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This Hidden Gem Is A Mexican Paradise

Bailey Martindale

I’ve spent plenty of time in Mexico, but I’ve never been anywhere in Mexico that I’m dying to return. The areas I’ve stayed have felt too touristy and artificial. I’ve spent time in Cabo, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and more. When I travel, especially to new countries, I like to experience the actual culture of an area opposed to the touristy things. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll mix in some touristy stops like The Bean in Chicago for example, but for the most part, I’d rather spend the majority of my time exploring like a local, shopping like a local, eating like a local, drinking like a local — basically, I want to live like a local. I love getting immersed in the culture. After all, what good is it to travel if you don’t leave having experienced a deeper piece of the culture of the area you traveled?



After this last trip, Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico is definitely my favorite place I’ve been in Mexico. I’m dying to return. As I laid on the beaches of Sayulita, I thought to myself more than once, I could live here. I could sell my things, get my dogs, find a way to make money and be completely content. It’s the kind of place that makes you realize what truly brings you joy in life and helps you reassess your priorities.

I was fortunate to get a last minute invitation to a group trip to Sayulita. There was a group of 6 going. They had already found a great AirBnb and were all set. I only knew one person I was going on the trip with but I can get along with anyone so I just jumped at the chance to check out a new place and have a cool experience. I love saying yes to all of the experiences that come my way. I met the rest of the group when we all landed in Puerto Vallarta. They are a great bunch. We quickly said hello then met our driver who was transporting us from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita. I recognized much of the scene from Puerto Vallarta after being there about 10 years prior. We drove about 15 or 20 minutes and stopped at the large super market. The driver told us we’d want to stock up here because there were no large markets in Sayulita. We split up in groups of three and each had our lists of deliverables. We had a breakfast chef secured for each day of the trip so all we needed to focus on was lunch, dinner, snacks and any drinks and alcohol we’d want at the house. We stocked up on things for salads, hamburgers, steaks, chicken, veggies, sandwiches, and all kinds of snacks and water. We made sure to get champagne for mimosas, tequila, vodka, and plenty of Mexican beer to hold us over. After we checked out, the cart guys quickly walked us over to our already full van that was loaded with luggage for six people. They managed to hit an expert level of packing Tetris with the grocery items and somehow managed to fit all three cart loads of groceries into the already packed passenger van.


We hopped back in and finished the rest of the hour-long drive to Sayulita. It’s a winding road through jungle hills. You’ll see occasional motorbikes jetting by, dump trucks working off the main highway road and some concrete structures along the way - some of them are houses, some businesses. As we pulled into Sayulita, it was quickly apparent that it’s a fairly bustling little town. We drove over the cobble stoned streets, saw the multi-colored flags hanging across the top of streets, dogs lazily walking along, little kids sitting atop motorbikes with their parents or siblings, golf carts, farmacias (pharmacies) are in pairs or even groups of threes down almost every street, there are little hole in the wall restaurants and taco stands but there are also pretty restaurants or ice cream shops dotted in between.



We wandered from one side of town to the other and made our way up a somewhat sketchy looking rock and dirt hill up to our villa. As you head up the hills you see the gorgeous mountainous jungle in the background and stunning villas dispersed among them. We pulled into a gated area and went up a very steep rock and concrete driveway. Our villa was the first on the right. We unloaded then checked out the place we’d be staying. The property is built into a hill. It’s a concrete open, ocean-facing, open-open-air property. It’s in a very secure, private, gated community. There are multiple steps of stairs on each level. You head up the stairs to the first level where you find a gorgeous blue infinity pool with a terrace. Just beyond that is the beautiful large kitchen and dining area. The next level has a bedroom, balcony and TV room. The next level has three bedrooms - two of them have king beds (one being a beautiful master), one of them has a double bed - each room has its own balcony and bathroom. The next level is a lovely hang out space with two hammocks, bar and bar stools, coach seating, chairs, various balcony view areas and a thatch roof. It’s a dream. The space is truly gorgeous. Although it is open-air, each of the bedrooms have air conditioning that thankfully works like a dream. There were actually a couple of nights I got too cold.



