sayulita’s new Sewage Treatment Plant. I talked with key members from the board of Grupo Pro Sayulita, who began this project several years ago and remain the liasons with the government officials now in charge of the plant and project. All of the projects have been designed to upgrade previous wastewater management systems. Phase 1 began more than two years ago, and phase 3, being done now, will be completed in the next few weeks.

When and why did this project first begin? 

Until about two years ago, Sayulita suffered from occasional spills of grey and black water in Gaviotas street, where it connects with Calle Navarrete. These problems occurred during the rainy season, when rain water overwhelmed the old system in place. Grupo Pro Sayulita partnered with other government associations of Sayulita and Bahía de Banderas to understand this problem and solve it. Old and insufficient pumping was found, and it was discovered that the holding tank in the wastewater plant, known as a carcamo, was too small for our growing town. The upgrade to our current treatment plant doubled the capacity of the holding tank.

What was phase 1 of this project? What are the other phases?

Over two years ago, Grupo Pro Sayulita partnered with Oromapas, CEA and CONAGUA. Grupo Pro created an infrastructure committee and funds that worked with these government agencies and local and international engineers in order to authorize the needed work and fund it. At that time, CEA and CONAGUA agreed to provide the necessary permits, and Grupo agreed to fund phase 1, now known as the “Gaviotas Project”. Also, at this same time, Conagua and CEA agreed to create phase 2 and fund it. Phase 2 included the repair and upgrade of the waste management plant itself. These organizations also agreed to plan and fund phase 3, the underwater emissor. Over the last year, phase 2 was completed; now phase 3, the emissor, will be complete in the next several weeks.

How does an underwater emissor work? 

Emissors are the most common form of wastewater management systems in the world, and are used all over Latin America, the US, and Canada. The emissor was designed by completing a wave and ocean study to ensure that the pipe does not disturb the reef, and to ensure it is located in a place that is safe for both ocean life and humans.  Our emissor will send treated water 2.3 km from the coast; it will be attached to the ocean floor and sit about 60m down from the surface. The treated water released can then be further broken down by natural ocean chemicals and effectively become food for ocean animals. This system will allow us to not put treated water into the river bed, and will allow the natural estuary of the river mouth to return. This is the work being completed now. 

What would you say to skeptics, or those who think this project will not work or is even more harmful to the environment?

There are many who do not understand this project and who do not understand just how common it is throughout the world. The reason it is so commonly used is that it is not a complicated system, and it works. For two years, we met with teams of wastewater engineers from all over the world, and every single one of them landed on this solution. In this consultation process, environmental protection was the first goal. The water will be treated from the treatment plant and discharged more than 2km from the coast, where it will be mixed with seawater without any negative consequences for marine flora and fauna. There are also those who are worried that the emissor will change the path of the waves; this is simply not going to happen because it is a pipe of just over 20cm in diameter, which will be fastened with concrete bases every four meters, and will be semi-buried, so as to not alter the ecosystem.

When do you anticipate the project to be completed? 

The treatment plant is ready to go and is waiting to be connected to the emissor. The emissor is scheduled to be completed in the next several weeks, however that does depend on the conditions of the ocean. We will be working with Conagua to publicly announce the completion of the emissor when finalized.

*Written by: Aanya Sheikh-Taheri

Emissor pipe staging in the river.

Photo by Sayulita Life

Trench digging at the river mouth during low tide.

Photo by Sayulita Life

This is a REALLY big deal for our pueblo.  With town's rapid growth and the years of mismanagement of the treatment plant/equipment the town's sewer situation needed tons of help.  Now the plant will have a new life with repaired equipment, a new larger holding tank, proper sized lines feeding the plant and a 2km emissor pipe taking treated water out to sea.  Official full capacity operation is so very close!

Sayulita Scenes - Malpaso

This is also Sayulita.  Just north of Sayulita the beach of Malpaso stretches out towards San Pancho.  As of yet there there is no development and it is just a short hike from the busy local beaches.  Beautiful!

Photo by Ashley

A New Casa...In 2019?!?!?!? Construction Update - March 1st

February saw more finishing going on at the house.  We think these will be the last priority items on the exterior list for the short term.  We still would like a door to the property at the sidewalk and a driveway gate but those are down the road a ways.

Speaking of driveway....we now have one!!!  Once the cistern was buried, our guy Antonio took to selecting and placing each stone.  After over a week we had our driveway and it is beautiful!  People actually stand at the end of the driveway and admire Antonio's work.  Selecting a cobble stone driveway was a good choice to mix of the materials a bit.  Had we known that Trace was showing a real interest in basketball perhaps we would have chosen something that was more friendly to shooting some hoop but we are super happy with what we have.

The other big item for the front of the house was the iron work.  We had bars installed on the apartment window.  When we lived in this space we could never really feel good about leaving the window open when we left the house.  Plus the window is a bit hidden from view behind the stairs so it was really a case of providing some basic security and allowing for ventilation.  Clean, sharp and functional.

The other items completed were roof structures over the main house entrance and over the apartment terrace.  We used the same iron and polycarbonate combination as we did in the upper house.  The main entrance got one to deflect the rain off and away from the front landing.  As it was it was only protected by the 1 meter overhang of the upper floor and the landing was 2 meters deep.  So, when it rained most everything on the landing got wet like shoes and you got soaked when standing at the front door finding your keys.  Now the entire landing is protected and actually provides a small quiet area to hang out.

The second roof structure to go in was over the apartment terrace.  I have been waiting for this one to go in for a while.  We think the apartment is going to be a great space for anyone staying there and the new roof just makes things even better.  Ashley had ordered cushions for the built in couch. Once we get a few plants and some additional seating in the space it will provided an additional room to use 12 months a year rather than only when it isn't raining.  The polycarbonate allows the light through as well so the reduction of light in the apartment is minimal if at all.

I will take me some time to get accustomed to the look and I am not entirely pleased with it for some reason but I think I know why.  Some softening of the space is needed with some other materials and Ashley is the specialist on that front.  The polycarbonate needs to be trimmed a bit closer to the frame so it does not look so floppy.  (I know, I know. Relax. Right?)  It will all work out in the end and be awesome but the details matter.  Regardless of what I think, we are in our home and it has been awesome so far.

So what is next?  A couple things are in the works.  We are trying to nail down a carpenter(no pun intended) to complete some work in the apartment and a few things in the main house.  Shower glass has been ordered for all the bathrooms.  More finishes are needed and a few furniture items need to be considered along with the process of selecting and planting the front beds.  There is always something but our primary focus is finishing the apartment by the end of the month for our first visitors(aka "the grandparents"!) to arrive.  Good motivation to get things done.