Our moves tend to coincide with the end of one school year and the beginning of the next. Which also means the hottest, wettest, most oppressive time to be in Nayarit.
It’s no fun to pack out and load up all our stuff under such conditions, but it does make saying goodbye to a place just a bit easier. It always seems to feel like it’s a good time to be moving on.
For this reason, we’d never move from the northern tropics in February if we didn’t have to. But it would make for some nice packing days.
A nice time to go to the beach in July isn’t all about blue skies. If I can see my elbows under water and there aren’t lightening strikes nearby, it’s go-time.
Noe’s becoming a pretty good coworker with us. He’ll happily color while Lori and I finish up work for the day. At least for a while.
Lori’s early-morning virtual presentation setup in the backyard…when it’s not raining.
We’ve made a point to visit all the beaches in the Sayulita area during our time here – Playa San Pancho, Malpaso, Cuevas, Playa Norte, Playa Central, Los Muertos, Carricitos, Patzcuarito, and Patzcuaro.
With the exception of Playa Escondido, which you can only access if you are staying at an overpriced resort there (where they film Bachelor in Paradise), we thought we’d found them all.
Then, a few weeks ago, we learned of a possible beach between Playa Central and Los Muertos that it completely hidden from view between rocky headlands.
Could it be that one more beach has been hiding from us right under our nose this whole time?
We wanted to find out before our time in Sayulita was up.
We visited Playa de Los Muertos midweek while the kids were in school. It was pleasantly quiet, yet the entire beach from end to end is STILL packed with stupid rental umbrellas and chairs.
When we moved here in late October, there was a reasonable row of a dozen chairs right in the middle of the beach. The fringes were wide open for everyone else to bring their own kit free of charge.
Not anymore. On a 100% public beach with no restaurants, resorts, or private property of any kind!!!
If there was going to be a beach right on the other side of the rocky point, the easiest way to access it would be to paddleboard around. Since we didn’t have paddleboards, we were going to have to clammer over the rocks in our flip-flops.
From the top, we got a pretty nice view of Los Muertos and Punta Sayulita.
Fortunately, getting over the rocks didn’t take much effort, and…there is indeed a beach on the other side. Shh! It’s a secret!
Before leaving Sayulita, we wanted to make sure the boys got a good teeth cleaning and check-up in. It’s easy and inexpensive here, and Lori and I had a good experience.
That’s artwork on Noe’s shirt, by the way. The dentist isn’t that crazy with the scraper.
For some particular reason, Noe loves going to the dentist. Always has since he was a wee little one. At the ripe old age of five, he’s seen four different dentists in four different countries.
One last visit to Sayulita’s famous Chocobanana! Not exactly what the dentist ordered, but there are far worse things in this town he could be munching on.
This guy’s had a fascination with rain since he was a baby. I used to sit him in an open doorway in Laos (and actually put him out in the rain in Cambodia) and he loved it.
Noe, being helpful. And Riley, being Riley.
Uh oh. Riley came home from school with a cough.
The most stressful thing in our lives these days is trying to keep everyone healthy before we get on the plane back to the U.S.
Last summer, our biggest travel worry was dying from Covid. This year, it’s getting a negative Covid test. Needless to say, a pretty big improvement in one year, but still stressful since they’re required to enter the U.S.
We have a small window once a year to visit family and friends in the States, so losing a week (particularly with little ones) would be a very big bummer.
Fortunately here at the moment, it’s unlikely its Covid. And we’ve still got plenty of time before our departure date.
We put the golf cart up for sale, and have a handful of people lined up to look at it. It’s only a matter of time til we part ways with our beloved carrito, and part ways with a lifestyle we might not experience for a very long time.
One more trip out to Carricitos before that happens.
I’ve been telling Noe for months that he’d get to do a bit of driving before we leave Sayulita. The cart’s days are numbered, so today’s the day. The cobblestone road out to Patzcuarito serves as a nice proving ground.
It would prove to be our final hike to Patzcuarito, something we’ve done a few times a month over the past year. That should have been enough to make this visit special. But there was another treat waiting in the jungle for us.
The summer migration of tropical land crabs! Thousands upon thousands of them, everywhere we looked!
Looks like the carrito found a new home. Which means it’s time to say goodbye to our family’s ride and faithful friend.
Another storm, another ton of debris on North Beach.
The plan for our stuff is to store it in the utility closet in the Sayulita house while we’re back in the U.S. Then, rent a van from the airport, make a quick stop in Sayulita to load it up, then head up the road to Chacala.
This house isn’t a stranger to flooding during the rainy season, so we’re crossing our fingers that won’t happen while we’re gone. Regardless, we’ve moved the more important stuff to the higher footlockers, just in case.
Riley says goodbye to Jazmin and Ana, his two favorite women here in Sayulita (after mommy, of course). They’ve been an awesome addition to our family here taking turns watching Riley so many weekday mornings.
Next year, our little big boy will be headed back to school in our next home, Chacala.
No doubt, there are plenty others we’ll miss as well from our time here. Unlike other moves, we’ll be just up the highway an hour’s drive (hopefully with a car). So I’d be very surprised if we didn’t find ourselves back down to Sayulita every now and then.
One more pic in front of ol’ Casa Cupola in Sayulita. Many great memories, but new adventures await.
Samuel, our trusty driver friend, is waiting out front to ferry us to the airport. But I feel like we’re forgetting something.
We make our way one last time up the muddy, rutted road into the jungle to pick up Noe at school. We make sure to tip well.
Off to PVR to catch our flight to Seattle, the starting point of our annual summer visit back to the States.