Omar, the property manager quickly got us settled. He gave us all of the keys, gate codes, wifi, etc. One thing many people don’t realize about many places in Mexico or other countries is that you can’t flush toilet paper in many of these areas. You must dispose of any and all toilet paper into a trash bin. Not all AirBnb properties send a maid everyday but thankfully, at this location, they sent a maid everyday to refresh and make beds, supply extra towels, empty waste bins and more. We tended to be up around 7:30 or 8 in the morning and head down to see what the breakfast chef had for us to eat and the maid would arrive about the time we were finishing and get started as we were heading out for the day. She was in and out and we hardly knew she was there, other than to find perfectly made beds, fresh towels and various little cleaning touches.



Our first day we got to the house mid afternoon so we explored the property, and hung around the house, getting settled in, having some drinks and getting in the pool. Thankfully, the crew had remembered to bring music speakers so we had plenty of music to fill the space. As you sat on the terrace or in the pool and looked out across the jungle and then to the beach, it was captivating. It’s truly paradise. There are few places I’ve been, other than the jungles of South Africa or the canals of Venice that have captivated me the way this place did.


That night we ventured into town for dinner. Earlier on the ride in, we asked Gio, our driver, for a recommendation on places for dinner and he suggested Emiliano’s. After some time at the house in the sun, we deduced to venture into town and check it out. We had rented a six-person golf cart from Roy’s Golf Cart shop in town. He had it waiting at the house when we got there. While there are many cars and motorbikes in the town, you will see a ton of golf carts and it’s all you really need to easily get around. I was shocked with how well the golf cart handled the hills and steep areas leading up to the house.

After a short drive through town, we found Emiliano’s. We sat street side at the little restaurant and sipped on margaritas and had some pretty great ceviche. I think I had ceviche every day we were there. I’m also quite certain I could live off fresh ceviche. For my entree, I had a shrimp dish with a mix - half garlic and half smothered in a local favorite called diablo sauce. The ceviche, margs, and shrimp were great but I preferred the garlic shrimp rather than the smothered. To me, as an American, the diablo sauce seemed like a spicy tomato paste. It was okay but definitely not my favorite. I noticed that type of style on many menus throughout the area so I think it’s a local favorite.



That night we drove and walked around the city. It was Ash Wednesday so there were a lot of people leaving the churches and cathedrals. We hopped into a few places to have a drink or listen to some local live music before we headed back to the villa. We ended up just hanging out, drinking, chatting and laughing before we all crashed.


Day two, we headed to the beach. Two of the guys wanted to surf and the rest of us were looking forward to relaxing on the beach. After we pulled down our drive we just had to make a few turns and we were at the beach. We pulled onto a block that allowed us to park the golf cart and walk right on to the beach. We walked onto the beach and immediately heard a spunky local inviting us to rent wooden sling chairs with an umbrella for the day. He was golden brown with a surfer hat, no shirt, low hanging board shorts, insanely ripped and had a great smile. He looked like a typical beach town surfer. He introduced himself as Felipe. We told him we’d be back after we walked down the beach and checked the rest out. He warned us we wouldn’t like the other end. We wandered down the beach for about half a mile or so. We heard many other similar offers. We even got into a brief altercation with a really rude local trying to pull a bait and switch on us over some chair and umbrella rentals. As we headed down that direction of the beach, we noticed it got quite a bit louder and busier. It seemed like this was where the majority of the tourists were.


Turns out Felipe was right, so we went back to his section of the beach. He quickly got us three sets of chairs, umbrellas and little wooden tables. He jumped into customer service mode and asked how he could help us. Felipe was extremely warm and welcoming. He asked if we wanted him to send out a waiter from the little restaurant and bar behind us. We ordered ceviche, Mexican beer and margaritas. Felipe helped those who wanted to surf get set up with a board rental and gave them pointers on areas to stay within and where they’d find the best surfing. The waves were crashing hard. I’m not a surfer but the guys surfing and Felipe said it was prime surfing conditions. There were a ton of surfers in the water, even with it being a Thursday. I’m presuming there were quite a bit of locals that day. As it turns out, Sayulita is known for its surfing. It also turns out Felipe is a pretty well-known surfer (we checked him out online after our breakfast chef said Felipe has travelled all over with his surfing). Felipe also happens to be part of a group known in the area as Sayulita Vigilantes. He said years ago there used to be a lot of crime and bad things happening, so a group of about 50 vigilantes are certified and allowed by police to “patrol” so to speak. One example he gave us was someone getting their iPhone stolen. Felipe yelled at the guy to give it back as he took off running and when he didn’t, he chased him down, got it back and held the guy for police. Felipe said he’s trained in mixed martial arts and that helps him in those situations.